San Francisco, California -- Starting October 18 dozens of corporate warriors will roam the mountains of Marin County lost, bloody, tearful and exhausted as Deloitte Consulting presents the Presidio Challenge, the nation's only all-corporate adventure race.

The second-annual Presidio Challenge matches teams of three athletes from corporations across the country in a nonstop endurance challenge, racing over one hundred miles of rugged terrain using kayaks, mountain bikes, climbing ropes and compasses. The competition is the only adventure race to be conducted entirely within the San Francisco Bay Area and will feature teams from such well-known companies as Goldman Sachs, Robertson Stevens Banc Boston, Comtouch, Charles Schwab, webMethods, Keen.com and Jamba Juice.

Deloitte Consulting's Global e-Business Leader Cathy Benko said the sport of adventure racing is a rare and direct analogy for today's new economy, "In the e-Business space we face challenges every day that demand agility, resourcefulness and creativity. Sharing the adventure racing experience with our clients and alliance partners is a great opportunity to demonstrate these same skills in a very different and still demanding environment."

The suffering is all for a good cause; a portion of each team entry fee goes to the Columbia Park Boys & Girls Club, and the $10,000 prize purse will be donated to the top three teams' charities of choice.

Adventure racing, certainly the most arduous and arguably the fastest-growing sport in the US, has captured the imagination of the public and endurance athletes alike through such intense competitions as the Eco-Challenge and the Raid Gauloises. The sport has grown exponentially over the last two years with an increase in crowds, sponsorships and media attention. The three-day event will begin on October 18 with a race briefing and competitor certifications. The race begins at dawn on Day Two, when teams depart for an expected 28­36 hours of nonstop, day and night racing. The racers must navigate through a series of checkpoints on the course with each segment focusing on a specific sport: kayaking in the Bay or Pacific Ocean, rappelling and ascending stunning ocean cliffs, mountain biking on local mountains and running and orienteering in both day and night.

On Day Three, competitors will finish the course and be shuttled to their hotel accommodations, where they will enjoy complimentary massages, a dinner reception and a film of the event. Cameras from Outdoor Life Network will cover the race and broadcast in December 2000. Highlights during the event will also be available online at www.presidioar.com.

The Presidio Challenge came about largely through the corporate training programs designed by Duncan Smith, founder of the Presidio Adventure Racing Academy (PARA). A world-class adventure racer and former Navy SEAL, Smith realized that the corporate world could benefit from the rigors of adventure racing. Smith, who after serving five years as a SEAL officer earned his MBA from UCLA and worked as an investment banker, says, "most corporate training and teamwork programs focus on overcoming fears and building communications skills, but are largely contrived situations. Adventure racing, like SEAL training, is actual teamwork within a competitive format. Teams must band together; they face adversity, rely completely on trust and communication, overcome literal obstacles and set-backs. They deal with fatigue and face fear in courses designed for a wide variety of physical fitness levels."

PARA designed adventure racing team-building courses for GE, Autodesk, the Stanford Business School and the FBI. Deloitte Consulting, whose training with Presidio was recently profiled in Business 2.0 Magazine, found that teamwork under pressure contributed to a recipe for success, just as in the e-Business world.

"The competitive nature of the e-Business world is so clearly reflected in the teams racing. Many of these companies are direct business competitors. The teams that work together and best utilize their resources, combined with a bit of luck, will win the race. This is real business" says Cathy Benko, Deloitte Consulting's Global e-Business leader.

The Presidio Challenge enables corporations to experience a new level of team-building for an entry fee of $3,500 per team, far less than that of an expedition race such as the Eco-Challenge. The event includes all course setup and management, permits, medical support, two receptions and team hotel accommodations. Importantly, the event encourages companies to extend their participation beyond the three competitors. Company employees can serve as on-course volunteers and participating companies can invite unlimited numbers of employees to the finish area and reception. Deloitte Consulting and PARA invite all corporations to attend and enter a new realm of corporate teamwork. All interested corporations can contact Presidio Adventure Racing Academy at 415-775-8210 or www.presidioar.com. The deadline for enrollment is October 1, 2000, and PARA will be conducting optional skills clinics in the weeks prior to the event to help prepare teams in the skills of navigation, kayaking and climbing.