COEUR d'ALENE - Dave Adlard has organized the Great West Gymfest at The Coeur d'Alene Resort.

He's the man behind Adventure Sports Week at Farragut State Park.

Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The Athol man's latest creation is called "Expedition Idaho" and as they say, it's a doozy.

"This is without question the most complex event I've ever done," he said.

He referred to it as a combination of "Man vs Wild meets The Amazing Race."

Fifteen co-ed teams of four will try to travel some 420 miles over 7 days and climb more than 100,000 feet in elevation. Travel might not be the best word. Day and night, they'll mountain bike, run, walk, climb, canoe, bushwhack, and God knows what else while trying to locate checkpoints all on an unmarked course that they have to navigate by map and compass.

And they won't be on roads, paths and sidewalks.

They'll mostly be in wilderness, from the Silver Valley to Sandpoint and even into Montana.

This isn't about just being in good shape, which you have to be because an hour's sleep will be a luxury. It's about survival.

"This is some of the most inhospitable terrain around," Adlard said, chuckling at the course he designed that required 14 permits.

Teams won't even know the course until the race begins at Silver Mountain Resort at 10 a.m. Sunday. The winner, hopefully, will finish between 2 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20 in the midst of Silver Mountain's "Brewsfest" beer and music festival at the summit.

Just how tough is this course?

Well, Adlard took world champion mountain bike racer Mike Kloser for a test run on sections of the bike course.

"He didn't make four miles an hour on the course," Adlard said.

Kloser is part of the organizing team, and has been in town testing the course.

"I've raced all over the world on some of the most difficult and amazing terrain imaginable, and on nearly every level, Expedition Idaho will stack up against the best PQ courses or world championship venues," he said.

Adlard said the toughest part of the race is named "Heart of Darkness," which will have the teams trekking over 45 miles, climbing almost 28,000 feet, over six mountain tops, much of it "bushwhacking" through the dense forest for at least one full day and night, non-stop, likely without stopping to sleep.

Teams paid $4,000 each to enter and will be competing for cash prizes. They are coming from New Zealand, France, and Spain, as well as across the U.S.

During Expedition Idaho, they'll get about two hours of sleep per night, while managing their own food, water and equipment while covering ground as quickly as possible.

No problem.

Adventure racers like these tend to be among the fittest on the planet.

"These are people doing Ironman as a warmup for a day's training," Adlard said, laughing.

They're not here for the prize money. Some are trying to qualify for the Adventure Racing World Series. For others, it's about testing their limits. For others, because it's there.

"They're addicts," he said. "They do it to see if they can."

Adlard, who completed Ironman Coeur d'Alene and the five-day "Desert Winds" race across the Mojave desert, said it will take physical - and mental - toughness to reach the finish line.

"You just really have to break the daunting course down into small sections, and then keep putting one foot in front of the other," he said.

Every racer will struggle, he said, whether from fatigue, injury, and dehydration. But that's what teams are for.

"When one of your team members is bonking, the others pick up the slack and carry their pack for a while, or tow them on the bike until they can get it back together," Adlard said. "No one complains, because you know it's just a matter of time until it's your turn."

Help needed for

Expedition Idaho

"We're looking for everything from operations help, to folks who want to head out with a tent and sleeping bag and man a remote checkpoint," organizer Dave Adlard said. "We're also looking for a couple of host families for international teams for a day or two on either side of the race."

The organizers are also trying to gather the last of a massive pile of supplies and vehicles required to shadow the teams around the course. They are in need of panel truck/vans, various ATVs and even dirt bikes, as well as people who may want to ride them, possibly helping ferry camera people and medical people into the field if needed.

Details of the race, as well as the live race tracker and leaderboard can be found at http://expeditionidahorace.com, or you can call Adlard at (208) 664-0135 to volunteer or for more information.