What is Adventure Racing?
The first formal adventure race was the Raid Gauloises held in 1989 in New Zealand,
it was created by Gerard Fusil, whom many call the father of adventure racing.
The press coverage of this race caught the eye of a man named Mark Burnett, who
decided to try the race and then bring it to America. The first race on U.S.
soil was in 1995 with the Eco-Challenge in Utah.
Running was in the thing in
the 70’s and in the 80’s it was triathlon, today adventure racing is growing at
an amazing rate with over 400 races in the US alone. It draws outdoor people;
mountain bikers, trail runners as well as triathletes who want to test them
selves against other teams and Mother Nature.
There are 3 basic types of races. Sprint races, such as the Balance Bar Adventure Sprint Races that last 3- 6 hours and cover approximately 20 miles or the Endorphin Fix race that lasts 30-50 hours and covers approximately 125 miles. The second type of race is a Stage race when athletes race during the day and stay in comfy warm, dry hotels at night like they do in the Tour De France bike race, a example of this type race is the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest held in China. These races last up to 12 days. The third type of race is probably the most well known, it is called an Expedition race, this is the Eco-Challenge where teams race over many days and miles non-stop with little or no sleep. These races can last up to ten days.
The disciplines found in adventure racing vary depending on whether it is a Sprint, Stage or Expedition race. But most adventure races include mountain biking; trail running/trekking, some type of paddling and orienteering/navigation. Also found in longer adventure races: caving, ropes courses, ascending, rappelling, swimming, horseback riding, roller blading etc.
Though some Adventure Races have solo divisions, the true spirit of adventure racing is teamwork. Most events are co-ed teams of 3 or 4 athletes. This team concept makes Adventure racing very different from Triathlon because all teammates must complete the entire course together. This sport continues to grow daily with new races, sponsorship money and companies that design gear just for adventure racing like Argear.com and Arequip.com. It also is getting more media support with races on NBC, CBS, ESPN and OLNTV. As well as live coverage of races on the Internet. The future of AR is certainly an intriguing one.
For More Information Please contact Boris!
Train Well!
Boris G. Robinson
Triathlete / T3 Coach