What is Adventure Racing?

DEFINITION OF 

THE SPORT OF ADVENTURE RACING

Adventure Racing is a multi-discipline sport that originally developed as a multiday, non-stop, expedition-style event in which natural and varied terrain was to be navigated and traversed by teams with minimal outside assistance. Teamwork, navigation, and different disciplines of human-powered travel form an integral part of Adventure Racing. Adventure racing events have evolved to vary in format, team size and duration but they usually include these elements. Event locations, terrain, and course designs also vary and no two events are alike.

Minimum requirements of an adventure race

  • Two endurance disciplines: on and off-trail running/trekking, mountain biking and paddling.
  • An unmarked course that includes checkpoints and transition areas. Checkpoints and transitions are located by map-and-compass navigation.
  • Entry format to require teams of 2 to 4 participants.

Terrain

  • Adventure racing is traditionally a challenging, endurance sport. Participants navigate through different regions and courses with terrain such as mountains, forests, rivers and deserts. As navigational courses require new terrain for each event, Race Directors of annual events will move their event to a new location in their country each year.
  • Short-distance sprint events may be held in the urban environment. Again, venues usually change with each edition of the event

Duration

  • Short-distance sprint events can be completed within hours, while expedition-length events span up to 10 days. Events are traditionally classified by duration (rather than distance) as sprint, 6hr, 12hr, 24hr, 36hr, 48hr and expedition races.
  • There is typically no suspension of the race clock during races, irrespective of length; elapsed competition time runs concurrently with real time, and competitors must choose if or when to rest. 
  • Staged events – where the race clock stops at the end of each day’s stage – have been held in the past and can be an area for growth in the sport to attract those participants who want to sleep each night.

Team format

  • Adventure racing historically required teams to be of a specified size and to include both men and women, but many races no longer restrict team size, allowing for paired, three-person and four-person teams of any gender composition, including single-gender teams. 
  • The established, official team format for longer and expedition-length events is that of a four-person team where one of the four must be of the opposite gender. The most common is a three-men, one-woman team format. 
  • Age-based categories (sum of participant ages) exist too.
  • No substitutions are permitted. The starting team members must stay together and finish together to be ranked. Should a team member withdraw during the event due to illness or injury, the remaining team members may be permitted to continue unranked. Two or more partial teams may join together to complete a race but they will still be unranked in the results.

Team entries are the defined participation format for the sport of Adventure Racing and a key element of the sport. That said, adventure races with solo entrants are acknowledged. Solo participants are more likely to be permitted in short-distance rather than multi-day events for safety considerations and having solo participants can help to boost entry numbers.

Disciplines

As a multidiscipline sport, adventure races should include:

  • a combination of two or more endurance disciplines, specifically on and off-trail running/trekking, mountain biking and paddling.
  • map-and-compass navigation: using any form of map from precise orienteering maps to topographical maps, orthophotos and aerial images. Orienteering-style navigation is a core element of adventure racing that distinguishes Adventure Racing from other multi-discipline sports. Within an event, additional navigational challenges may be included like sections with rogaining elements or those with letterbox or rally-style instructions.
  • the inclusion of other sporting disciplines depends on the location of the event and is determined by terrain, culture, season and available equipment. Disciplines that have been incorporated into adventure races include: trail running, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, stand-up paddling, tubing, packrafting, rope work (jumar, abseil, via ferrata, zip-lining), canyoning, coasteering, inline skating, snowski, ice skating, horse riding, camel riding, kick bikes, caving, swimming,  swimrun and team tasks. Traditional and cultural activities from the country or region where an event is hosted may also be incorporated.
  • Motorised transport is not permitted.

Solo & Marked-route ‘Adventure Races’

It is important to note that there are multi-discipline events – of short and long duration – that go by the term ‘adventure races’ but they do not include any navigational elements as routes are marked and participants follow tags. These events get more entries by having marked courses as navigation skills requirements can be a barrier to entry for inexperienced newcomers. While not strictly ‘adventure races’, these multisport events are recognised to be complementary to the sport of Adventure Racing and are included under the Adventure Racing umbrella.

Checkpoints and transition areas

Courses in adventure races are unmarked. The route that teams should follow is made up of locations reached by point-to-point navigation. Teams determine their own routes between points.

  • At transition areas (TAs), teams change from one discipline to the next. At the transition they are usually reunited with gear boxes, bike boxes, resupply boxes or, in the case of supported event formats, their support crew.
  • Checkpoints (CPs) are locations between transition areas that teams must find. These are usually unmanned, marked with a flag or board, but may be manned. There are two types of checkpoints:
    • Mandatory / compulsory: for an official finish, teams must locate these checkpoints.
    • Optional: visiting all optional checkpoints is required for a full-course finish but they can be strategically skipped by mid-field and back-marker teams to short-course themselves to finish within the event’s time limit. 

Competition

  • Adventure races are organised by Race Directors as one-time events or annual events that may be stand-alone events, or as part of a local, national or international event series. 
  • Events attract participants from various backgrounds, including elite athletes, outdoor enthusiasts, and recreational adventurers. They all seek the thrill of competition, exploration, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a challenging adventure race.
  • The sport includes competitive races at a local, national and international level and some countries having National Championships.
  • Adventure races test physical endurance and also mental resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Team members must work together to overcome difficulties, make strategic decisions, and push themselves to their limits while adapting to changing conditions throughout the race.

ENDS

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