I’ve had countless people ask me over the years what adventure racing is all about, and what makes it different than other multi-sports like triathlon. I’ve come up with my favorite five attributes of adventure racing that make the sport incredibly awesome! We’d enjoy hearing from you, so please feel free to leave a comment. Who knows…maybe with your input we can develop the comprehensive list of why AR rocks!
So here we go…Reason #5: Variety and Surprise.
There are no marked courses in adventure racing and no two courses are ever the same. The order in which you do each discipline (mountain biking, trail running, paddling, etc.) varies from race to race. Unlike triathlon, you may do each discipline multiple times during an event. For example, in our Adrenaline Rush Adventure Race you may start on foot, then paddle, then mountain bike, then paddle again, then be back on foot, and finish on bike. And the best part of this variety is that you don’t know the order or even WHERE you are going until you get your race map…SURPRISE!
Adventure races take place during the day, and at night. Sometimes it’s hot, other times it’s cold. A lot of times it’s hilly, while on occasion it’s flat. At one point you feel like a rockstar and have tons of energy, other times you bonk and rely on your teammates to pull you up a hill…VARIETY!
Variety and surprise are two of the many ways that adventure racing is different, and I dare say more awesome, than other multi-sports. Sign up for an Adventure Race and see for yourself.
Tips for dealing with variety and surprise as a racer
So there is no doubt that one of the most awesome attributes of adventure racing can also be one of it’s most intimidating, especially for beginner racers. Here are a few tips to help:
- Break down the race into sections and remain focused on the task at hand. Tell yourself and your teammates (literally) that in this section we are going to mountain bike for about 2 hours and we have three checkpoints to find. This is especially important in longer races. If you focus too much on the entire it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Now that being said, it’s a good idea is to have one person (typically your captain) keep tabs on the big picture and be aware of things like time cut-offs.
- Once you get your map and instructions for travel, review the entire flow of the race with ALL your teammates two or three times. Everyone on the team should know the basic order of disciplines…for example, “we are going to start on bike (figure about 2 hours), then we have a 5 mile paddle (about an hour or so), then we’re on foot for 10 miles, and then we finish back on bikes. This does two important things…first, it makes everyone on the team feel involved; and second, it informs each team member on how much food to bring on each section and what gear they will need (e.g., you need to carry your running shoes even though we are starting on bikes);
- Just roll with it…use your brain…and take your time when you need to. You may get to a point on a course where perhaps you’re just not sure of the best route to take, or you really need to stop for a five minute break and eat something. Do it…often times (especially when the navigation is tricky) you have to slow down to go fast.
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