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! This is the second of five posts. 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 #4: No Crowds.

I live in northern Virginia, one of the worst traffic areas and most populated regions of the country. There are crowds everywhere…at restaurants, on the highways and local streets, and even along the sidewalks. It often seems that nothing and no one can escape the ever present crowd in this area. And what I noticed recently as drove with my wife to pick up our packets for the Hot Chocolate 15k race held at the National Harbor is that not even athletic events that are supposed to get you outside and away from the hustle and bustle of city life are safe from the congestion that is the norm here in DC. As I think back to the races I’ve done over the years in this area and think about the experiences of traveling to the race, picking up my race packet or other information, parking the car, and then competing in the event, I realized that more often than not there was traffic getting there, parking was a pain, and that I stood at the starting line with thousands of complete strangers that I will never see again. If you’ve ever been out to a post race brunch with other runners, you know that sometimes the brunch and visiting with friends afterwards is one of the best parts of doing a race. While this scenario is not true for all events, I think many people have experienced what I’m describing.

When I set out to write down “my favorite five attributes of adventure racing that make the sport incredibly awesome,” one of the first things that came to mind was the amazing people that I’ve met over the past seven years I’ve been racing. I knew none of them before I started. As I thought about what it was about adventure racing that provided me the opportunity to meet and develop lasting friendships with so many amazing and like-minded people, it struck me…

no crowds.

Most running races in the area have five, ten, or even 20,000 participants. And after the typical running race, competitors walk through an impersonal set of tables where they can quickly grab a half of a banana, some pretzels, and a bottle of water, and then continue on without so much as a single word to their fellow competitors. The same is true for many triathlons, especially road TRIs, where a 1,000 or more athletes take the staring line, finish, and go home often times without ever making a new friend or hearing stories from the event. I don’t mean to take anything away from those events, because many of them are wonderful and anything that gets people outside and sweating I support. I cried when I crossed the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon years ago before I ever started adventure racing, and I was surrounded by literally thousands of other finishers. It was an emotional experience to push myself that far. But something was missing…only I didn’t know it was until I found the sport that changed by life.

Adventure racing is different.

The typical adventure race will only have 100 or 200 racers at most, and often has a cut off at that higher number. This is a stark contrast to the many road races that draw tens of thousands of participants, or even races like the Tough Mudder that last summer drew 5,000 participants each day at the Wintergreen events near Charlottesville. Most adventure races I’ve competed in over the past 7 years have had between 50 and 150 participants. Even Primal Quest back in 2008 when I raced only had about 160 people racing. There has been a great deal of debate over the years about how to grow the sport and get more people at the races. I for one think that the smaller number of participants is one of the attributes of adventure racing that make it so amazing.

By limiting the number of participants in each race, and providing a post race atmosphere that encourages racers to socialize, share their knowledge, and tell stories about their experiences during the race allows for competitors to get to know each other and builds a strong sense of community. For newer races, it serves as a great opportunity to find new teammates and training partners. Building the AR community is one of our goals at Adventure Addicts Racing, and you will see evidence of that goal at the Adrenaline Rush Adventure Race on March 17, 2012. We would love for you to come and experience for yourself the amazing sense of community adventure racing offers.

Sing with me now…

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn’t you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.”

Adventure…cheaper than therapy.

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