Introduction to Adventure Racing

Adventure racing has experienced huge growth over the past 10 years. 20 years ago, the sport did not even exist! Nowadays, there are events suiting all abilities; some are extreme and can last for days; others are bite-sized portions of adventure on your doorstep lasting a few hours. We have identified the best of the UK adventure scene and provide some information on how to get involved in this exciting new sport.

The term “Adventure Racing” itself is tricky to define – indeed some say it’s not a sport at all – simply a combination of existing adventure disciplines put together into an exciting and engaging “race” format. Therein lies the first major advantage of adventure racing, or “AR,” as its known. There is bags of choice. This can be confusing but invariably all adventure races take a certain degree of commonality. The classic Adventure Race can best be described as an event that features multiple adventure disciplines, combined into a single event format. Races can be solo or team events and frequently, navigation is involved to find your way around the course, but not always.

It does bear some similarity to triathlon, although the major differences lie in the fact that triathlon is wholly an individual sport, whereas AR is frequently team based. Triathlon is also based around a common race format, whereas AR boasts total flexibility in its many differing guises. The origins of AR are widely said to be found in the early ninetiesvand it achieved major media coverage when an aspiring Hollywood TV producer chanced upon a French event operating in outlandish places around the world, called the Raid Gauloises. Mark Burnett assembled a team and competed in this grueling event and he loved it. He convinced Discovery Channel to back him and thus developed an annual event called the Eco-Challenge, which echoed the Raid’s rugged wilderness feel and selected only the most dramatic places on Earth in which to stage this epic adventure. The Eco-Challenge proved a massive hit both for competitors and TV viewers and formed the catalyst for Burnett to reach the heady heights of Hollywood super-stardom as he went on to produce the Survivor and Apprentice reality TV formats, amongst others.

The Eco-Challenge is long gone, but there are many world-class races that remain that echo this adventuring spirit. The Primal Quest (www.ecoprimalquest.com) race is the USA is said by many to be the top dog and the Adventure Racing World Series features 10 events from around the world culminating in a final held every year, at which the best in the business take each other on. Last year, this event was held in Scotland (www.arwc2007.com) proved a worthy adversary for some of world’s top teams. So tough was the 500km course through the Scottish mountains, lochs and glens that only a handful of teams finished the full race. But this is the pinnacle of the genre. The World Champs in Scotland benefited the UK scene in bringing the sport to more media audiences closer to home and in 2008 in the UK there is a flourishing selection of events designed to cater to all levels.

Entry level races are held almost every weekend and typically last between four to six hours. These usually involve mountain biking and trail running (often with a map and compass) and sometimes they involve kayaking too. Further up the scale of difficulty, the races increase in size and stature to one day events and then multi-day competitions. As they grow in scale, so too does the list of sports involved.

Disciplines typically involve biking, running (or trekking depending on how long the event is) and kayaking and frequently involve map-reading. However there are other challenges in some events, such as mental team-work problem solving. There can also be exciting and challenging rope-work, such as abseiling, climbing or zip wires. In some events, “canyoning” and “coasteering” are involved, seeing competitors jump from waterfalls, abseil ravines and climb cliff faces above the sea. All this combines for an awesome experience, either in a team racing hard for the silverware or with mates. It is a mental and physical challenge and all events involve a good deal of team tactics and pre-planning to ensure you get the most out of your route.

The Facts

Who’s it for?
Anyone at all. For an entry level event, see below on information on “Getting started.” The nature of the team-based ethos of the sport means you are sure a warm welcome at these events and adventure races generally are renowned for having a friendly feel and are very welcoming to newcomers. Most events dictate you must be over 18 but there are some events where you can be 16 or over and indeed some events where you can compete in a special youth class. Detail Events (www.allinthedetail.com) offer the largest selection of events and have events catering for all levels and from ages 16+. More info below.

Where are they?
Events are held all over the UK and Ireland. Some are in “rural” areas such as the Home counties, the Cotswolds and the New Forest and others are in more remote and rugged areas such as Wales, the Lake District and Scotland. There are even urban adventure races now with the highly acclaimed Rat Race Urban Adventure (www.ratraceadventure.com) taking its heritage from AR. This is now staged in 10 cities across Britain and Ireland.

When are they?

The “season” lasts all year, with most events occurring between March and November.

How fit do I need to be?
For entry level races you should get fit enough to bike 20km and run 5km. If the event is navigation based, you should be able to read a standard OS 1:50 000 scale map and be able to use a compass. For kayaking, no special qualifications are usually required for entry-level events but you do need to be able to paddle in a straight line!

There are some training courses offered but really, you just need to sign up for your first event and get into it. Ask the organisers specific questions on skills required and kit and just go for it! Pairing up and doing it with a mate is a good way to start – it allows you to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, although does lead to possible arguments over where you are on the map!

Insurance and risk

Adventure racing is demanding and inevitably exposes competitors to levels of risk. A lot of events are professionally managed by Detail Events and other companies, however not all. You should check the insurance status of the event before entering. The nature of the activity involved dictates that safety systems and staff are used to manage the risks and if you are entering an event run by one of the main companies, you are in good hands. We do suggest that competitors consider having individual insurance cover for their sporting endeavours and would recommend www.x1sports.com/insurance  or www.lifestylexperts.com where simple policies can be downloaded to cover the types of sports found in adventure races.

Getting Started

For a superb introduction to the sport, we recommend the ACE Races events (www.aceraces.com), run by Detail Events. ACE Races are brilliant events for anyone looking for a challenging day out in the countryside. Pace yourself and enjoy the activities and the views, or go all out and compete in the ACE Race Series, racing head to head with others at 3 events over the summer. You might be considering making a foray into this exciting sport or you might be looking for a different style of event to do at the weekend. You might have a load of mates and just want to go and “get amongst it” or you might be training for other outdoor or endurance pursuits. If you are any of the above, chances are that an ACE Race 1 day event will be for you, and you will love it. Other the years 1000s have taken part in ACE Races and enjoyed the great locations, the exciting courses and the challenging activities. The concept is routed in the founding principles of ACE Races – Adventure, Challenge and Endurance. The first event of the 2008 series kicks off in Sussex at Ashdown Forest on 10^th May.

What’s involved?
The 1 day ACE Race event last for up to 5 hours and comprises running and biking sections that link together check points – “CPs” – and it’s your task to collect as many of these as you can throughout the event. You will use maps (provided) to get your way around the course and collect as many CPs as you can. You go as fast or as slow as you like and you can compete as a team of 3, a pair or a solo. Along the way, you will encounter challenges that you must overcome. These are fun and engaging – and could be mental or physical or both! If you have done one or two of these 1 day events, or you fancy getting involved at a more committing level in the first instance, ACE Races do run a longer event called the Dirty Weekend. This event involves running and biking like the 1 day series, but introduces kayaking, rope work and other challenges into the format in terrain that is more rugged. The 2008 Dirty Weekend will take place in Southern Scotland over the weekend of 05th/ 06th July and it is uniquely positioned to allow you take part in a 1 day, 2 day or “elite” overnight class within the event.

The ACE 1 day events are intended to give a really good introduction to adventure racing. They are deliberately non-intimidating and the atmosphere warm and friendly. The training you will need to do and the skills you will need to have acquired are relatively modest. You will need a bike (although you can hire one from the organisers) and be confident riding it on easy off-road terrain. You will also be running off road, so ensure you are up to scratch with more rugged terrain than just your local streets. The maps are provided and at least one person in the team needs to be able to read it! The navigation is fun though and is not designed to catch you out. It’s a great skill to learn and ACE Races help you do just that!

For more info on the full world of AR, go to www.sleepmonsters.com where you can find team mates, read race reports and get valuable training info. To find out more about the ACE Races series, go to www.aceraces.com and to see more events operated by Detail Events, go to www.allinthedetail.com or email them at info@allinthedetail.com. To “go urban,” check out www.ratraceadventure.com and to see what the best in the business are up to, check out www.ecoprimalquest.com.