What is Adventure Racing?
We always get the question, "What is Adventure Racing?" Usually with a weird look. Here is the best response we've come compiled.
If you like to run around in the woods, get dirty, injured, sore, fight off poison ivy, bug bites, scrapes, cuts and train year round this sport is for you.
Picture yourself in a race with a few good friends running, hiking, biking, canoeing/kayaking, orienteering and trekking through the woods, on lakes and rivers. On dirt, gravel, sand, grass, and mud in day or night with nothing guiding you to the finish line but some old topographical and/or ariel maps and a compass. You don’t sleep for 24 to 36 hours. You fuel yourself on water, sports drinks, and whatever food you can carry in your backpack. (I prefer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and oreos) Then mix in 20 to 50 other teams trying to get to the finish line before you and your teammates... This is adventure racing!
I like to refer to adventure racing as trying to run a marathon through the forest while trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle at the same time, only much longer. Adventure Racing has become popular amongst cyclists, runners, and outdoor enthusiasts. Adventure races vary in distance and team formats. Popular race distances range from 6 – 12 hour sprints, 24 - 48 hour weekend challenges to the 5 - 7 day expeditionary lengths like the eco-challenge or Primal Quest. The disciplines can also vary from race to race.
Adventure Racing core disciplines include navigation with map and compass from point to point utilizing a combination of paddling, biking and trekking. Other legs of a race may include: rappelling, traversing or climbing natural rock formations. Horseback riding, scootering, and white-water swimming, along with mental tests are also popular additions.
Combined, these challenges offer an extreme test of physical and mental endurance. Add in the element of competing against other teams and you have a recipe for a sport that offers the human spirit an ultimate test like no other competition. With the exception of the few nationally recognized teams that obtain large corporate sponsorship most adventure racers earn little more than the pride of winning or even finishing a race. Some races that are sanctioned by the United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA) do reward its winners with a free entry to the annual National championships, cash prizes are very rare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_racing