Adventure Racing is a sport which combines other adventure sports into one race. An adventure race can last anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of weeks and more often than not are a team effort.
They usually contain an obstacle course or a mixture of hiking, mountain biking, climbing, kayaking, the list goes on! Here’s how to get into adventure racing.
Get started with adventure racing
A great way to get started with adventure racing is to get a team together and sign up to one of the shorter challenges. A popular one is Tough Mudder 5k, which has a greater focus on teamwork and exhilaration than on ‘winning a race’.
Or if you fancy something on a different theme, try a Zombie Evacuation Race! It’s a 5k fun run and you’ll be chased by Zombies to give you that little bit of extra motivation.
A little more adventure racing
If the 5k Tough Mudder has whet your appetite, you could try one of their longer obstacle races too. You could go for the 5 mile Tough Mudder Half or take on the 10 mile Tough Mudder Full.
Or if adventure sports are more your thing, try a multi-sport challenge. A multisport race might be something like 15km hiking, 15k mountain biking and 4k kayaking. But there are so many different combinations of sports and distances! Often these are more fun with a team and if you’re mates aren’t keen you can often join a charity group for company.
Maximum adventure
How about taking on the World’s Toughest Mudder? This race lasts for 24 hours and the man, woman and team that completes the most 5-mile obstacle course laps within that time-frame wins. There’s even a cash prize up for grabs!
Or, sign up for a multi-day adventure race. Multi-day races are usually 36-48 hours in duration, but they can be longer too. The additional challenges can be different choices of route, plus coping with lack of sleep whilst pushing your body to the limit. Usually you’ll need to have good navigation or orienteering skills before you enter, and you’ll need to put the time in to some serious training!