Try an Adventure Race this year!

Adventure racing is a unique challenge of both teamwork and individual physical and mental fortitude. Activities generally include paddling, mountain biking, trekking and orienteering. Course and race length differ throughout the season so be sure to pay attention to these parameters when registering for a race. These events are either done solo or as team. Generally, it is difficult to find enough people willing to commit and train to become part of a team, but I’ve listed some helpful ideas to help you take that next step and give adventure racing a try.

When shopping for gear and equipment at local specialty shops and outdoor outfitters, inquire about local adventure racing teams, clubs and events. Often, there will be either an employee that is involved, or knows of local resources and can offer helpful suggestions.

Keep in mind, most events have four-person teams and require at least one female racer per team. By forming a training group larger than four people, your team can ensure that you will always have a full team on any given weekend because let’s face it; life happens. By planning ahead and choosing a handful of races as goals for the year that have an appropriate amount of time allotted between each race will ensure that you recover properly between races and have ample time to plan and train for each event. Plus, having a race penciled in on one’s calendar and paid for will lead to a higher level of commitment by you and your teammates.

The internet offers the most abundant sources of information. Many websites are dedicated solely to adventure racing where you can find event calendars and other helpful information. Many of these sites host space for teams to advertise for people to join them which might be a great place to begin looking for other active members of your community! Visit www.active.com for more information.

Training is the means to success in any endurance sport and especially in adventure racing. As my track club coach says, “The will to succeed means nothing without the will to prepare.” Swimming is an excellent form of cross training exercise that will increase your cardiovascular stamina without punishing your joints. Also, it’s very important to pinpoint your weakest discipline and pay extra attention to developing this area. Adventure racing is an extremely demanding sport so your weaknesses will quickly become obvious as the physical and mental stress of a 24 hour race deteriorates your focus and abilities. Take note that overtraining will do more harm than good so make sure to give your body time to rest and recover. A sensible training schedule will allow at least one full rest day per week. Make sure to ease into a training schedule gradually and comfortably increase the duration and level of your training as your fitness increases.