AR Terminology
OK! You've done your homework, you've signed up for a race (or two!), and you've found a teammate. Now you'll want to study up a bit on some of the terminology that you might come across pre-race, during registration, and during the event itself. In an entry-level sprint race, you will only be exposed to a portion of the following terminology, but if you are entering the sport through a longer event, especially a multi-day one, you have a whole new language to learn! There are countless variations of terms, plenty of additional slang, and more nuanced terminology to unpack, but these are some of the most common words and phrases you will encounter in adventure racing:
The Basics
CPs/Checkpoints/Controls – All refer to the checkpoints that must be located using map-and-compass navigation. Typically, CPs are three-dimensional orienteering flags (see picture on right) colored orange/white, sometimes with reflective strips, sometimes with little blue strips for the colorblind. But CPs can be just about anything. RDs (see below) usually make it clear before the event starts what you should be looking for. Sometimes checkpoints are permanent objects like monuments, plaques, or signs. In such cases, racers are asked to record a number, word, or phrase. Read the instructions and clue sheet carefully before the race, and make sure you listen to the race director during the pre-race meeting. If they don’t tell you what you are looking for, ask!
Clue Sheet and/or Course Rules – Before the race begins, teams are provided with a set of instructions and a detailed clue sheet. The clue sheet usually describes the what you are looking for to confirm you’ve found each CP/checkpoint. Rookies and seasoned vets alike constantly make the classic blunder of not reading these crucial documents closely enough. It’s easy to miss important information, and when this happens, teams lose valuable time or face stiff penalties, sometimes even disqualification. These sheets often have very important distinctions for legs like “obtain CPs in ANY order” vs. “must be in sequential order” or they often denote if there are any nearby areas “off limits” to racers like private property.
Passport – Lose your passport when you are overseas and you might never go home. Lose your passport in an adventure race and you might be out of the event... If checkpoints are scattered all over the place and are mostly unmanned flags out in the wilderness, how does a race director know if racers have actually found them? Passports! Passports are generally slips of paper or small booklets that prove racers found checkpoints. Volunteers sign your passport when you arrive at a staffed CP, or racers “punch” their passports at remote CPs using a small stapler/punch with a unique punch pattern matched to that specific CP. Some races also rely on electronic punching (see below) and dippers in lieu of paper passports. Passports provide proof that you found CPs and completed the course, as sucxh if you lose your passport, the race director has no idea if you’ve found any of the checkpoints. Keep your passport safe and dry. Lost passports typically lead to disqualification or significant penalties.
Electronic Punching/E-Punching – Some RDs utilize electronic technology to track teams’ progress through a course. Instead of using a traditional orienteering punch and paper passport, RDs use e-punches. An e-punch is composed of a small electronic recording device (think USB “thumb” drive) that tracks a team’s arrival when it meets up with an electronic control box that is installed/hung alongside the checkpoint. A big “Pro” for E-punches is that it allows racers some more advanced benefits like being able to just put the e-punch on a necklace rather than maintaining a potentially tearable/non-waterproof piece of paper for many hours, plus most races with e-punches give you data post race showing all the racers time stamps for each checkpoint in results data. The “con” of e-punches is that if you lose them in the woods, it usually comes with a replacement fee.
RD = Race Director – Pretty self-explanatory! At most local events, the RD does it all. They plan logistics, design the course, handle the communication, etc. Sometimes (usually in bigger events) multiple people take on specific roles, dividing up the course design, logistics, etc. An adventure race is the RDs work of art, but it takes a big team of staff/volunteers to put adventure races on.
TAs/Transitions/Transition Areas – These are staffed locations along the course where teams change disciplines. In longer races especially, teams have access to team or personal gear bins, bags, and bike boxes with gear, food, and clothing you'll need before starting the next section. Sometimes RDs provide food, drink, and facilities at TAs, but sometimes it’s nothing more than a grass lot to drop your bikes off or an empty boat ramp with a fleet of canoes waiting.
Cutoffs – All races have a time cutoff at the finish line. Many have additional embedded time-cutoffs (ex: “must be finished with Leg 2 by 1:00pm”). Such cutoffs are typically designed for 2 reasons, #1 racer safety, and #2 considerations for permitting and staff/volunteers. If there were no cutoffs, what would be racers motivation to move, the last place team could in theory take 2 to 5+ times longer than the fast teams to complete a leg or the entire race. So short-course (see below) options give all teams a better chance of finishing the course without the need to leave volunteers/staff out on the course for endless hours. While most RDs allow racers to continue on a modified, short course if they miss a cutoff, some disqualify teams for missing these cutoffs and remove them from the event.
Full Course and/or “Clearing” the Course – Teams finishing the “full course” often referred to as “clearing the course” complete the entire race course as designed without missing or skipping any checkpoints. Contemporary expedition courses tended to be very difficult to complete for most teams, as such many RDs designed “short-course” options so that more teams could finish officially. In many modern races there are designated “mandatory” vs. “optional” checkpoints whereby many racers may finish the race getting only the mandatory CPs, but are outranked by teams that “clear” or get more optional checkpoints in the final standings.
Short Course – RDs tend to design “short-course” options at most expedition races and many one-day events to accommodate teams unable to complete/clear the full course. Different than “rogaine” style or “modified rogaine” style events, teams are still required to find all the mandatory CPs they are tasked to find. Typically, teams are given time cutoffs. If they fail to make a time cutoff, they will be re-routed, bypassing part of the course and its corresponding CPs. Once back on the official course, teams then must find all the remaining CPs to be ranked as official finishers (unless they are short-coursed more than once, which is possible). They will be ranked behind all “full-course” teams, however, regardless of whether they finish ahead or behind of such teams according to time. These design decisions make adventure racing more accessible and allow more teams to compete and finish events officially.
Reentrant – A reentrant is an orienteering term that probably most often confuses new racers, but its one of the most common terms you see during races. Merriam-Webster defines it as “an indentation in a landform”. Heather Williams, of the orienteering world, defines a reentrant in the following manner: “A reentrant appears on the map as a U or V shape in the contour lines, pointing back into a hillside rather than sticking out of the hill (as would a spur). So a reentrant is a small valley, the center of which would collect water and funnel it downhill (if it were raining hard).” These “valleys” or depressions can be dry, or you might find a stream of some sort in a reentrant.
Next Level Terms
At the 2022 Fall Foliage Adventure Race racers had to build a small LEGO before they could start Leg 1
Prologue – Most adventure races start with some sort of short challenge that is designed to spread the teams out. This is to avoid collisions/congestion at a trailhead or boat launch. These prologue challenges can be anything: a relay run, an orienteering loop, a mini multi-stage adventure race within a longer race, or some kind of puzzle using the surrounding park. In a short race, a prologue is typically anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour in duration. In expedition races, it might be a few miles of running or it could even last for several hours. Some RDs wait to provide teams with their maps and other course information until after the prologue challenge is completed, and others make the act of handing racers their maps the prologue itself by starting the race with handing out the maps and asking racers to plan their route on the clock, transforming the prologue into a mental and strategic challenge. You get the point; prologues can be just about anything!
Linear Course – Linear courses are the most traditional style of adventure race. Teams are required to visit all TAs and all CPs with each leg generally starting in one place and ending at the next leg’s beginning. As a result racers cannot skip a leg, because they are generally required to be complete each to get to the next. A common example is a paddle leg on a river would start in one spot and end several miles down the river, thus it is impossible to get to the next leg without paddling the full distance down the river. Teams failing to visit the mandatory checkpoints can be pulled off the course or shortcut further down and become ranked as unofficial. During these events, teams tend to spread out significantly, and more teams do not finish. Some RDs design “short courses”, still allowing teams to finish officially, though these teams are ranked behind anyone finishing the “full course”.
Rogaine – A Rogaine is class of event mostly associated with orienteering. These events have a central start/finish and dozens of CPs. Racers/teams have a pre-determined amount of time to find as many checkpoints as possible. Typically, rogaine RDs set more CPs than can be found by any team, which forces teams to strategize and decide which CPs to skip. Adventure racing RDs sometimes rely on this approach to course design, making some or even all CPs optional. Most rogaine course are also designed that racers can obtain checkpoint in whatever order they want, ramping up the ability to strategize their route.
Modified Rogaine – The best of both worlds? Many adventure races require teams to travel from TA to TA with mandatory and optional CPs along the way. When there are also optional CPs, the course is described as a “modified rogaine” and hence combines elements of rogaines with linear course design. The benefit to these courses is that they are more accessible to all levels of racers. More experienced, faster, and more skilled teams typically try to “clear” the course. Less experienced racers can still participate and finish officially, focusing on the mandatory points and adding optional points depending on their strengths and weaknesses. Modified rogaines and rogaine-style courses are designed to keep all racers out for the duration of the event, or close to it.
Dotwatcher – Most expedition races, and several modern one-day events, utilize satellite tracking during their events. In these events, teams are equipped with a satellite tracking device that is used for safety management, first and foremost. In addition, most of the time RDs share their tracking maps with viewers at home, allowing spectators to track their favorite teams as they progress through the course. “Dotwatchers” refers to those spectators who follow along, tracking the dots or “breadcrumbs” of teams, displayed on the tracking map, showing viewers at home a given team’s route of travel. Dotwatching gets intense, with people across the globe joining discussion forums to analyze how the race is unfolding. Many experience sleep deprivation to match the racers they are following.
Bushwhacking – You guessed it! Say goodbye to the comfort and ease of trails and roads. Even the shortest adventure races tend to include a bit of off-trail travel. These segments can be purely for the experience, requiring little more than a good attitude and basic navigation, but many adventure races (especially one-day events and expeditions) ramp up the navigational challenge when they tempt or require teams to travel overland. Such sections can be daunting, and they often separate the teams with more experience from those with less. Bushwhacking can be anything from wide open, big-sky, spiritual trekking to soul-crushing jungle bashing.
Bikewhacking – See “Bushwhacking.” Add a bike to the mix. Yes, bushwhacking with a bike.
Boatwhacking – See “Bushwhacking.” Now, add a boat. You read that right. This is not the most common discipline in adventure racing, but it will leave you with some of the most vivid memories of your racing career if you are 'fortunate' enough to do it.
Portage – Portaging means requires teams to travel with their boats overland during a paddling section. Various factors determine whether RDs will include portaging in an adventure race: dams, shallow water, dangerous rapids, private property, geography requiring teams to travel between water features, strategic decisions, and occasionally a sick sense of humor. Most of the time, teams simply carry their boats, either as a team or individually. In expedition races, some RDs communicate ahead of time to let teams know that they will benefit from using a portage trolley/portage wheels. Sustained portaging is not common in shorter events.
Sleepmonsters – Sleepmonsters come out at night, usually two to three nights into an expedition race. Because adventure racing is a non-stop event that welcomes and often necessitates significant sleep deprivation, the human brain starts to play games with exhausted racers. In short, hallucinations are not uncommon, though most racers only experience this phenomenon in multi-day racing. Ask any seasoned expedition racer and you will be regaled with stories of castles in the woods, buffets of mouth-watering meals on a lonely moor, or terrifying encounters with animals that certainly don’t exist. Sleepmonsters are not necessarily monsters, but they never are real… even when two teammates see them at the same time. This does happen!
Supported vs. Unsupported – Typically expedition races are described as supported or unsupported. Decades ago, many expedition races were supported events, but most multi-day races today are typically unsupported. Supported events require teams to provide their own support crew. These support crews are responsible for moving a team’s gear and may assist their teams in TAs. In an unsupported event, teams are not allowed this outside assistance. The RDs transport teams’ equipment for them. Unsupported events require teams to be more self-sufficient and considerably decrease expenses, as teams do not need to rent vehicles or support their crews financially. Supported events add additional elements of strategy, as the support crew can influence how the team performs and makes TAs “easier” for the racers.
UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator…It’s a bit of a mouthful. Everyone calls them UTMs. In short, the UTM system is a coordinate grid system found on some topographic maps; it’s an alternative to longitude and latitude. Occasionally, an RD will ask racers to plot CPs by providing them with numerical UTM coordinates. Teams must use a small mapping tool with UTM measurements to plot the points. This adds a different sort of navigational mapping skill. Being adept at UTM plotting also allows teams to provide an RD with coordinates in case of an emergency. This skill is becoming less common, and most RDs now pre-plot their maps for racers.
Of course, there is plenty more to learn. Endurance athletes have their own slang and lingo, and you’ll slowly pick it up. For now, this should give you a good reference point to the common language used to explain the sport.