Scouting for Nationals
The United States Adventure Racing Association National Championship will take place in Snowshoe, West Virginia on September 27 and 28, 2024.
Based out of Snowshoe Resort, the event will entail teams of three from across the country biking, paddling, and trekking for 30 hours nonstop through the remote and rugged wilderness of the Allegheny Mountains and Potomac Highlands.
Now in its 25th year, the USARA National Championship is the premier amateur adventure racing event in the United States. More than 200 racers are expected to take part in the race, vying for the title of national champion in three divisions: premier mixed gender, all-female, and all-male.
USARA Executive Director Michael Garrison, who raced the World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji, broadcast on Amazon Prime in 2020, explains, “What really distinguishes adventure racing from other extreme sports is the emphasis on teamwork and navigation. To finish an adventure race, teams have to work together and keep moving in the right direction, using only a map and compass. To win, teams have to do that and also go very fast.”
Local race organization Adventure Addicts Racing is designing the course and providing volunteers.
“Snowshoe is an outdoor recreation dream location,” Adventure Addicts Executive Director Michelle Faucher said. “The stars shine brighter, the air is cleaner, the water flows clear and pristine, and the mountain vistas are endless.”
USARA is eager for participating adventure race teams to learn why the area is called “Nature’s Mountain Playground.”
