The Transition: AR News and Updates
Friday, September 25, 2025
2025 USARA National Championship
Results—Premier Mixed Gender
The mixed gender division has always been the premier division in the sport of Adventure Racing and in the USARA National Championship race. And for seven of the 24 races, a member from this year’s championship team has stood atop the podium.
Justin Bakken, Mari Chandler, Brian Mayer have 17 National Championships between them, including four as teammates on WEDALI.
The race was anything but easy as an early navigation error dropped them into last place.
“We just kept pushing,” said Chandler after the race in an interview with Doug Silk of AR DotWatch.
The team pushed through the long, hot opening trek and realized after the paddle that they had made their comeback when they saw just a few of the top teams.
Later a sleepy electronic control clued them in that they might be back in front.
“When you put your stick in and (the e punch) hasn’t been used in a while, it takes an extra second to beep,” said Mayer. When a control gave Mayer a delayed beep, he told his team, “I’m pretty sure that one was just woken up.”
In second place in the mixed gender division was Rachel Furman, Jarrod Shoemaker, and Ben Collins of team Highpoint. In third place was Kate White, Cliff White, and Glen Lewis of Strong Machine AR. In fourth place was Eric Olsen, Ronny Angell, and Sara Dallman Odyssey Adventure Racing, who also won the Master’s Division. In fifth place was Tim Buchholz, Anna Nummelin, and Erik Martinez of Rib Mountain Racing.
**CORRECTION** In last week’s Transition, we regretfully misidentified the acronym WEDALI that stands for We Eat Dust And Like It. We also indicated that WEDALI had won three of the last four National Championships. While technically correct, the more precise statistic is that WEDALI has won four of the last five National Championships. The author regrets the error but not all of the dust he has eaten as WEDALI has passed him in a race.
Race Photos
Race photos are available at the USARA SmugMug site.
Race Report
ARWS World Championship
The ARWS World Championship has started. Follow all the action at arworldseries.com.
The Gear Shed: Gear for Adventure Racing
Your $35 yearly membership to USARA gets you access to all the deals at ExpertVoice!
REMINDER: A screenshot of the USARA membership from run signup will suffice for joining ExpertVoice. Directions are available on our membership page.
News from the Adventure Race/Endurance World
ART Episode 1: Introduction to The Adventure Race Training Podcast
Adventure Racing World Championship kicks off in Pemberton Sept. 25
IARA’s position regarding World Obstacle remains clear
Training processes of World Masters Orienteering Championship medalists
90-Year-Old Paddling Legend Goes For New Appalachian Trail Record
Upcoming USARA Adventure Race Events
Tracking Links by Adventure Enablers
September 2025
VentureQuest Adventure Race (4+8 Hour), Va, Sept. 28
October 2025
Wild Driftless Adventure Race, IA, Oct. 4
Central Indiana Adventure (CIA), IN, Oct. 4
Buff Betty Women’s Adventure Race, VA, Oct. 4
Fall Foliage Adventure Race, VA, Oct. 18 LIVE TRACKING LINK
La Pine Loop, OR, Oct. 18
La Pine Loop Family Race, OR, Oct. 19
Off Road Rage Adventure Race, MO, Oct. 25
November 2025
Milwaukee Area Fall Frenzy, WI, Nov. 1
The Two Rivers Adventure Race, PA, Nov. 15
No Sleep Adventure Race, IN, Nov. 22
December 2025
Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge- Winter Edition, WI, Dec. 6
May 2026
Cerberus 3 Day Stage Race, VA, May 8
Have an adventure story, race report or an article to share with fellow adventure racers? Send it to social@usara.com for inclusion in the Transition.
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