On Wednesday, May 19 at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT, USARA will host a public discussion on equity in, and access to, adventure racing. With this, we aim to begin a community-wide conversation about the current state of inclusion in the sport, and where we can go from here.
This discussion will be facilitated by diversity and inclusion educator Yi Shun Lai, and will bring together Kevin Hodder, race director for Eco-Challenge; Clifton Lyles, captain of Team Onyx and chair of the USARA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force; and Stephanie Ross, founder of the Women in Adventure Racing campaign. We invite you to join us — to listen, to learn, to ask questions, and to offer feedback. We invite you to come together to ensure that our beloved sport is a welcoming space for everyone who wants to take part, and that it continues to grow. Part of the great appeal of adventure racing is its intimacy and the ways in which it allows us to gather around shared experiences. These experiences are precious moments; they become the best stories, keep us coming back for more, and ultimately provide an escape from the “real world.” But as much as AR is an escape, it also exists within the social, political, and economic challenges facing our nation and the world around us. Our membership is not immune to these challenges. The tragic shootings in Georgia last week only underscore the need for all of us to look more closely at the part we can play in alleviating the pain that inequity can cause. USARA also takes this moment to affirm our commitment to fighting the entrenched systemic racism, xenophobia, and misogyny that creates inequitable systems. Adventure racers relish the discomfort we face in training and racing. We are a community well equipped for embracing the challenge of addressing the structural barriers to access and entry to our sport. Ultimately, this work will ensure its growth and sustainability for generations of racers to come. By Brent Freedland It’s race week! You've put in the hard work and training. You've built your team or found one to join. You’ve done your homework, dusted off your navigation skills, filled in holes in your gear inventory, and learned some new skills on the bike and in the boat. Now, you need to get to the start line, which experienced racers often joke is the hardest part of the event. When competing in a multi-day international expedition race, this does ring true, but for a short race, just focus on getting some rest, basic logistics, and paying attention to your email. Race Week
Bottom line: On race morning, look around. I guarantee you will see other racers and teams spending tens of minutes organizing gear, repacking food, or floundering with a disorganized pile of gear and food. This isn’t a criticism, and sometimes even the most experienced teams will lose time with these sorts of concerns. But if you show up on race day organized and prepared, you’ll have more time to work with your maps, strategize, warm up, and perhaps even relax. Race Day OK, hopefully, you live close enough to roll out of bed and hit the road at a reasonable hour, but do know that many racers end up camping or crashing in a cheap hotel the night before a race, since many ARs (especially races twelve hours or longer) require travel to more remote locations. Either way, set your clock early enough to give yourself time to wake up, grab some food, finish loading up the car if you didn’t pack it the night before, and get to registration on time. It always takes longer than you think it will, so maybe set the alarm fifteen minutes earlier than you want to! On that note: if an RD tells you that pre-race is open from 6AM to 8AM, show up at 6AM. Maybe even 5:45AM. Too many new racers roll in late during registration. The race may not start until 8:30AM, but that extra time before the gun goes off is crucial to maximizing your prep time. If you care about competition, a team with an extra hour to study maps, plot routes, strategize, and dial in their gear will have a massive advantage over a team with only fifteen minutes to complete an hour or prep. If you don’t care about competition, you are considerably more likely to have a smooth and enjoyable race if you maximize your planning time. Starting the race unsure of where the start line is, where your food is stored, or whether you have the right gear in your pack will probably result in a disastrous moment or three that might really impact your ability to enjoy or even finish the race. What do pre-race events typically look like?
A few other tips for pre-race:
Other Articles in the New to AR Series:
If you haven't already, like or follow USARA's Facebook page, join the AR Discussion Group, sign up for our newsletter, or consider becoming a USARA member to stay up to date on everything AR-related. This concludes our "New to AR" series, but keep an eye on our blog, social media sites, and website as we continue to produce new content for new racers and also those who have been racing for decades. By Brent Freedland When you sign up for a running race, it’s pretty simple: grab your shoes, your watch, and maybe a hydration vest and a bit of fuel, and off you go. Course marshals aren’t stopping you mid-course to check whether you have a triangular bandage in your first aid kit. You don’t need to create a gear closet, renovate your garage, or buy a new house to accommodate your growing gear collection. At first, adventure racing can be daunting, as you realize that assembling and packing your gear for a race can take as long as the event itself. But fear not! It’s not as bad as it seems, especially at the entry level. Here, we’ll consider the gear list for The Trilogy Adventure Race, a typical, beginner-friendly race hosted by the New York Adventure Racing Association. Below you will find the required gear list with some commentary concerning each item, what to consider when tackling your first race as it pertains to equipment, and an explanation for why an RD would require something you might not have or think you need. *This article is not intended to do a deep dive on specific gear or promote any specific companies. There are plenty of gear reviews, comparisons, and reports out there. For additional ideas on gear, join online discussion boards such as the Adventure Race Discussion Group for community feedback.
Equipment to be provided by participants Full-Time Mandatory Personal Equipment: Each team member must possess these items at all times.
Full-Time Mandatory Team Equipment: Each team must possess these items at all times
Mountain Biking Personal Mandatory Equipment: Each team member must possess these items at all times during mountain biking sections of the competition.
Mountain Biking Team Mandatory Equipment: Each team must possess the following at all times during mountain biking sections of the competition.
Paddling Personal Mandatory Equipment: Each team member must have the following while paddling.
Paddling Team Mandatory Equipment: Each team must supply the following
Suggested Gear (Not Mandatory)
Additional Gear Considerations While the above list represents a typical beginner race, here are some additional items commonly found on a simple gear list. Twelve-hour and even 24-hour events might require a bit more than what is covered in this article, but not much. Expeditions will increase the requirements.
Every race is different, and every RD publishes their own required gear list. A race in a cold environment will demand different (and likely more) equipment than one in a warm-weather climate. A six-hour sprint race will generally require less gear than a 24-hour one. There is no doubt that the more you race and the longer the events you compete in, the more gear you will have to accumulate. In addition, to some degree the quality of gear plays a role in how competitive you can be. Top teams have invested significantly in lighter gear that allows them to travel lighter, be more efficient, move faster, and preserve their bodies for longer.
That said, as noted above, when starting out, you can get creative and likely dig something out of a closet or borrow something to keep costs low. When you are ready to commit to the sport long-term, start thinking about investing in better gear and then prioritize your needs, budget for bigger purchases, and take advantage of holiday wish-lists. Most experienced racers accumulate gear over the course of years. Few are taking out a second mortgage to upgrade or buy everything all at once. And plenty of seasoned vets will also tell you that the most expensive, lightest, high-end piece of gear is not necessarily what you want or need for this sport in the first place. Other Articles in the New to AR Series: If you haven't already, like or follow USARA's Facebook page, join the AR Discussion Group, sign up for our newsletter, or consider becoming a USARA member to stay up to date on everything AR-related. And stay tuned for future articles in the "New to AR" series including:
By Brent Freedland Last week, we tackled two of the primary AR disciplines: biking and trekking. While most adventure racers put most of their training time into those two sports, paddling and navigation are important too, and proficiency in navigation is arguably the single most important skill to develop. Both skills are harder to train for, however, and while this may be true, new racers can't afford to ignore them altogether. Paddling Most adventure racers ignore paddling until they are forced to do it on race day. So, if something has to give, maybe this is it. I don’t recommend this approach, but unless you own your own boats and live on the water, getting out for quality paddle training can be really difficult, especially on a regular basis. In addition, being skilled for all the different forms of paddling you may encounter in AR is much harder to achieve on your own than preparing for the other disciplines. Depending on your race schedule, you may need to practice flatwater paddling, white-water handling, or open-ocean kayaking. This might sounds like a lot, but consider a few things.
Given the above caveats, here are some suggestions for paddle-specific training:
Navigation You can train 15 hours a week and be Danny MacAskill on the trails, but if you can’t find your way from point A to point B, you won’t be making it very far in an adventure race. As noted in past articles, many adventure races, especially sprint races and one-day events accessible to beginners, are designed with less experienced navigators in mind, but you will still want and need a certain level of comfort with maps.
Other Skills
For those new racers taking on a one-day event or a multi-day expedition race with additional disciplines, identify those specialized skills you'll need. The RDs will highlight any out-of-the-ordinary activities or competencies necessary. Most likely, you will need to brush up on or learn some basic ropes skills. Ropes tend to be the most common add-on, and basic skills such as rappelling or ascending using mechanical ascenders are hallmarks of longer events. Beyond ropes, you may see sports such as stand-up paddle boarding, coasteering, caving, mountaineering, and rollerblading in an adventure race, and more obscure disciplines such horseback riding are not unheard of. Such disciplines are not to be taken lightly. Some can be picked up quite easily with a local club or an experienced friend, while others require more intensive training with professional instructors. When signing up for a more advanced and/or longer event, make sure you do your homework and know what you're getting into. If you can’t find the time to develop an intermediate comfort level with a more obscure skill, consider whether it’s the best event for you and your team, especially if that discipline seems to be a significant part of the race. It’s not just your ability to complete the event that could be compromised, but your safety as well. Depending on the skills necessary, you can sometimes get away with only having a couple of proficient team members. If they are able to help guide the rest of the team safely through a section of the race, that may be enough. The RD should make this clear; if they don't, ask! And as I’ve noted throughout this series: know your limits. You and your team’s safety is paramount, but so is that of the other teams on the course, not to mention the race staff and other safety personnel involved in the event. If you know you are in over your head, make sure you put the time into developing the proficiency necessary to complete the section of the race. Other Articles in the New to AR Series: If you haven't already, like or follow USARA's Facebook page, join the AR Discussion Group, sign up for our newsletter, or consider becoming a USARA member to stay up to date on everything AR-related. And stay tuned for future articles in the "New to AR" series including:
By Brent Freedland Diving into adventure racing can be intimidating since it requires a wide and somewhat unusual skillset. Bikers have to be comfortable riding trails. Runners have to be prepared to leave paths altogether and head overland, sometimes bushwhacking across technical terrain. Many new racers have very little experience on the water, and paddling in AR may require you to be comfortable on anything and everything from flat water to white-water to open-ocean kayaking. If that isn’t enough, someone on your team needs to be able to navigate with enough competency to complete a course void of directional signs, ribbons, or paint. For those jumping off the cliff into an ARWS expedition race or an event like World's Toughest Race: Eco Challenge, you might also need to learn ropes skills, mountaineering, horseback riding, rollerblading, or other more adventurous disciplines. As we've suggested in previous posts, start with realistic goals. For shorter events, beginner and intermediate racers with a baseline level of fitness and skill can generally expect to cross the finish line. It may not be easy, but with the right attitude and proper expectations, even those with novice-level skills can have a good experience. In this installment in our New to AR Series, we will focus on some general tips, truly meant for beginners. We will start off with two of the core disciplines in AR, and next week, we will examine the others. Remember, this isn’t intended to replace a training plan, and you will need to get out there and learn the skills, but hopefully it will give you some direction! Foot OK, let’s start with what is arguably the most basic of the AR disciplines. Efficient foot travel in adventure racing is extremely important, and I believe people sometimes take this “skill” for granted, especially in longer events. How hard can running, jogging, or even walking be? Anyone that has participated in a multi-day race knows that more experienced, efficient, and skilled teams can open-up massive leads on a foot section. Being able to move efficiently through technical terrain requires both skill and art, and just piling up the miles on a treadmill or your local trails won't necessarily translate to an adventure racing course. What should you do to better prepare for the unique challenges of adventure racing foot-travel?
Bike
First, no, you don’t need to buy the fanciest bike in the world. While many racers dream of the newest, lightest bike, be aware that bikes take a heavy beating in adventure racing. This isn’t a buyer’s guide for a new bike, but any bike capable of tackling dirt will do when you start out. In adventure racing, you will need to be prepared for all sorts of riding. Even in a shorter race, you will likely encounter different flavors of biking. Yes, the section may be called 'mountain biking,' but AR riding can and does involve the following: paved surfaces, dirt roads, old jeep tracks, single-track trails including smooth, groomed trails and gnarly technical ones, and even sections where one simply dreams about riding the bike they are, in reality, hauling on a shoulder, shoving from behind, or throwing into a ditch. In short, be prepared for everything and anything! Here are some considerations for training:
Alright! That does it for today. Check back in next week for some discussion of the other core disciplines in AR: paddling and navigation. Other Articles in the New to AR Series: If you haven't already, like or follow USARA's Facebook page, join the AR Discussion Group, sign up for our newsletter, or consider becoming a USARA member to stay up to date on everything AR-related. And stay tuned for future articles in the "New to AR" series including:
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