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By Brent Freedland 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 unpack, but these are some of the most common words and phrases you will encounter in adventure racing: The Basics 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. Clue Sheet – Before the race begins, teams are provided with a set of instructions and a detailed clue sheet. The clue sheet describes the precise location of each checkpoint (see below). 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. CPs/Checkpoints/Controls/PCs – All refer to the checkpoints that must be located using map-and-compass navigation. Typically, CPs are three-dimensional orienteering flags, but they 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!  A traditional orienteering flag style CP with racer punching his passport Dark Zone – When a section of the course is too dangerous to undertake in the dark, RDs impose a “Dark Zone” and stop teams from proceeding. These sections tend to be related to water, especially paddling sections that include whitewater. Some RDs give teams time credits for the stopped time in a dark zone. Others do not, though teams stopped in a dark zone benefit from extra rest. Full Course – This term is more prevalent in expedition racing, though it can be applied to any race. Teams finishing the “full course” complete the entire race course as designed. Contemporary expedition courses tend to be very difficult to complete for most teams, and many RDs design “short-course” options so that more teams can finish officially. 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. Passports are generally slips of paper or small booklets. Volunteers sign your passport when you arrive at a staffed CP, and racers “punch” their passports at remote CPs, generally using a small stapler with a unique 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. Keep your passport safe and dry. Lost passports typically lead to disqualification or significant penalties. 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... 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 for the next section. Sometimes RDs provide food, drink, and facilities at TAs, but sometimes it’s nothing more than a bike drop or an empty boat ramp with a fleet of canoes. Next Level 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. Clearing – When a team completes the “full course” (see below), they have “cleared” the course. While many teams seek to clear the racecourse, few teams without experience and a certain, relatively high level of endurance fitness can expect to clear the average adventure race course (at least one-day and expedition events). Cutoffs – All races have a time cutoff: the finish line. Many have additional embedded time-cutoffs. Such cutoffs are typically designed in conjunction with short-course (see below) options to give all teams a better chance of completing the course. 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. Deer Trail/Goat Path – While not usually a term used by an RD, it’s worth storing this one away. Such routes are created by animals and are commonly found when traveling off-trail. While you are at the whim of the animal, if these paths lead in your general direction of travel, they can make bushwhacking faster. Just be careful that you know where you are heading! Dotwatcher – Most expedition races, and some shorter 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.
Linear Course – Linear courses are the most traditional style of adventure race. Teams are required to visit all TAs and all CPs. Teams failing to visit all the checkpoints are pulled off the course or are ranked as unofficial. During these events, teams tend to spread out significantly, and more teams do not finish. Some RDs design “short courses” that still allow teams to finish officially, though these teams are ranked behind anyone finishing the “full course”. Portage – Portaging 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. Prologue/Separator – Most adventure races, sprint to expeditions, start with some sort of short event that is designed to spread the teams out. These stages can be anything: a relay run, an orienteering loop, a mini multi-stage adventure race within a longer race. In a short race, a separator is typically anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour in duration. In expedition races, a separator might be a few miles of running or it could last for several hours. Some RDs wait to provide teams with their maps and other course information until after the prologue, and others hand racers their maps and ask them 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!
Rogaine – A Rogaine is class of event 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. Typically, adventure races are designed as a “modified rogaine” or a “linear course.”
Separator – See “Prologue” Short Course – RDs tend to design “short-course” options at most expedition races and many one-day events to accommodate teams unable to complete the full course. Different than “rogaine” style or “modified rogaine” style events, teams are still required to find all the 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. 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. For further insight into the language of AR, check out this terrific, and hilarious, discussion thread on the Adventure Racing Discussion Facebook Group. 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 OK, so you have a race on the calendar, and you've roped a friend or willing stranger into running around in the woods with you for a few hours. Or days. Maybe you've binge-watched World's Toughest Race, Expedition Alaska, and all the old Eco-Challenges you can find on youtube. What comes next? We’ll touch on skill-building, the basics of training, and the pandora's box of gear in future installments of this “New to AR Series.” Today, let’s make sure you really understand the nuts and bolts of how a typical adventure race works and some of the basic terminology you will hear. Supported, unsupported, sprints, expeditions, clue sheets, passports, CPs, TAs, RDs, TACs, ABCs! It can all be a bit overwhelming. The good news: most races have a lot in common. True, every race course will look different in AR, and each race director may have their own spin on a particular discipline, but the components and language are generally quite similar. As noted in the first installment of this series, AR is a sport that really benefits experience. Unlike a running event, you can’t just show up at the start line and follow the markers. You need to understand how a course is laid out, what those complex instructions mean, and how to speak some basic language. Type of Race The first thing to figure out is what sort of race you are getting into. Adventure races tend to fall into one of three primary categories: sprint races, one-day events, and multi-day expedition races. Ask ten adventure racers what constitutes a sprint race or how long a race must be to be considered an expedition, and you will likely get ten different answers. One of those racers will also insist that it’s not an adventure race at all unless it takes ten days to finish, includes leeches and flesh-eating bacteria, and is situated in the jungles of Fiji. Don’t get sucked into this banter: pick a race that feels manageable to you. If six hours is enough, seek out your local sprint. If twelve feels manageable, visit the USARA calendar to see what's in your region. You’re an adventure racer regardless of the length of the event! As you figure out what makes the most sense for you, consider these key differences: Sprint Races: Typically, these tend to be shorter events, usually with a maximum duration of 6-8 hours. (Adventure races tend to be defined by their duration rather than distance, since navigation, route choice, and strategy can radically alter the length of any given team’s race compared to what the race director intends.) Many sprint races are billed as beginner-friendly events, and some have special divisions to encourage families to come race as a team. Such events are usually hosted in local parks that are more accessible to beginners. Odds are good that you’ll never be far from a trail, there won’t be any massive climbs, and you could jump into one with relatively little training. Don’t be deceived, though. Teams coming to compete are FAST, and racing at the pointy end of these events can be harder than competing in a longer event. Navigation can still be quite tricky, and mountain biking can be technical. Still, the challenges tend to come and go before you know it, and a good attitude is usually all you need. Twenty years ago, these sorts of events were hard to find, and many adventure racers jumped into the deep end with Eco-Challenge or another major expedition as their first race. Now, sprint races tend to be a great way to enter the sport; they are more affordable, much less gear intensive, and unless you want to take a shot at winning (go back and read "New to AR: How to Get Started" for my thoughts on that), these races really can be completed by anyone with the basic skills and the right attitude as long as they have a basic level of endurance fitness. One Day Races: While some purists still will argue that you are not adventure racing until you are five days in, a 12- to 36-hour event really will give you more of a “true” AR experience. Stages will be more than a rapid fire run around a local park; race directors can take you to more interesting, wild, and challenging environments; and in most events, you will at least contend with dusk or dawn, if not outright nighttime racing. Your body will be taxed, and you will have to contend with more of the mental challenges that make adventure racing unique. Of course, once you cross that 12-hour threshold, you are typically faced with a night of racing and the hurdles that come with sleep deprivation, prolonged nighttime navigation, and the challenges of managing your team. At some point, someone will likely bonk, slow down due to the normal aches and pains that accumulate over 12-24 hours of racing, or struggle with sleepmonsters (see below for an extensive glossary of AR lingo). While these events can feel daunting, they are more accessible than you might think. Fewer people can jump off the couch and get through them as is possible with a sprint AR, but the fact that you are changing disciplines and that the pace tends to be slower means that you still don’t have to be a professional athlete training 10-20 hours a week to complete a one-day event. Expeditions: Anything over a day and you are entering into the realm of expedition races. It should be noted that defining races that are in the 36- to 48-hour range is challenging. They are unique as they provide additional challenges beyond the one-day event, but they do not quite fit into the expedition race category either. Some would even argue that a race is not a true expedition race unless it is a minimum of three days long, or even four. Regardless, expedition races are the pinnacle of the sport. Most participants never experience a true expedition race, but for those who make this final leap, they get to experience adventure racing as it was originally conceived: epic courses, covering massive swaths of terrain, complete with varied ecosystems, additional disciplines like caving, advanced ropes work, mountaineering, or horseback riding, and unique strategic considerations including sleep-strategy, dark zones, and body and gear management that transcends what is necessary to complete a shorter event. Expedition races tend to be less accessible to the less experienced competitor with steeper entry fees, significant travel expenses and logistics that can be daunting to say the least, more robust gear requirements, and a need for more expertise to remain safe and simply finish. Whereas anyone can get off a couch and complete a sprint race, and most competitors can work their way through a one-day event, it is considerably more challenging to finish an expedition race, at least those at the level of an Adventure Race World Series event or an Eco-Challenge. It is not unheard of for a rookie team to finish these races, but more often, less-seasoned teams end up on significantly shortened courses or fail to reach the finish line. This isn’t to say that less-experienced teams shouldn’t consider signing up for one of these epic adventures, but this is where setting realistic goals, doing your homework, and gaining as much experience as possible through one-day racing can really impact your experience.
into five stages or fewer. Occasionally, stages are designed in such a way that they require teams to participate in multiple disciplines within a single stage. There might be an embedded foot section within a bike stage, a detour off the water to complete an ascent and rappel, or a caving section within a long trek.
What tends to be true regardless of the layout of the event is that each stage will include checkpoints that need to be found while on that stage. In between stages, teams usually check into a transition area, and there you usually have access to your gear. Once you have completed a stage you rarely can return to that stage to find a missed checkpoint. Whatever the format of the race, this is one of the characteristics of adventure racing that makes it so fun and exciting: with few exceptions (the local race director that uses the same park year after year and doesn’t mix the course up much), every race feels like a unique, unexplored adventure. Next time, we'll dive into some of the sport-specific lingo that comes with AR. There is a lot to learn, and some of it will have to wait until you actually start racing in person. But we'll get you started next time with some of the basic words, slang, phrases, and acronyms that you will come across as you dive deeper into the sport. 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 So, you want to be an adventure racer! If you haven’t already heard, adventure racers have a mantra. Well, we actually have a number of mantras, but that’s for another article. The relevant one here goes like this: “the hardest part of adventure racing is getting to the start line.” As you ponder jumping into the amazing, crazy, inspiring, roller coaster world of AR, keep this saying in mind. As is true of any new endeavor, the biggest hurdle is getting started, and adventure racing, as you likely know, offers some unique challenges. In addition to picking a race, new racers often feel the pressure or need to acquire new skills, add to their gear closet (or start one from scratch), coerce some friends or strangers into joining them, and then figure out how to train for an event that, even at its shortest, might be hours longer than any other event they have completed. This basic list doesn't address the endless details of adventure racing such as foot care, sleep deprivation, and nutrition. It can be daunting, overwhelming, and even downright terrifying. The good news is that the AR community is one of the most welcoming groups of athletes out there. There are few, if any, sports that sees new racers rubbing shoulders with the elite on the start line. The AR community is small and well connected, and we all are always happy to talk gear, training, and experiences with new racers. So, welcome to our first article in our series aimed at helping newcomers dive into the adventure racing. Throughout the fall, we will be creating resources to help acclimate you to some of the foundational questions facing new racers as they find their way into the amazing AR family. Keep an eye on our blog for future articles and more, and welcome to AR!  Photo Credit: Vlad Bukalo Set a goal - find a raceFirst, there tend to be two primary types of rookie adventure racers: those who dive into the abyss and sign up for a multi-day expedition race like those in the AR World Series, and those who decide to start small, test the waters, and build up - whether the ultimate goal is a multi-day event or mastering the six-hour sprint. There is no right way to do it, but unless you are an experienced endurance athlete with a well-established aerobic base and strong skillset in mountain biking, bushwhacking, paddling, and other wilderness skills, there is something to be said for finding a local sprint or half-day (12-hour) adventure race to determine whether AR is for you. It will be considerably more affordable, the stakes are much lower if your teammates don’t work out, and you will have a much higher chance of success (more on this later). Where do you begin? USARA publishes a calendar of USARA sanctioned races, but you can find many other local races on the Adventure Racing Cooperative’s comprehensive calendar. This resource includes adventure races great and small; it also lists AR-adjacent events like rogaines and other single-sport navigation based events. These races tend to be foot-only events and can provide a taste for what AR is like without the hassle of all the gear and usually with lower entry fees. Most importantly they can introduce you to navigation-centric events. Likewise, local orienteering meets can serve as a terrific portal for adventure racing. These groups host events periodically throughout the year, and some of the bigger clubs often organize courses on most weekends, spring to fall. Usually only $5-10 to enter, o-meets offer a range of courses, from beginner to advanced. While the maps are distinctly different from those typically found in an adventure race, these meets often include hands-on instruction and offer terrific practice when it comes to basic and advanced navigation. Other than some snacks, water, and a positive attitude, all you need is a compass! Ultimately, think about what feels right for you and then explore your local options. Many new racers find a six-hour event to be daunting enough. Others feel ready for a whole day in the woods. And a few feel confident they can take on a ten-day expedition like the World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge. You know what feels doable for you. Find a teammate or twoWhile there are those in the adventure racing community who race solo, AR is, at its core, a team sport. To truly get the whole experience, try to build a team. Many new racers find this to be a challenge. While you may think six, twelve or twenty-four hours in the woods, without sleep, in the rain, heat, or snow, covered with mud and blood sounds fun, don’t be surprised when friends, family members, and colleagues laugh you off as mildly insane. Again, this is where starting off small can make breaking into the sport a bit more manageable. It will be a lot easier to convince your partner, childhood friend, or coworker to join you for a four- to six-hour event than a 24-hour one. Once you knock off that six-hour sprint, the twelve-hour will feel more manageable. After realizing that your body and mind can do more than you expected, going overnight won't feel so daunting. Building this experiential memory with a teammate or two will increase the chances that you find your place in the sport. Ideally, it helps to race with people you know, who you trust and with whom you have a good rapport, but it’s certainly possible that you won’t have any luck convincing someone you are close with to join you for your first adventure race. If you can’t build your dream team from within, look to the AR Teammate Finder on Facebook, or reach out to your local Race Director (RD) to see if they can help you team up with someone. If you're racing with strangers, try to meet up with them first, perhaps go out for a training day or two. You won’t know for sure until you are lost for the first time in the woods or dealing with a nasty bushwhack, but try to team up with people who you are compatible with and who you trust when AR becomes more adventure than race. Finally, remember that AR is also unique for being a mixed-gender sport. Few other sports join male and female competitors on the same team. Embrace this aspect of the sport if you can.  Photo Credit: Vlad Bukalo Set expectationsWander around the pre-race happenings of any established adventure race and you are bound to find the rookie team confidently predicting victory. I’m sure it’s happened somewhere, sometime. But in over a hundred races, I’ve never seen a rookie team atop the podium, and it’s rarely been close. AR is a sport that uniquely favors skills and experience; those things vastly outweigh speed, power, and athleticism. Time and time again, the overconfident rookie team marvels at and wonders how the wily, seasoned AR veterans finish hours and hours ahead, at how the winners are able to “clear the course” (complete the entire course as designed) while the less experienced teams struggle to finish significantly modified and shorter courses, and at how efficient those top teams are with navigation, strategy, and transitions. While training and physical preparation are important components of the sport, it’s other things that truly set the more successful teams apart: navigation ability, team chemistry, experience with sleep deprivation, strategy, and the knowledge and experience that comes with racing over and over again. Unlike more traditional races like marathons or triathlons, adventure race courses are always different year-to-year. They are constantly changing, sometimes literally evolving during the race, as unexpected circumstances force Race Directors to adapt and modify section by section. Being able to adapt to rapidly evolving conditions, poor mapping data, unforeseen obstacles, and inter-team dynamics in both art and science; it is a set of skills that can only be refined and developed through racing, and racing with an established team with whom you build a racing and adventure rapport. So, find your people and then set some expectations. Many of the most successful adventure racers started off with modest goals: don’t finish last, finish mid-pack, or simply finish. Once they started to build their experiential toolbox, find stable teammates, and fine-tune their skillsets, then they started to set higher goals: finish in the top third, complete a full-course, shoot for their divisional podium, and then, perhaps, shoot for the overall coed podium (FYI: despite what some new racers expect, the premier coed teams often are the strongest teams at a given event, especially when events are twelve hours or longer). watch, read, learnResearch. Watch AR videos on Youtube, Vimeo, and Amazon Prime. Even if you aren’t planning on competing in an expedition race anytime soon, watching films of these events can provide valuable insight into how adventure races work, what sort of gear people invest in, and how team dynamics can shape a team’s experience. Sleepmonsters also provides international coverage of adventure races and other related sports that hosts invaluable information as you start your journey. More valuable for shorter events is the near-ubiquitous “Race Report”. Many adventure racers write them, blogging about their experiences, sometimes in checkpoint-by-checkpoint detail. Others log their adventures on training platforms such as Attackpoint (make sure you are on the AR branch of AP, rather than the orienteering site). The AR Cooperative has built an impressive collection of these accounts, so you might be able to find a report from the last edition of the race you have circled on your calendar. If you can’t find a report there, try googling reports from that event, or read some accounts of other races that are comparable in length, difficulty, style, and terrain. There are also a handful of good books about adventure racing that will help you get started. Some are more relevant than others for the first-time racer, but they all will inspire. A selection of AR-specific books:
 Finally, reach out to your local RD with questions, or post on discussion groups like those hosted on Facebook or Attackpoint. Odds are good that someone reading your post will have done the race and will gladly volunteer to chat. Once you have watched what there is to watch, read through various race reports, and googled your heart out, you probably will still have questions. You might still spend a sleepless night before race day, nervous, excited, scared, or some combination of it all. But you will be as ready as any new adventure racer ever is to toe the line on race day, and experience suggests you will already be hooked! Future Articles in the New to Ar seriesIf 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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