You all created for me in a 6-hour, 50K event more extreme fun than I've had in some 36 hour events...with the added bonus that I didn't have to haul a lot of extraneous gear around too. Bless you all.
I agree its the drama, danger, extreme conditions, team interaction and competition thats driving adventure racing. I propose that if all these elements were added to any One sport we would see less floundering. Consider adventure swimming, adventure running, adventure ________ (Insert your sport here.) We would see competitors with the skills and abilities of their sports, taking their experience to a new level. It could be the next stepsaving a step.
Im sure Tom saw what I saw during our early Ironman experience, a bunch of runners, bikers and swimmers learning the basic skills of their new found sports. I was runner entering a triathlon, my swim time was slow and my bike time so-so but there I was lined up with my new toys and entry fee money. I was not alone. What brought us there was the challenge, excitement and the hype. I learned about chain rings, gear inches, pool yardage. I also learned a lot of sport terminology that is with me today. The craze waned and most of us went back to our own sports. The bikers went back to biking, swimmers swimming and the runners running. Some do become true multi-sport competitors, but the numbers are small. As for me, I have a garage full of cool bikes, racks, kick boards, pull-boys, goggles and wet suits.
So, when will we see single sport adventure races? Adventure running already exists and is gaining in popularity locally. Take Michigans own Dances with Dirt. A 100 km 5 person relay adventure run through what is billed as "Insane terrain". Mile after mile of trail and off trail running littered with stupid hills to crawl up and butt slide down not to mention numerous river and swamp crossings. Who would enter such an event? The race fills 6 months in advance with 350 teams of 5! With getting lost as the number one obstacle, teams scout the course in advance to better decide which of the 15 legs are suited to which of the team members abilities. Each runner must run 3 legs averaging 4.5 miles. The logistics of getting your runners to each exchange point adds to the intensity. The one-day format and distances involved make this race possible for an average runner to compete with 4 friends. Go to danceswithdirt.com to find out how to try, to get in!
The reason adventure racing (No matter what the sports or format) will continue to grow is captured in a Dances With Dirt post race comment by E. Kasemodel, member of Team SHO - "Dances With Dirt was not a race, it wasn't about what stuff you might have won, it wasn't about weather or trail conditions or even about those giant room temperature pizzas at the finish. Dances was about the powerful and unmistakable sensation of humans pulling together as a community of friends. It was about the spirit of goodwill and human kindness. Well, it was about mud, sweat and bone-jarring trails, too, but that part was just the medium through which we communicated. I look back on my Dances experience as one of the most significant team events I have ever had the pleasure of being part of. My teammates, all strangers at 7am, where transformed into family by 5pm. The cohesion-building significance of the event is something impossible to understand without direct experience. In what would normally be one day that the office, I developed a sense of camaraderie and personal commitment that I hadn't achieved in 17 years of diverse corporate exposure.
Adventure racings success is assured because they are great promotional format for companies like Nike ACG (All conditions Gear) an adventure line of Technical products and footwear ideally suited for extreme events. Before adventure racing, the sports involved were not often pursued in a "race" format. The possibilities for promotion, including TV coverage, are endless.
Ill see you in the jungle,
Randy Step Obsessed off road runner
