History
Gerard Fusil, a French journalist and explorer, in 1989 created a race that he called the Raid Gauloises (literally "French Race" but usually anglicized as "Challenge of the Warriors"). In the process he invented a sport that has become generally known as adventure racing, though it's also sometimes called expedition racing or multi-sport endurance racing.
The original race was held in New Zealand. It was a ten-day event covering more than 500 kilometers through rainforest and over mountains, with teams of four to five persons each traveling by mountain bike, canoe, and on foot.
Subsequent Raids were stages in Costa Rica in 1990; New Caledonia in 1991; the deserts of Oman in 1992; Madagascar in 1993; Borneo in 1994; and the mountains of Patagonia in 1995. They were all based on Fusil's idea of simulating an expedition over a variety of terrain, requiring endurance and navigational skills and using non-motorized transport.
Mark Burnett captained the first American team to compete, in 1992. He also captained teams the next two years and, in 1995, he decided to bring adventure racing to America. Burnett and Brian Terkelsen, a former New York investment banker, teamed to conduct a 1995 adventure race in southeast Utah, the Eco-Challenge. Later that year, a second Eco-Challenge race was held in New England. Later races were staged in British Columbia, Canada (1996); Queensland, Australia (1997); Morocco (1998); Patagonia, Argentina (1999); Sabah, Malaysian Borneo (2000); New Zealand (2001); and Fiji (2002).
To Fusil's original concept, Burnett added a strong ecological component. Each Eco-Challenge race was preceded by an environmental service project in which all racers were required to participate.
In June of 1996, Dr. Bill Lionberger and Karen Livesay conducted the first Four Winds Adventures Race. This event, from Durango, CO, to Taos, NM, focused on learning about the land and the native American peoples who have lived along the route.
Although the last Eco-Challenge was held in 2002, Four Winds Adventures is still going strong. The company operates a variety of adventure races for two- and four-member teams throughout the Western and Southwestern United States and also conducts training camps for those who are interested in competing.
There are three basic types of adventure racing: Sprints, short-course races, stage races, and full-scale expedition races.
The sprint adventure race, usually for three-person teams, is sometimes called the off-road triathlon. It typically lasts three to eight hours and includes mountain biking, paddling, and trekking oveer a course of up to 100 kilometers. Sprint races commonly include surprise events such as paintball target shooting or a Marine-style obstacle course. Balance Bar sponsors an annual series of about 10 sprints across the country.
Short-course races, sometimes known as "weekenders," range from one to three days in duration. They're often held over a weekend to allow racers to get a taste of the sport or prepare for longer races without losing time from work. That doesn't mean they're easy, by any means, since they involve 30 to 50 hours of continuous racing. As with sprints, teams are usually made up of three people. Navigation skills are typically required in short-course races but not in sprints.
Stage races are particularly popular in North America. A stage race is patterned after cycling stage races such as the Tour de France. On each day, competitors race from one point to another and then they stay for the night.
One of the biggest stage races is the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest, held annually in Asia. The 2004 race will take place Oct. 28 through Nov. 2 in Malaysian Borneo and will include mountain biking, sea and river kayaking, in-line skating, canoe and raft paddling, running, a team biathlon, and other adventure skills.
The full-scale expedition race is the original form of the sport and still the biggest challenge. An expedition race requires a variety of skills, including navigation, and involves four-person teams, usually of mixed gender.