Location, location, location in adventure racing

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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 12:02

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Location, location

Lisa de Speville

I’m not crazy about the wet and cold and my constitution doesn’t hold up to rolling swell on the open ocean; this explains why you are unlikely to find me doing a race in a wintery Scotland and I hesitate to enter a local event on the Wild Coast if it features a large sea kayaking leg.

Race location is an important participation decider as it sets the seasonal, climatic (temperature, humidity, weather condition – sun, wind, precipitation) and topographic (relief, terrain, vegetation) tone for the event. It also determines the disciplines included in the race.

To explore strange new worlds

Adventure races offer variety. Participants can experience festivities in rural villages, desolate desert crossings, rafting on raging glacier-fed rivers and trekking through pristine alpine parks. The variety of terrain, even within a race, is an attraction that keeps racers in the sport for years. Course director, race distance and format aside, based purely on location, no two races are ever alike.