Back At It (Adventure Racing Part 1)

I’ve decided to pick back up some of the blogging and, because it’s fresh on my mind, I’ve decided to start with my experiences in adventure racing this year.

Hopefully by displaying some of the lessons I’ve learned, I can save others the angst, time, and pain of learning the hard way.

I competed in the Odyssey Wild, Wonderful 24 Hour Adventure Race and the Tidewater Traverse Adventure Race (18 hours). Each consisted of trekking, mountain biking, and paddling with all the navigation done by the competitor.

Lets start with the pre-race plotting of checkpoints. When you’re given the map and checkpoints, plot them carefully being sure to number them. For many of the checkpoints, there is a hint like “creek” or “hilltop,” I find it helpful to write those as well.

If you don’t know how to plot UTM coordinates, then you may wanna get on that. They’re very straightforward. Maptools.com has the best tutorial I've found online.

Once you have the coordinates plotted, you should have some time before the race starts. Use this time to check gear and look for details on the map to aid you.

Don’t lose the map! I wouldn’t feel compelled to leave such obvious advice if it hadn’t happened to my team last weekend.

Look for landmarks before and after each checkpoint so you’ll know as you approach it and if you’ve passed it. For instance, if you’re biking on a road and you’re looking for a trail between the third and fourth road on the right: count them and look at the route numbers.