The ultimate women’s mountain bike retreat is coming to Big Bear Lake May 25-28, 2012. Leading the retreat is the queen of everything adventure, ultra endurance mountain bike racer and 7 Summits mountaineer, Karen (Super K) Lundgren. This long anticipated retreat is geared to satisfy riders of all levels.

“We want this to be a safe learning environment for women who may be new to the sport or are looking to increase their confidence set on a mountain bike in a supportive atmosphere,” said Lundgren. “This will be a great opportunity for ladies to build confidence while learning new skills for a more enjoyable experience.”

“Big Bear Lake offers some world class mountain biking and is a unique backdrop for such a great event,” added Lundgren, 46, winner of countless mountain bike endurance and adventure races around the world.

Complimenting some stunning trail riding, participants will enjoy the right amount of pampering with yoga/body, alignment/stretch clinics and the opportunity to Stand Up Paddleboard (S.U.P.). Clinics will include bike fit and nutrition workshops along with a complete video analysis of skills/rides. Also available (optional) will be body composition evaluation, blood analysis and vo2/lactate threshold testing.

Retreat participants will find themselves pushing the limits of their own physical expectations during the day and relaxing and spoiling themselves afterwards with comfortable accommodations, delectable meals and wine tasting to round out the day. This will be unlike any other outdoor event you have ever experienced.

About 4 Seasons Wellness
4 Seasons Wellness, based in Big Bear Lake, is a comprehensive platform offering clients Goals, Training, Testing and Analysis, Complete Customized Supplement/Fuel Package, Retreats and International Guiding. Co-owners, Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren can assist you in reaching your physical and athletic goals and can take you to extreme locations around the world. www.4seasonscoaching.com

About Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake is a mountain resort community located about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. Situated at approximately 6800 feet above sea level, the area receives over 300 days of sunshine annually and is an adventurer’s destination with four seasons worth of activities. www.bigbear.com

December is here and if you followed either of the previous posts (the first one or the second one) on training for a big adventure race, such as Untamed New England, you’ll know that I owe you one non-physical, one physical, and one “Untamed Aspect” training suggestion for the new month.  My aim, as I mentioned in the previous material, is for you to arrive to the race start as prepared as possible and ready to make the most of your race experience.  I would consider this December material in tandem with the previous suggestions, as these monthly installments will create a cumulative body of knowledge that can help you to make the most of your time preparing for the race.

First up: a non-physical step you can take to prepare. Safety on the race course is your first responsibility, and a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class will give you specific training for handling emergencies in the wild.  Everyone hopes they never need to use the skills developed through a First Aid class, but it isn’t a cliché to say that this measure can be a life-saver!  If you hang around adventure racing long enough, you’re bound to find yourself in situations where you, your team, or another team you encounter on the course has a need for your Wilderness First Aid training.  It’s only a matter of time.  Let’s hope it never happens, but you owe it to yourself to be prepared.  Typical WFA classes take 2 full days, and if you want to take backcountry safety training to a higher level you can do the 5-day Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class.  Truly, any medical training can be an advantage in a race, but these WFA and WFR classes are all about improvised care with the limited resources of a wilderness setting. Continue Reading

This post first appeared on our site in 2008…but the info is timeless as you go about your training goals.

Travis Macy has seen success as a professional adventure racer and world-class trail runner and mountain biker. He grew up in Evergreen, Colorado, ran on the varsity track and cross country teams at CU-Boulder, and now lives in Golden, Colorado. He raced with Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure Racing at Primal Quest Montana in 2008 (2nd place) and raced with Team Salomon/Crested Butte at Primal Quest Badlands in 2009. Below are his 5 training tips for better performance in any adventure sport.

Five Tips:
 
1.  The 5:00 a.m. Rule
When you make a plan for a training session, particularly those early/late/cold/wet/miserable ones, create the plan ahead of time and stick with it.  Don’t wait until the moment and then decide if you’re going to do it or not.
 
2.  Carry a Backpack on all Bike Rides, Year-Round
I have found that carrying a pack of 20-30 pounds on all mountain and road rides increases strength and stamina in the legs, back, and arms.  When you get to Primal Quest, you’re back won’t explode, and when you enter short cycling races you’ll float like a butterfly–and maybe even sting like a bee.
 
3.  Speed Work
Long, slow distance is crucial to any regimine, but high-end sessions and races are very important to increasing strength, stamina, and speed.  In the winter/spring, in addition to a race every two weeks, I generally shoot for one session of uphill running fartleks per week, four-five by three minutes on with one and a half minutes off.
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A life worth living is one where dreams are created and experienced, and goals are set. It takes a lot of work, sweat, planning, and perseverance to reach achievements along the way. Sometimes stepping back and re-directing, before moving forward once again, leads us to our greatest self.  Running is a great way to practice this mantra of life.

For many runners, several races early in the year lead to our big events at the end of the season. It can become a more enjoyable journey when you learn how to balance training, racing and recovery. This can be quite tricky when you schedule races close together, perhaps even on back-to-back weekends.

Before we get into that, here is a brief description of my typical training week before the race season starts:

” Saturdays and Sundays are my huge training days (if I’m not racing), with long intervals on the trail or the road. Sometimes Sunday has to be an active recovery day if Saturday was too much, but I usually like to hit it hard both days.

” Monday is usually an off day or active recovery day. Yoga, a bike ride or light run.
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By Adam Chase

1. Stage races like TransRockies Run, Coastal Challenge, Himalayan 100, or the Trans-Alpine Run are all about recovery. The daily legs are short enough that you can actually run them relatively hard. To succeed at an event like this you need to be able to hit each run with vigor and that means not trashing your legs. Or, if you do push it and are sore, which will likely be the case, it is about soaking in cold water – which is easy to do at TransRockies, as there are plenty of running streams with wicked cold water – eating well soon after finishing, hydrating, relaxing with compression clothing on and elevated legs.

2. Training for the stress of multiple long runs is best accomplished by brick sessions where you hit it hard on a Saturday and then turn around on Sunday and go long again and then, instead of going light on Monday, you tack on a third session just to get your body used to the feeling of running sore and tired. That really pays off when the race comes around and you’ve racked up weeks of that kind of training.


3. Sleeping well in a camp site is not easy for everyone. It helps to bring ear plugs and a warm enough sleeping bag. You’ll be tired but it is incredible how loudly some runners snore at night.

4. Altitude brings with it a special challenge. If you can acclimate by training or sleeping at a high elevation or in an altitude tent, you’ll be a lot better off because those who come to the race from sea level face a real challenge. If you can’t take the time to acclimate, be sure to start out slow and see how you feel as the miles and even days pass and you adjust.

5. In Europe many of the multi-day stage racers use trekking poles, especially on the steep Alpine ascents. There is a reason for that: they really help to take weight off your legs and over rugged courses with many climbs that can really make a difference. At one day of the TransRockies course will lend itself to trekking poles and I will likely bring some Nordic-style ones that weigh almost nothing but that will help a lot.

6. Towing. Since one partner will have his or her strong days and the other will too, it is best to take advantage of that and share the load when one needs some help and the team can go faster together. This, of course, is old hat to adventure racers but people were quite surprised when we used it the first year of the TransRockies and won by a strong margin.

By Kristen Dieffenbach

Get in at least some training miles with a pack that approximates your anticipated race pack weight. The additional weight may require a position change from your normal unweighted racing position. You also want to get used to how the pack impacts your bike handling skills. If you opt to ride with gear on a rear rack to get the weight off your body, be sure to train with this set up as well as again, the weight will influence how the bike handles.

Improving base fitness. Trail riding is great for handling skills but to really improve fitness, open fire road, dirt roads and paved roads provide better training for increasing endurance and stamina. Long steady rides and uptempo intervals that are done without interruption are key to improving your base fitness.

Climb, climb and then climb some more. On long steady climbs, experiment with shifting hand positions and saddle position so you can avoid pressure points and cramping concerns that can be related to long efforts in one position. Even shifting on the saddle for just a few moments and riding more with an emphasis on the pull part of the pedal strokes can give your quads a brief break mid climb.

Ride with finesse. Hammering hard and through everything is fun and may get the job done, but it is also very hard on gear and in racing broken gear can eat up costly time. Many flats and broken derailleur can be prevented by having a little finesse. Seek to ride over things and not through. Practice anticipating the shift and shifting gears under little to no load. You save time, frustration, and money in the long run.

Don’t underestimate your hydration and nutrition needs in training. It can be tempting to forgo the camelback or ride with empty pockets when it is ‘just a 2 hour ride’. Fluids should be a staple on any ride and nutrition should be a part of any ride over an hour. Not only will staying well fueled in training equal a better training ride, but it will also help train your body to process fuel while you riding (reducing the potential for in event GI distress ) and when coupled with good post ride nutrition it will improve your recovery for the next ride.
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By Harper Forbes

Generally speaking, racing in the endurance world requires three main components – equipment, training and nutrition. For each one you can find countless articles associated with each; below are a few general tips for each.

Equipment:
Get the right equipment. Seems like an obvious statement but you’d be surprised with how many racers competing in technical trail or adventure races are wearing road running shoes. Or how many triathletes or cyclists fail to utilize clipless pedals, which increases efficiency, power and therefore speed. Understandably many people with improper equipment may just be trying it out before making any substantial investment… which brings me to the next point.

Budget accordingly. One of the hardest sacrifices with endurance racing is found in your bank account. Usually the faster and lighter the equipment, the more expensive it is. So keep this in mind if you plan to enter the world of multisport versus something like ultrarunning. More disciplines = more money.

Train with the equipment you’ll race in. Don’t be afraid to only use those pricey wheels or carbon mountain bike on your local rides. If you don’t know how you’re equipment will handle in various conditions you’re taking a risk of learning that while racing.

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Richard Ussher

Location: Nelson, New Zealand is home base and Ilmajoki, Finland (for 3 months over the European summer each year)
Age: 34
Occupation: Multisport Athlete
Sports: Multisport, Adventure Racing, Ironman, Xterra

How did you get started?

Started career as a Freestyle skier making it to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan in 1998. After that was looking for a new challenge and saw a race in NZ called the Coast to Coast. It races from one side of NZ to the other and inspired me to have a crack at endurance sports. Didn’t set out to become professional to start with but things gradually evolved and opportunities keep coming like the chance to join super AR team Seagate and later Nike USA. More recently have transitioned into more traditional triathlon events like Ironman which has been yet another learning curve.

Athletic Goals:

To see where the limit of my performance is (without supplementary help form illegal methods!)

Athletic Highlights:

3 x Multisport World Champ, 2 x AR World Champ, Raid World Champ, Fastest NZ Iron distance time @ Roth 2009 (8:02.15)

Favorite Workout:

Nothing in particular – I enjoy the fact I have 4 sports to train for and so there is always plenty of variety.

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By Grant Killian

Cavemen would have made terrific adventure racers; in my imagination at least, cavemen are durable, resourceful, and tenacious — if they weren’t, we wouldn’t have lasted long enough to evolve into the civilized city-dwellers we are today, right?! Imagine the genes we carry with us from those fantastically fit cavemen!

So, while modern life is all about comfort, a key step to success in adventure racing is the opposite: getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. In adventure races, you can be tired, disoriented, dirty, and scratched up. Your pack can feel heavy and the weather can beat you down. The beauty of the sport, of course, is in overcoming the adversity and finding your way to the finish line — it can be life affirming and euphoric like no other activity — so with that goal in mind, the euphoric finish line, let me offer some AR tips inspired from our Neanderthal brethren.

Instead of hiking 10 miles and calling it “exercise,” cavemen would do a hike and call it “finding food and shelter.” Endurance is a way of life for cavemen. Bring this into your modern existence by integrating your training with your normal routine. For example, after a week or two of biking to work you won’t consider the effort “exercise” so much as how you get from home to the office. In the process, you’re building a phenomenal fitness base without having to invest time specifically in “exercise.” Do the math: if you have a 45 minute bike commute, and you bike to work and back 3 days per week, you’re adding 4 1/2 hours of cycling to your weekly routine! If your office is just too far to bike to, consider running to your gym instead of driving there or how about biking for your groceries (you can get that heavy pack workout in with your milk and bread in the backpack). Maybe you can paddle into town? Work with what your environment offers.

Another way to blur the lines between “exercise” and “normal life” is to add a Ball Chair or Ergo Sit to your office (both items can be found at TheraGear.com). These items convert your sedentary desk into a core-strengthening zone, and give your stabilizing back, hip, and ab muscles attention while you’re focussing on the computer. A stronger core is something all adventure racers pursue — who would’ve thought you can train for your next kayak leg while you’re sorting through email at your desk? Continue Reading

Need to loosen up this holiday?

X Bands™ provide the support you need to deepen into your meditation, expand yoga postures, or conveniently carry your bundle of gear to your neighborhood yoga studio. This awesomely practical accessory is designed in the South’s mountain top mecca of Asheville, NC. Hand-crafted by Ulimana the same company delivering all natural deliciousness to your holiday parties with their organic raw cacao truffles.

X Bands™ are made with a resilient, yet comfortable and sustainable organic cotton/lycra blend and are available in 3 colors (White, Black, and Brown). They are versatile, and adjustable working with all body types to support beginner and advanced yoga and meditation postures.

At $22, they are the perfect stocking stuffer.

Visit http://www.everythingxbands.com/ to check out ‘how to’ videos, learn a bit more about the company, and pick up your X Bands™ and start the new year off in good form!

By Sally Heath

Does your idea of a winter vacation involve more than a beach and an umbrella drink? Why not use your vacation time to fire up your motivation and kickstart your training for 2011?

Since 2005, top Canadian adventure providers Frontier Adventure Sports & Training and Esprit Rafting have been providing adventurous individuals with alternative winter vacations in Mexico guaranteed to satisfy the above requirements. Of course, you could go to that jam-packed resort and sacrifice a week of your training only to comehome feeling lazy and bloated. Or, you could spend that same week whitewater kayaking down one of Mexico’s most famous rivers, practicing your ascending and rapelling skills off of cliffs, trekking through remote canyons and valleys or whizzing down trails on your mountain bike while exploring a landscape devoid of tourists in Hawaiian shirts.

Looking for an entry point into the sport of adventure racing or just want to spend a week being active? From March 5th to 12th, 2011, Frontier and Esprit are offering their popular Jalcomulco Adventure Racing Training week. Jalcomulco is a small town nestled in a valley among coffee and mango plantations in the state of Veracruz. Access to the Sierra Madre mountain range and the Antigua river make it an ideal location for adventure sports. No prior adventure racing skills are needed as this camp is designed with either a new or experienced competitor in mind. Throughout the week, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture as you develop your trekking, navigation, mountain biking, whitewater paddling, ascending, rapelling, teamwork and racing skills. The week is capped off with the Jalcomulco Adventure Challenge – a 5 to 8 hour event where you will get to put your new skills to the test. Be sure to pack your camera and your dancing shoes; in addition to providing top-quality racing and safety instruction, Frontierand Esprit will make sure you experience all that Jalcomulcohas to offer. A tortilla-making session, a trip to the weekly disco, a temasczal (sweat lodge) ceremony, a night navigation session or a concert with local musicians are just a few of the things you might find yourself doing in the evenings. Not to worry though, you’ll still have time to enjoy a Corona or two during happy hour each evening! Continue Reading

Having raced on Team Adventure World Magazine, Paulette Kirby is preparing to return to Patagonia early next year to compete in one of the world’s most challenging adventure races. So, how does one prepare for such an event? For starters, you head out on the water during the winter in South Dakota for a paddle workout. Thanks to Randy Ericksen for the video.

Dr. Jeni McNeal and Dave Adlard, founding members of Team Adventure Sports Week, along with an unofficial support crew of Rick McCharles of www.besthike.com completed the 94 mile/47,000 feet elevation Wonderland Trail in 63:03, June 25 – 28.

The two carried their own gear, and took only a few hours sleep time in completing what some have said is one of the fastest unsupported, July circumnavigations yet. Almost 10% of the trail was still snowed in, requiring route finding and snow travel. Most hikers completing the trail require 8 – 12 days to finish.

They climbed and descended more than 20 peaks on the famously difficult trail, with elevation changes equivalent to climbing and descending Mt. Rainier from Paradise Visitor Center almost three times. They also encountered bears along the trail.

The two burned almost 33,000 calories each, and drank more than 50 liters of fluid total in temperatures ranging from 33 – 89 degrees.

Their journey began at Reflection Lake on July 25 at 10:40 am, and finished at 1:43 am on July 28.

The complete trip report and pictures are attached as a PDF and in Word format.

“This was one of the most psychologically and physically demanding tests I have done since starting Adventure Racing,” said Adlard. “This is a really tough trail that demands a lot from all participants.”

The trail is notoriously uneven, with steep, overgrown and narrow sections that make forward progress difficult in many places.

Team Adventure Sports Week is training for the five day Desert Winds Expedition race in Lake Mead, Nevada, Sept 18 – 25.

By Robyn Benincasa

The main reason that so many adventure racers struggle with the paddling legs is that we just don’t have a ton of time to train effectively, given that we have to be proficient in up to 6 different sports at a time. When I decided to train for the Yukon River Quest this year (first of all, what was I thinking?), I knew there was no way I was going to get in enough face to face time with the ocean and my surfski to train for a 460 mile race, so I started doing the research about alternative training methods. I spoke to my friend who coaches the junior olympic canoe and kayak team in San Diego, and he suggested the KayakPro Speedstroke ERG. I bought one the next week. I just had to know if it really was possible to train for a 460 mile paddle while inside a fire station. Survey says? HECK YEAH.

The KayakPro feels exactly like paddling a kayak, without being wet, cold or peeing your pants (you guys pee in your boats, too, right? right??) The truth is that I only did 4-6 long training days in my surfski and/or in a double kayak leading up to the Yukon River Quest, but I spent hours and hours “paddling to Canada” inside my fire station in the afternoons and evenings. During the race I felt strong from start to finish, all 51 joyous hours. The Speedstroke is pretty much my favorite training toy ever. And well worth every penny to have pure paddling training time versus wasting hours loading boats, driving to the bay, being cold and wet, filling the car with wet gear, driving home, cleaning and unloading boats, rinsing gear…agh. Most importantly, just think how cool it will be to hang with the top paddlers in your next Adventure Race and not have to catch those guys on the bike and run!
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The tips below are from Adventure World contributor and long distance hiker, Justin Lichter. We will also be posting sample packing lists from Justin for several regions.

The first day of spring has passed and Old Man Winter’s wrath is starting to give way to spring weather. It is a great time of year to start planning and looking into a long distance hike or expedition; or a shorter hike.

Here would be a few pointers that I would recommend.

1. Plan, Plan, Plan
You haven’t planned enough if you haven’t thought about a lot of things for your trip. The route is one thing and the most obvious. However you should also be looking into how frequent and reliable the water sources are, how often you might be able to get more food or purchase food at a store, the weather for the area during that time of year, and fine tuning your gear. No doubt you will have some nerves at the start of a trip, but if you plan well and are comfortable with your gear going into the trip then that should ease the nerves a little.

2. Train
As your trip begins top take shape you will ideally start to train for the experience beforehand. This will help make your trip as enjoyable as possible as well as getting you used to your equipment. This will help your feet get ready, and if need be callused, for you to break in your shoes and help your hips and shoulders get used to wearing a backpack. If you prepare beforehand then you’ll be ready to hit the trail when the time comes and the mileage that you planned for the trip won’t be daunting. The training will also help in your planning because it will let you know what distances and terrain are obtainable for the trip in the time that you have.
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With the Yukon River Quest starting today…we felt the following tips on endurance paddling were appropriate. The tips by Paul Cox appeared in our May 2010 issue.

Love to paddle and curious about long distance events? Well, there can be too much of a good thing — if you’re not prepared. Follow these five tips to increase your chances of finishing a long race and have fun doing it.

Pick a boat you can go the distance in. The “fastest” boat might not really be the fastest in a long race. Comfort over the long haul can translate into speed. With a stable boat, you likely will find you can use proper paddling technique longer. And when you have to reach for that tasty snack late in a race, you’re less likely to take a dip in the pond. So, if you’re new to the sport, you might want to opt for a hearty sea kayak with plenty of secondary stability rather than a sleek surf ski.

Train in your race-day boat. It’s best not to show up on race day in a boat you’re unfamiliar with, if you can help it. Your derriere is most likely to suffer the most when it has to conform to an unfamiliar position for hours on end. Problematic pressure points might not reveal themselves immediately. But, you’ll be able to find them if you spend plenty of time in the saddle before the starting gun goes off. Plus, you’ll want to be familiar with how to quickly fix items like rudder cables if they loosen or break during the event. The same goes for the paddle you will use. Whether it’s a wing blade or a flat-bladed paddle, train with it so you can learn to get the most power from good technique. Find a friend to video tape your paddling from the front, back and side. Watching yourself will help you find hitches in your technique.

Cover up. Since you’ll obviously be on the water, you’re likely to find yourself spending nearly all your time exposed to the wind and sun. So, cover your arms, legs and neck with clothing that will block UV rays and keep your skin from getting painfully burned without trapping too much of your body heat. Use plenty of waterproof sun block, too. Yeah, you might look like a white-faced mime out there, but you’ll be happy later. I didn’t take the time to apply lip balm during the Yukon River Quest and could barely talk after the race. And oh, the post race pictures! Every smile for the camera was immediately followed by a painful-looking grimace.
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What started as a contest to pick 2 guys and 2 girls for the opportunity to train and race together on Team RaceDayRush.com at the Saucony RockstAR Adventure Race on July 24th 2010 gave way to an overwhelming response in which 10 ‘awesome’ females were chosen for the Team RaceDayRush.com/Phat Chicks contest. What follows is the first two training videos. Stay tuned for more videos to come as the participants get closer to their goal of competing in an adventure race!

Phat Chicks Workout #1

Phat Chicks Workout #3 (Navigation Training)

Endurance sports in the Middle East are funny things. It’s true, every country in every region has its own challenges. UK athletes often endure blinding wind and rain. Scandinavians deal with year-round snow and plummeting temperatures. The unrelenting humidity in SE Asia literally saps everything from its athletes. In the Middle East, we deal with the heat.

This isn’t news to anyone. Much of the Middle East is one large uninterrupted desert and with deserts, comes heat. Not really a surprise. But what some people might find interesting is just how formidable an obstacle the heat can become.

Today is April 24. In my home state of Minnesota, the temperature at the time of writing is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I can imagine endurance athletes by the hundreds setting off on Saturday morning runs, hikes or bikes amidst windless paths beneath clear, crisp blue skies that conceal just the slightest nip in the air. To me, those are perfect training conditions.

Turn the page to training in Dubai today. After a leisurely lie-in turned into a light lunch and midday coffee, I set out for what I knew would be a bit of a difficult jog. You see, the temperature at midday here was 43 degrees. Celsius.

For those of you less familiar with the Celsius scale, that translates to 109 degrees. You read correctly. At noon on April 24, it’s 109 degrees. And this is just the beginning.

I think few in the city would disagree that summer is here. Summer in the Middle East is akin to the blustery, Arctic winters of Minnesota or other such dreadfully cold environs. Summer in the Middle East is usually the time of year when hoards of people sit inside, snack guiltlessly and get fat and complacent because the weather outside is too horrible to face.

Such is the conundrum of endurance athletes in the Middle East. You see, three of the year’s best Olys are coming up in October and December: Oman has two events sponsored by the local Al-Shanfari Group and Dubai is featuring its first SEA Dubai Oly on UAE National Day (Dec 2).

In order to get ready for what will certainly prove to be a quite strenuous autumn, athletes here have to train through the summer heat. As it is only April, we’re fortunate that evening temperatures plummet to 79 degrees (F) but we’re all mindful that by June — until around mid-September — we’ll be reaching the competitive phase of our training regiments through summer days that bring 120 degrees at a shockingly consistent clip.

Woe to the Middle Eastern triathlete? No, I’m not writing for sympathy. I’m just writing because I’ve found myself with a bit of time to kill after my forfeited attempt at a midday jog. Like the rest of the mugs in the city, I’m killing time indoors until the sun sets and some sort of sunbaked sanity resumes.

Questions about training or events in the Middle East? Drop me a line at xtremejourno@gmail.com. I’m Jeff.

Teamwork

Adventure Racing is one of the only sports in which you actually have to have your teammates with you, doing exactly what you’re doing, glued to your side at all times. That’s why Adventure Racing is just as much an interpersonal journey as a physical one. In the best of times, you will experience moments that will bond you to your teammates in a very special way for life. In the worst of times, you will walk away having experienced the worst aspects of human nature and be left to pick up the pieces of your shattered hopes. In my experience, a lack of teamwork skills is responsible for at least 40-50% of the DNF’s in Adventure Racing, and it is far too important a factor to overlook in any discussion about the sport. So here’s my two cents.

After years of study in what causes a team to rise from “good” to “world class”, I’ve come to the conclusion that the biggest factors are the attitudes and actions of the individual teammates. In the races my team and I have won, we were not the strongest or the fastest, but we were able to create a “human synergy”—an ephemeral quality or “magic” that made the TEAM stronger than the collective training and experience of the individual members. If I could bottle it, I would certainly be a millionaire– but after a good deal of thinking about the subject, I have a pretty good idea of the essential elements required for this human synergy. Here’s the highlight reel:

The 8 Essential Elements of Human Synergy

T Total Commitment
E Empathy and Awareness of Teammates
A Adversity Management
M Mutual Respect
W “We” versus “I” thinking
O Ownership of the Project
R Relinquishment of Ego
K Kinetic Leadership Continue Reading

Climbing

You may not have to worry about doing any climbing in the sprint races, but you will more than likely have at least a rappel in the longer races. In expedition and 24-hour races, you may also have to do an ascent with jumars. Both are very fun and relatively easy to learn.

Training:
*Head to a local gym or adventure racing camp to learn how to rappel with an ATC/Figure 8 and ascend with jumars (a jumar is a device that clasps around the rope and allows you to shuttle it forward, but not backwards–so you can actually climb “up” the rope, supporting your feet in attached “foot loops”).
*Practice with a number of different ascending techniques to discover what works for you. I find that I use two different techniques, one for low angle and one for vertical (“Rope Walker” system and “Frog/caving” system, respectively). It’s just a matter of practice and personal preference.

Tips:
*Buy lightweight equipment. You may be running with it on your body or in your pack for long periods of time
*When ascending, remember to use your legs to push yourself up, versus your arms to pull yourself up.
*Tie a hair band or rubber band around the bottom of your foot loops to keep your feet from sliding out of the loops. Put your foot in the loop underneath the rubber band and then just push down on the rubber band to tighten the webbing across the top of your foot.
*Learn to not only ascend, but train to transfer from one rope to another (around a knot) and continue ascending. This is very common in adventure racing. You may also be asked to do an ascent to rappel transition, which you should learn to do suspended mid-rope. It’s not hard, but there’s definitely a method to the madness.
*If you are new to rope work, sandwich yourself between your teammates in the line-up for ascending or rappelling on your designated rope. That way you have a coach at the bottom and at the top if you need one.
*Tie your hair, maps, compass and the waist strap of your backpack behind you before you get to the rope. Anything that can be caught in your equipment WILL be.

 

 

Mountain Biking

Most people considering an adventure race are pretty familiar with mountain biking and what it takes to train for it, so I wont spend a lot of time here. I’ll just cover a few tips that are adventure racing specific:

Tips:
*For sections that are certain to be at night, go big with the lights if the course is remotely technical. The extra weight will be worth the increased speed and safety. We use the Light and Motion “Stella’, which gives us that serious “turn night into daylight” setting as well as two lower levels for the less technical stuff. It’s also super lightweight, so it works great as a helmet mounted light.
*Rig two bikes with tow lines, and all bikes with small hooks to receive a tow. We’ve had great success using retractable dog leashes (for small dogs) as tow lines. Just cut off the latch at the end, tie the end of the line into a three-inch circle that fits over the receiving hook on your bike(s), and zip tie the leash casing under your seat and around your seat tube. Voila! This is called the “Rocky” system, since my buddy, Isaac Wilson’s Jack Russell sacrificed his leash for our initial test run of this system for Eco-Challenge 2001.
*Try to use the same pedal system as your teammates in case you need to swap bikes or bits of bikes for some reason.
*Buy or make a system for easy access to your food at all times. You will probably not be stopping to eat, and not eating on a mountain bike leg is not an option. I use a “bento box” rigged on my cross tube.

Navigation

Eighty and ninety percent of the races you will enter will have some kind of navigation or orienteering component. It’s a bit intimidating at first, but once you start learning and have some successes, this is an aspect of the race that you will truly learn to love. And learning the basics is not all that hard. If I can (sort of) do it, anyone can. Good navigating provides an incredible competitive advantage, and most experienced racers will admit that strategy, team tactics and navigation are a far bigger factor in their team’s success than speed. That’s why it’s no surprise that athletes in their mid-forties are still winning the big events! Old age, treachery and good navigation will overcome youth and skill any day. So get out there with your map and compass and become the MVP on your team.

Training:
*First, buy a local topographical map and a beginner’s navigation book, and get the basics.
*Next, attend a course or a camp with someone who is into “speed” navigation. Local orienteering clubs are a great source as are adventure racing camps and clinics.
*Join a local orienteering club and start doing competitions –try to do your first few with someone experienced, if possible, and watch their technique. Part of the efficiency of navigation revolves around where you keep your map/compass, how you hold and remember your location on the map, and how you access all of the information you need to get to the next checkpoint. The end goal here is to not only learn to navigate, but to navigate on the move.

Tips:
*Buy several local topographical maps of your local area and take them with you everywhere you go. You can learn a lot just by being a passenger in a car and practicing terrain association with the map while driving around. You should also do occasional runs with your map and see if you can identify the terrain features as you go.
*Find a way to have easy access to your maps during all events. For hiking, get a map holder that hangs around your neck. For paddling, find a waterproof map case that you can secure directly in front of you and a marine-type compass that sticks to hull of the boat. For mountain biking, create a map platform that’s positioned across your handlebars.
*Make sure that your teammates have at least a rudimentary knowledge of navigation so that they can back you up or cover for you. The best case scenario is to have at least two capable navigators on every team
*If you can find out the “scale” of the maps for your racecourse in advance (most will be 1:7,500 or 1:24,000), practice with maps of similar scale to get a feel for actual distances between various points.