Adventure racing skills for sprint races include running, mountain biking, basic paddle skills and equipment selection. Endurance-length races require these skills, plus basic navigation and logistics skills and more advanced paddling skills. Participating in 24+ hour races will require advanced logistic skills, basic rope skills, intermediate navigation skills, distance hiking skills and basic emergency first-aid knowledge. Expedition races combine all these skills, plus require advanced navigation skills and strong “mental toughness” (which can be honed through practice).
Each of the tabs to the left feature discipline specific skills. A few additional tips are below.
First Aid. Wilderness first aid is an excellent skill to have and it is important that at least two members of a team on a 24 hour+ have at least basic wilderness first aid skills. A weekend long (16 hour class) will teach the basic required skills, including stabilizing racers after an accident.
Mental Toughness. Although numerous books have been written on mental toughness/training for athletes, we find The Triathlete’s Guide to Mental Training to be the best of breed (perhaps because the co-author is an adventure racer).
One of the fastest way to learn how to adventure race is to participate in an adventure racing camp. Camps range from less than a day to over a week. Most camps will end with a mock race, often 24 hours or more in length.
A few of the leading camps are listed below, but there are plenty around.
E-Camps (California)
Equinox (Ottawa)
Genesis Adventure Training
Gravity Play (Utah)
Odyssey Adventure Racing (West Virginia)
