by Jess Evans
September 3, 2018
I have never considered myself a member of the extreme sport club, but people I talk to who do not do adventure races feel it is an extreme sport. For me, adventure racing is a jolly time in the woods. Now, I realize everything is relative. What is one person’s “jolly time in the woods” is another’s “difficult race”. But when I hear someone say “I can’t do that!”, I don’t believe them. If you can walk and ride a bike, you can do an adventure race. Sure, there can be “extreme” aspects about adventure racing such as rappelling, biking on technical single track, huge downhill plunges, canoeing or rafting on white water, but for the most part, adventure races are pretty tame or you can choose to make them tame by skipping the extreme aspects of a race.
I think that if more people would give adventure racing a try, and not expect too much of themselves, they would find it relaxing, fulfilling, and marvelous. Ok… ok… I have been an athlete since I was young, so maybe I am not the best person to try to convince everyone that they too can be an adventure racer. But with adventure racing, you are in control of your destiny. You decide how much, how far, and how fast you are going to go. You create your own adventure within the course requirements.
Therefore, adventure racing is not an extreme sport. You can make it into an extreme sport by the route that you choose, but that also means you can make it a pleasant stroll in the woods by the route that you choose. The most important things to remember are 1) keep the race at your physical abilities and 2) manage your time wisely.
