by Jess Evans
February 6, 2019
One of the pluses of social media is the ease at which we can learn about and follow races going on throughout the country and the world. What used to be a poor spectator friendly sport, AR watching has really improved with blogs, podcasts, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I am watching races unfold before my eyes on social media that I had only known about peripherally in the past or did not know about at all.
Some of the best resources to follow a race or learn about past races are on social media. For example, you can visit the Adventure Racing Cooperative website, click on the Race Report page, and read a racer’s report on a particular race anytime. These reports are entertaining, informative about past races, and may provide you some tips on how to improve your race. You can read this blog to learn more about 361° Adventures and Athena Adventures’ races (and my thoughts on most things adventure racing). You can listen to the TA1 podcast by the Legendary Randy Ericksen to hear from any number of adventure racers and race directors. On top of that, his facebook page is full of some spectacular pictures and videos of the races he frequents. Side note: Make sure you do not miss the amazing video he did of the 361° Adventures team from AR Worlds Cowboy Tough in 2017 . Or you can “like” Facebook pages such as AR Live Coverage and see a race unfold in front of you in your Facebook feed from anywhere around the world. Another great one is the Adventure Racing Discussion Group, which provides much more about adventure racing than just the races. There really are many great pages out there to “like” and enjoy.
We, as a community, are utilizing multiple tools to provide a complete picture of our AR community. While the rest of the world may still not know exactly what adventure racing is, we have a plethora of materials to “show” them what it is and a host of great people to race with. An awesome way to get people involved may be one or more of these excellent sources to share with friends and family that do not yet know of or participate in adventure racing. I know AR is not for everyone, but I think there are a lot of people out there that do not participate who would find it to be one of the greatest adventure sports ever invented.
