by Jess Evans
April 27 2018
Adventure Racing includes four main disciplines, although others may be included. The four main disciplines are navigation (using USGS topographic maps often 1:24,000 in scale and a compass), biking (both on and off road), trekking (on and off trail), and paddling. Other disciplines may include ropes (rappelling, climbing), team challenges, rafting, swimming, paddle boarding, snowshoeing… Really, the sky is the limit for the other disciplines, but all these various racing legs center around navigation.
Having all these disciplines is a curse and a blessing. The curse is, you should practice all of them. The discipline I practice the least is paddling. I have a kayak, so not getting out to kayak is just pure laziness. When I do get out to paddle, if it is on a lake, I tire of the activity quickly and head in. If it is on a river, the advantage for me is I get to run back to my car after hiding my kayak in the woods. I always run fast back to my car because I am so worried someone will take off with my kayak. My over practiced discipline is running/trekking. When I have no idea what discipline I should practice on a given day, I default to running or going for a long walk. Note to self: I really need to bike more.
The blessing is, during the race you are doing each discipline just long enough to get tired, miserable, and sore. Near the end of a long leg, I am cursing the race directors for putting me through so much misery. As soon as I switch to another discipline, my muscles and mind rejoice! “Hallelujah, I do not have to trek for a while!” Or… “hot dog, I am sure glad that paddle is over”. Switching from one discipline to the next per leg, rejuvenates me and keeps me searching for those checkpoints. Nothing motivates me more than moving on to a new leg of the race – and the finish.
The only time navigating gets grueling is when I get really lost or make navigation errors, one after another. When I participate in a race as a solo, I sometimes find myself completely in the wrong spot. It takes all my emotional strength not to sit down in the mud and start wailing. I can imagine myself going into an all out 2-year-old tantrum, throwing down my map, cursing my compass, and wallowing in the mud in utter self pity that I am lost – AGAIN. But I manage to keep myself together and find where I am on the map, even if it means going back to the last known spot. Finding oneself after being lost is always encouraging.
To sum it up, do not over train or under train in your disciplines like I do, and be glad when you see a lot of legs in a race, that means you get lots of breaks from one discipline. Reason number 287 as to why adventure racing is so great (if I were counted the reasons).
