Sportsister: A new sports magazine for women recently popped up in the U.K. and features a great website with everything from training tips to news and gear reviews.

Here is an excerpt from their “Guide to Adventure Racing“:

Adventure racing is essentially a multi-sport race, involving a minimum of trail running and mountain biking and also usually flatwater canoeing or kayaking.

Any number of additional activities can be involved, depending on the individual race format, with races sometimes including zip wires, abseils, canyoning, via ferratas, inline skating or rafting, and sometimes even more esoteric challenges.

Races vary in length from a few hours to several days, and can be either over linear courses or more open countryside based orienteering style events. Course based races usually revolve around timing, whereas orienteering style events often use checkpoints with different scores, meaning a team has to make their own decisions about time cut offs/penalties vs possible scores.

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Adventure races can either be run as an individual, or in mixed or single sex teams or pairs, with team spirit and camaraderie often being one of the more enjoyable aspects of the sport. Most appealing though is the combination of a physical challenge and a stunning outdoor location.

Do I need to be very fit or have any particular skills?
All adventure races require a level of general fitness, especially if you’re going to enjoy the experience. While shorter events obviously involve shorter distances and duration and can be less intimidating, they can also take on more of a ‘sprint’ character.

Longer races obviously require more stamina, but can also feel more relaxed. As long as you can run for a reasonable distance and are fairly happy on a mountain bike you should be fine to give a race a try. Canoeing skills are a bonus but safe sit-on style boats are the norm, meaning even those with minimal experience can have a try.

Races can be linear, needing no navigational skills, or checkpoint based and more like orienteering, requiring confidence with a map and compass. Do some investigating and you should find something that will suit your skills and goals.

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