O U T D O O R A DV E N T U R ES with Andy Flanagan
Adventure Racing
AS you may well have guessed I like a bit of outdoor adventure; a while back a sport called Adventure Racing caught my eye. It’s 10 years on now and my wife and I have had the privilege to complete many ARs, so I thought it might be nice to share a quick insight into this amazing and diverse sport. AR is a team sport with 2 or 4 per team and has 3 core disciplines; Mountain biking, Kayaking, Trekking and often other challenges like pack rafting rapids, climbing, abseiling, archery, puzzles, high ropes, etc The time frames vary depending on the event, some as short as 3 hours and some as long as 100 - 6 and 24 hour are quite common. The rules are fairly simple; navigate the course within the specified timeframe with only a compass and supplied maps, punching checkpoints along the way, carry required mandatory equipment like first aid kit and phone for use in emergency only, and stay within the boundaries of supplied maps. All maps and information are provided on the day of the event or the day prior for longer races. All details of the course are kept secret untill the maps are handed out. The only course information available prior to the race is where the HQ is located, times and equipment required. Once maps are handed out competitors plan their route and sort their equipment that they will require at various transitions on the course, then submit these to the race organisers before heading to the start line. Equipment you will need - comfy shoes, accurate
compass, mountain bike, wet weather jacket, backpack suitable to carry water and mandatory kit, high-powered head torch for night navigating, and what ever else you think you might need and are happy to carry on your back. Overnight events may require a thermal layer and a bivvy bag and most events provide kayaks. The pics are of our most recent achievement, completing the Rogue Raid 100 Hour held down in the Clarence Valley, where we covered a modest 320km on mountain bike, kayak, trekking and packrafting. The elite teams covered well over 600km getting 1 or 2 hours sleep per night! Highlights were 45km of white water packrafting on the Nymboida, trekking Gibraltar Range National Park, paddling 70km on the mighty Clarence river and climbing 20m+ up a pine tree to punch a check point. The Sunshine Coast is host to a couple of regular Adventure racing events - the Hells Bells 24hour by Wild & Co and the Kathmandu Wild Horse by Max Adventure. The latter is a great one to get you started. Another option to learn about AR’s intricacies here on the coast is to join Jan
and Kim at Tri Adventure. The sunshine coast is an adventure playground so get amongst it! See you out there. Andy Flanagan - Mountain biker, Unicyclist, Trail runner, senior mech at Spoke n Trail and owner of Sunshine Unicycles. Photo credit Rogue Raid 100 and Wendy Flanagan
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