2011 Adventure Races - Recommendations?

Iron Enthusiast

I'm thinking of entering into a few adventure races next year for the laugh and to mix things up a bit. Are there any races in particular which people have experience of and would recommend?

Also are there any adventure races out there with a swim section? (can;t think of one off the top of my head)

Thanks in advance!

:pac:

guapos

Any of the WAR or ROAR races. Achill ROAR has a section you can swim or kayak. I found the organisation of these events far superior to Gael Force West (I did it in '09 i believe '10 was better)

http://www.wicklowadventurerace.com/

i saw somewhere that there are 3 WAR races next year

http://www.roar.ie/wicklow-roar/index.php

groovyg

Check out the Irish Triahtlon website http://www.irishtriathlon.com that has a good list of both triathlons and adventure races for next year.
I haven't had the chance to do many of the new ones this year. The War and Roar races got a lot of great reviews in particular the WAR in Glendalough and Achill Roar was also one that people enjoyed. The Achill Roar has the option of a swim and kayak section.
There was also a new one the Dingle Adventure race on in kerry in June. The CLEC adventure race is my all time favourite simply cause its great craic and the mountain biking course is brilliant.
Padraig Marrey organised a really good race in November called the Sea to Summit it was more an adventure duathlon as there was no kayaking involved.
Gaelforce West and the Connermara Adventure challenge are also other options. I'm sure I've left some out , I'm not going to post the links to them all as they are all on the race calendar of the irish triathlon website.

Cool Running

Not sure if you've ever done Orienteering or anything like that before but if your looking for something different I would advise one of these navigation races

The Mourne 2day on in September http://www.mourne2day.com/

The Setanta Wicklow Rogaine on in June http://www.setantaorienteers.org/event/rogaine-ireland-2010


While Gaelforce, ROAR etc are brilliant races you are told exactly what route to take where as in these races it's entirely up to you which makes it more of a adventure imo

Just a taught

kitesurfingbum

This is the biggest list I have found, Its the Guys behind WAR, who seem to have teamed up with Galeforce and Roar to run adventure race series

http://www.irishtriathlon.com/index.php/race-calendar/2011-adventure-races/



Kite

dapope

There are any number of Multi Sport Races to choose from:

Gaelforce
Roar (has a swim section)
War
etc.

If you want to do some proper Adventure Racing:
Beast of Ballyhoura
The Cooley Raid
Causway Coast Adventure Race Series
Total Experience Adventure Race

locteau

dapope wrote: »

There are any number of Multi Sport Races to choose from:

Gaelforce
Roar (has a swim section)
War
etc.

If you want to do some proper Adventure Racing:
Beast of Ballyhoura
The Cooley Raid
Causway Coast Adventure Race Series
Total Experience Adventure Race

I agree with you on this there is introduction to adventure race and then Adventure mentioned above. For example I organize a adventure duathlon in march 2011 in Mayo but really it is a introduction of a a hard on and off road event, which are not easy to categorize.

Adventure racing as I used to do are not a few hours work but over minimum two days with camping and self efficient, compass, climbing and other cool stuff. Ireland is a great country for it...... I am sure it will come to there.

ezikel

www.dublindaresyou.com is another one to add to the mix

dapope

locteau wrote: »

I agree with you on this there is introduction to adventure race and then Adventure mentioned above. For example I organize a adventure duathlon in march 2011 in Mayo but really it is a introduction of a a hard on and off road event, which are not easy to categorize.

Adventure racing as I used to do are not a few hours work but over minimum two days with camping and self efficient, compass, climbing and other cool stuff. Ireland is a great country for it...... I am sure it will come to there.

I agree that these types of events are difficult to categorise. The race you mention I would consider to be an off road duathlon similar to the Tuff Trax Off Road Duathlons.

My only problem with the use of the word "Adventure" when naming these races is that I feel that it detracts from what some would consider proper Adventure Racing. There has been an explosion of Multi Sport events over the last few years yet very few have made the transition to Adventure Racing. There are many reasons for this... the naming\categorisation of events I think has been a minor contributing factor.

Hopefully peoples awareness of proper Adventure Racing will eventually grow through Multi Sport races and feed into events like the Beast of Ballyhoura and the Cooley Raid will start to see increased numbers.

locteau

I agree with you, when we started our race we just did not know what was the proper name for it, and Adventure events were in fashion so our group decided to go with that name.

I was going to call it "Hardathlon" but was not too relevant either. I think it would be nice to have a NGB looking after multisports events (is there?) I would be keen to get involve.

After a good few ironmans and ultra run or swims etc... I am getting more in adventure events for some reasons. Maybe normal evolution :-)

Wonkagirl

Gaelforce west announced today, i'm sure you all got the mail..

did anyone spot the safety notice? ''do not do the race if you cant do it in under 8 hrs 30 mins?''.. i thought that was a bit bah-humbuggy... so essentially it's not open to walkers this yr. i know a few people who walked last yr (around the 9 hr mark) and loved the race! annoying.. i mean i'm sure you can still register and say nothing, and just complete it in your own time on the day, but STILL, i thought it was a bit mean spirited..

even more mean spirited is the face that they are categorically NOT giving bundle discounts ala WAR/ROAR, for people who enter all 4 GF races... meanies:rolleyes:

the 'early bird' price of 85 eur is a bit of a disgrace too!

ThisRegard

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Gaelforce west announced today, i'm sure you all got the mail..........

The ROAR mail also came today, the West Wicklow Expert will be an absolute killer. The sports is tough but the expert, even doing just half it, is very challenging. It's in May so that's a nice start to the season.

Regarding Gaelforce, I noticed the new requirements ala dropping the walker catergory.

groovyg

Wonkagirl wrote: »

the 'early bird' price of 85 eur is a bit of a disgrace too!

85 yo yo :eek: :eek: I'm guessing GF North will be similar in price if thats what they are charging for GFW. Thats pretty crap for early bird entries. Its €55 for ROAR events don't see any for WAR yet.

The good thing is there seems to be lots of races on for 2011 so lots to choose from.

RMac

If you are looking for something longer over two days there is the Coast to Coast Race across Ireland. West to East format, just over 300km from Enniscrone, Co Sligo to Newcastle, Co Down.

www.coasttocoast.ie for more information.

locteau

that's what I am looking for !

Thanks

kerinsp

Has anyone here done the coast2coast before? It looks cool. I'm interested in doing it solo but have only done gaelforce west and WAR before. I'm a bit concerned about the length of the cycle sections. Is this just for the elites?

Enduro

kerinsp wrote: »

Has anyone here done the coast2coast before? It looks cool. I'm interested in doing it solo but have only done gaelforce west and WAR before. I'm a bit concerned about the length of the cycle sections. Is this just for the elites?

It isn't just for the elites. In the same way as a marathon isn't just for elites, even though it might look daunting to someone who has only done 5k races. The cycle sections aren't all that long really. Look at the numbers (and age and fitness) of people who successfully complete the likes of the Ring of Kerry or Wicklow 200 cycle challenges. Remember, everyone has to go slower since the distance is longer. Personally I find the more relaxed pace of longer distance races easier, and much more enjoyable, than the faster more intense pace of sprint events like GF and WAR.

kerinsp

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought of slowing the pace way down!

SOH32

looks like a great event and the fact it passes through my home town makes it a must!

Biggest concern is the kayak section - 26km in a kayak is very different to the kayak section of gaelforce - what training is recommended for this section? I guess I'll need to find a place to do alot of kayak specific training to get used to the time on water and distance......

Enduro

SOH32 wrote: »

Biggest concern is the kayak section - 26km in a kayak is very different to the kayak section of gaelforce - what training is recommended for this section? I guess I'll need to find a place to do alot of kayak specific training to get used to the time on water and distance......

Kayaking is recommended as kayak training. It's pretty simple really. Just like running is recommended as running training and cycling is recommended as cycling training. Get some instruction on stroke techniques. Kayaking is akin to swimming, in that technique is critically important. Most people if left to their own devices will develop a very inefficient stroke which will probably break down over 26km (you can get away with crap technique in the laughably short kayak sections in races like GF, WAR etc).

Fi H

I started taking part in these races last year to get out and about and have a bit of crack. I did the following:
Connemara Adventure Challenge - great crack with good mixture of hill, cycling both on and slightly off road kayaking etc. Not too long - 31km. very well organised and a really good party afterwards
CLEC - tarmac - the CLEC adventure race is a team race so unless you have people to do it with there was only the tarmac option for solo racers. This was a tough race as there was no signage on the route, the map was crap and they had left all the signs for other races on the route which led to pretty much everyone in the tarmac race getting lost. That said i really enjoyed it as it was an interesting experience and again really good party after.
Jog in the Bog - Galway - new race in 2010. I wouldnt do this race again. Tonnes and tonnes of road cycling with very little kayaking and hill running in between - really good party mainly local attendence. Fantastic food served.
Gaelforce west - good race but I think there are better out there. I am one of the people they are trying to weed out this year with their 8.5hr cut off which I have to say is dissappointing and making me rethink entering any of their events this year. Although the race is a challenge its not as social as other races as there are so many people entered and also is very expensive in terms of accommodation down there on the weekend. I reckon could easliy get 2 races in for the price of this one.
WAR glenmalure (sport class) - Really tough cycle but liked the rest of the race. Well organised although I found the bales of hay at end of the race v tough due to being short
Achill ROAR - really good race, really good atmosphere & best party of the lot!
I would definitely recommend the events run by MSAI and Total Experience as they are well organised and let you compare times well when you get our results!

Plans for 2011:
Get fit enough to finish Gaelforce West in under 8.5 hours but not enter
Art O Neill Challenge
Try to get to one of the CAAR series in Feb or March if possible
WAR Glendalough
Connemara Adventure Race
Wicklow ROAR
Ocean to City
Ras Erigail
Ras Na Riochta
Ballyhoura Blitz

There are lots to choose from and they vary greatly in terms of on and off road! Hope you find one you like!

locteau

That's what I call a good review with feedback of list.

Sounds good. Those events are great and excellent to develop new skills. The list is getting better in Ireland which might save me some time of traveling abroad.

thetonynator

SOH32 wrote: »

looks like a great event and the fact it passes through my home town makes it a must!

Biggest concern is the kayak section - 26km in a kayak is very different to the kayak section of gaelforce - what training is recommended for this section? I guess I'll need to find a place to do alot of kayak specific training to get used to the time on water and distance......

Anyone know what race has the longest kayaking section in it? as a per cent of the whole, that is . .roughly.

Adventurer10

2010 was my first time taking part in any adventure/multisports races and did all the WAR , ROAR and Gaelforce and became a bit adicted to them

But my favourite by far was Ras na Riochta, starts near Glenbeigh in Kerry, mostly off road, cycling on the Kerry way, hill running and candian canoes on lough carragh. Loved the remoteness of the course, spectacular scenary and the fact it was off road made it more of an adventure. Plus the best goodie bags I've ever seen :-) Only downside was the lack of a party or any post race refreshments afterwards. No. 1 on my list for 2011.

Also loved the Ballyhoura Blitz, 10km hill running and 20km mountain biking, much tougher than it looks on paper.

And Achill ROAR gets my vote for best after race party:)

I felt Gaelforce was too big and too commercial and impersonal, but glad to have ticked it off the list of things to do once.

Looking forward to trying some of the 'real' adventure races in 2011, heard of the CCAR ones, can anybody recommend any others?

Timmaay

Any adventure races that the cycle is all off-road? Gale force and WAR all look good, but most people seem to them on cyclocrosses, and I prefer the proper mountain biking stuff!

Adventurer10

Timmaay wrote: »

Any adventure races that the cycle is all off-road? Gale force and WAR all look good, but most people seem to them on cyclocrosses, and I prefer the proper mountain biking stuff!

Hi Timmaay,
The following are on mtb
Carlingford Lough Endurance Challenge
Ras na Riochta
Ballyhoura Blitz

Prefer off road myself do you know of any others?

Enduro

thetonynator wrote: »

Anyone know what race has the longest kayaking section in it? as a per cent of the whole, that is . .roughly.

Since you left it open ended...

The race with the longest kayaking sections that I've done is the Abu Dhabi Adventure chalenge. In 2009 there was about 80-100km of Kayaking in the first two days (of a 6 day race). That was pretty serious kayaking, and broke a few teams. Any race that has 1/3 kayaking is doing well with its ratios.

If you meant to constrain it to Irish races, then the likes of the Ballyhoura Beast and the Cooley Raid would probably be the two with the longest kayaking sections. Both are proper adventure races, so the ratio of kayaking will vary from year to year (since, being a proper adventure race, the course is not revealed until the day before the event start). The Irish race with the longest kayaking sections I've done was the Adrenalin Rush, but that race is long gone, unfortunately.

Enduro

Adventurer10 wrote: »

Looking forward to trying some of the 'real' adventure races in 2011, heard of the CCAR ones, can anybody recommend any others?

The CCAR races
The Ballyhoura Beast
The Cooley Raid
The Total Experience Adventure Race
The CLEC (Full MTB version)... lacks a navigation element, but we'll count it anyway, since it has everything else.

They're the Irish ones that I can think of at the moment.

Enduro

Timmaay wrote: »

Any adventure races that the cycle is all off-road? Gale force and WAR all look good, but most people seem to them on cyclocrosses, and I prefer the proper mountain biking stuff!

Any race that can be finished on a road bike isn't really an adventure race. So what you're asking is actually "are there any adventure races", which is answered in my post above (With the addition of the Ras Na Riochta and the Ballyhoura Blitz as solo non-nav races).

Adventurer10

thetonynator wrote: »

Anyone know what race has the longest kayaking section in it? as a per cent of the whole, that is . .roughly.

found this www.oceantocity.com not exactly an adventure race but if you like to kayak it would be an adventure to do it

thetonynator

Adventurer10 wrote: »

found this www.oceantocity.com not exactly an adventure race but if you like to kayak it would be an adventure to do it

I didnt really explain, but i do loads of kayaking anyway, and race a lot in kayaking so i was looking for an adventure race where i could combine it with running and swimming or cycling or something, as it would be easier for me than doing a triathlon or something straight off.

ocnoc

If you want to test how good you are, do the Setanta 24hr Rogaine in Wicklow.

Most people who do the mulitsports would craic after the 16hr mark when its in the darkest part of the night and its still raining and you marked the checkpoint wrong, your ill fitting shoes have caused you feet to start bleeding. All your training means nothing, you just want to curl into a ball and die, but your best "friend" is egging you on saying your almost there, only 30km left...your so tired a tarmac road makes a great bed....

Wooh... sorry... nasty flash backs :P

The Beast is pretty much what it says on the tin.
Its disappointing that people are afraid to do the races due to the nav element. Unmarked courses make it so much more exciting as you can get to more remote and stunningly beautiful places... In a group of 4, only 1 needs to navigate!


I'm unsure if I want to go back into the long races at the moment. Stick to the shorter off road races.

ThisRegard

ocnoc wrote: »

Its disappointing that people are afraid to do the races due to the nav element. Unmarked courses make it so much more exciting as you can get to more remote and stunningly beautiful places... In a group of 4, only 1 needs to navigate!

I wouldn't say it's fear, more a confidence and lack of experience issue. Plus I'm one of those people who think feicin eejits when I hear of people who went walking and have to get mountain rescue out of their beds when they get lost or too tired to continue, I don't want to be one of those ! So maybe it is fear, fear of being called a feicin eejit by people like me.

I'm going to keep an eye out on the navigation courses mentioned on the IMRA forum, I managed to miss the last of them last year.

ocnoc

ThisRegard wrote: »

think feicin eejits when I hear of people who went walking and have to get mountain rescue out of their beds when they get lost or too tired to continue, I don't want to be one of those !

lost is generally a nav error... everyone makes nav errors and gets lost every now and then. and anyone who says they have never made a nav error is not someone you want to go into the mountains with - mainly because they are lieing through there arse. Everyone makes mistakes, I'd nearly say its safer to go with someone who makes the occasional mistake because they will know exactly what to do when they realise they have made a mistake. ie they won't panic and compound the matter!

Its not so much the nav'ing thats the issue, its the what to do when you realise stuff isn't matching up anymore and finding out where you are quickly and accurately...

I hear the IMRA nav courses are good... the guys really know what they're on about

jeffontour

ThisRegard wrote: »

I wouldn't say it's fear, more a confidence and lack of experience issue.

The great thing about real adventure racing is that you have the team to fall back on to allow you gain experience. I did my first real AR last year and we had two people on the team happy with nav, 1 a bit stronger than the other, and 2 who were following. I was one of the followers.

Our primary navigator did a great job of giving us sections to navigate and including us in decisions, helping us gain experience. When you're starting out in a career you've likely no experience and sometimes you blag your way into a job. It's much easier with AR imo as you can prove yourself physically, if you feel you need to, in the marked multi sport events that have become popular. All you need to do after that is ask and you'll get a team together.

You can sort the lack of experience thing relatively easily and the confidence will build from that I think.

locteau

The team is very important, especially when you feel down and slow down a bit they are a great boost and motivation factor.

When I was in the army I used to do lots of orienteering and was lucky to have good team mates, as I made a good few mistakes which led us to catch up ! But the team spirit was great in this situation.

ross_fitz

Agreed that Rás na Ríoctha in Kerry was excellent last year.. competitive, well organised, great atmosphere and tough course - and great value for money considering the generous goody bag!

ThisRegard

I did orienteering myself a few times but it was a long long time ago, as well as a fair bit of hill walking.

Jeff, what was the race you did last year ?

alanpryan

did one last year in waterford. the site was www.waterfordadventurerace.com I really enjoyed it. not sure if its on this year. Someone was telling me its being organised but site isnt active yet. the kayak was downstream on the River Blackwater which was really nice and there was some fabulous views. the last cycle section was blooming hard though. Nice small number doing it,unlike some of them that are just too big i think . hope this helps. it was on around end of May last year and teh weather was south of france kinda stuff
Alan

locteau

I need to get a cheap kayak, I think after my channel swim if I succeed and the 24h run in Croagh Patrick I might start to go back to Adventure races, Ultra swim bike run are nice but need some changes a bit.

A good while I did not kayal properly..... just for a few safety in triathlon or coaching.....

babystrawberry

Hiya

Just wondering does anyone know if the 'waterford adventure race' will be running again this year. I missed it last year so am hoping to partake this year, only thing is website hasnt been updated.

http://www.waterfordadventurerace.com/

anyone out there who has completed last years course ...how did ye find it?

Causeway

babystrawberry wrote: »

Hiya
anyone out there who has completed last years course ...how did ye find it?

Race report from the winner here.

mini mal

<snip- please see charter about advertising commercial races>

mini mal

<snip-ditto above>

alanpryan

Waterford adventure race has been confirmed for 21st May 2011, I did it last year, it was great. Website is www.waterfordadventurerace.com and Id recommend it big time

ocnoc

Had to scramble up Sugarloaf hill during the beast a few years ago. It is a bitch of a climb. Made me wonder why imra didn't venture down that part of the country. Could have a few class short up and down races!

Rest of the course/list of rules doesn't look too inspiring. Suppose its standard for multisport races.

Peterx

On a bad day the circuit of avonbeg will almost qualify as an adventure race young padawan:)

ocnoc

I think you forgot to add... "as part A of a night nav stage"

centre back

how does the mountain in this race compare to gaelforce west, done gaelforce twice but is an awful long way to go for a race, good to see some races happening down south

alanpryan

Hi, I havent done Gael Force West myself. There are 2 options in the Waterford Adventure Race. The elite option involves a fairly arduous but short enough scamper up a steep enough hill, in total about 1.2km up and 1.2km back down. The sporty/novice option involves a much easier trot down to a lake and back, downhill to the lake and not a very steep ascent back to the bike, with the distance being about the same as the elite distance for this section. Not sure what part of the country you are in but I know that the Waterford Adventure Race is going to be big as word gets out about it and I know its very well organised, but I'd say the main thing it has going for it is the route, it's absolutely gorgeous terrain with unreal views and if the weather is friendly for the day like last year it's going to be special

Adventurer10

Filling up the racing calender at the moment and found an interesting one in County Limerick in April, Headless Horseman Adventure Race, anybody else doing it?