With our 2 Fall HRAdventure
races just around the corner, I've been thinking a lot about how a
6-hour "sprint" adventure race is different than a longer 12-hour,
24-hour, or longer event. Somebody unfamiliar with adventure
racing might think a shorter event will always be easier than a longer
one, but things aren't quite that simple. There's a reason they
call adventure races lasting 6-hours or less "sprint" races: the pace
can be brutal. If you know you only have a few hours of exertion
in front of you, you're more likely to push your limits and race
flat-out as fast as your team can go. Teams can race near their
short-term physical limits since they know it's only for a few
hours. If the trekking leg is only 3 miles long in a short race,
you can bet winning teams will be pushing 6 or 7 minute miles. In
a longer race, keeping a blinding pace can be a recipe for a DNF;
longer races are still about moving quickly through the terrain, but at
a pace that is sustainable for the duration of the event.
In a sprint adventure race, decisions must be made very quickly and
the consequences are extremely high because the race may not last long
enough for a good team to recover from a bad route choice or unlucky
turn of events. 6 hours of racing may sound like a lot of time,
but you'd be surprised how fast it can go by. If you spend 15
minutes on a poor route decision and another 10 minutes fixing a flat
tire on a bike leg, realize that's 7% of the total 6 hours allotted for
the event. The margin for error in adventure racing is never very
large, but in a sprint race, the margin is razor thin if you're goal is
to win.
In a longer race, there is more time to rebound from setbacks and
luck (good or bad!) has a better opportunity to impact all the teams on
the course. Your team may pick the slow channel during the
paddling leg, but if the race lasts 20 hours, there are many other
chances to pick a fast route that other teams might not find.
Time has a habit of evening some of the luck out.
Now, don't get the wrong impression about longer races . . .
adventure races 12 hours or longer are challenging in so many different
ways . . . and expedition races are in another class altogether.
Team dynamics and mental toughness play a critical role in a longer
event; gear preparation, nutrition plan, and support crew are all
factors that weigh much more heavily in longer adventure races.
Of course, cardiovascular fitness is required for any type of
adventure race and no team will be successful without a solid physical
foundation, but I think the longer the race the more important all the
other factors become.
If you're new to the sport and you see teams explode from the
starting line at your first sprint adventure race, don't be surprised
or concerned. These may be experienced teams looking for any
advantage in a race that could be decided by seconds. Chances
are, if this is your first race you're just interested in competing for
the experience and you shouldn't gauge your performance based on other
teams out there for different reasons.
Moral
#1: Sprint races are fast and mentally and physically challenging for a
brief duration; longer races are not as fast, but challenging to mind
and body in many more ways and over a prolonged period. Which is
"easier" or "harder" is a matter of perspective; both bring their own
set of challenges and adversity and fun.
I recall a conversation with Scott Pleban about his race with Team
Salomon-Smartwool at the Raid World Cup qualifier in Oregon a few
months ago. Scott is a great adventure racer who came to the
sport through alpine orienteering for the US Olympic program.
He's fast. His team finished the race somewhere in the middle of
the pack and he commented that, even though it was a 30 hour race, the
pace was like a track meet. I read where Nike ACG, one of the
best of the best, covered a 7 mile trekking leg in 41 minutes at this
event. Do the math, that's fast: sub 6-minute miles with packs,
while navigating, and on trails (not a nice oval track or
anything). Nike ACG finished the race in second
place.
Moral
#2: to very select and exceptional pro teams, even a long race may be
competed like it's a Sprint race and doing it consistently and well is
what makes these teams so amazing.
If you're new to adventure racing and think a nice short Sprint race is a good gentle introduction to the sport, be aware that there's nothing gentle about adventure racing or you're doing it all wrong.
You might be pleasantly surprised, though, by tackling a slightly
longer race of 12 or 18 hours. Either way, recognize the
differences and how Sprint races are from Mars and longer races are
from Venus . . . and I should add that expedition races are from Alpha
Centauri.