Skills/Training: Other

While Navigation, Biking, Trekking and Paddling are the most common disciplines found in just about every adventure race, they are not the only things you may encounter in adventure racing. For those taking on a one-day event or a multi-day expedition race there may be other activities required, not to mention the longer the races get the more specialized skills start to be required to do those races of longer lengths. The RDs will highlight any out-of-the-ordinary activities or competencies necessary. Ropes/Climbing tend to be one of the most common add-on, and basic skills such as rappelling or ascending using mechanical ascenders are hallmarks of longer events.
 
Beyond ropes, you may see sports such as stand-up paddle boarding, coasteering, caving, mountaineering, and back in the early days of AR some even had rollerblading and more obscure disciplines such horseback riding. Any of these things are not to be taken lightly if required. Some can be picked up quite easily with a local club or an experienced friend, while others require more intensive training with professional instructors. When signing up for a more advanced and/or longer events, make sure you do your homework and know what you're getting into plus start to consider other aspects of adventure racing as you get into longer distances:

Nutrition: Nutrition is a skill? Yes! a strategy that beginner racers often forget about/ignore until its too late because when you’re doing a 4-6 hour race, many can get away with just drinking a little water/Gatorade during the race and otherwise running your tank to empty by the finish line. As the races get longer you can’t just run your tank to empty, you need to put energy/calories back into your body during the event because its not possible to start a 10hr or longer race with enough energy to take you through the whole event. If you are biking, paddling, trekking, then there’s no point during an adventure race where you aren’t spending your energy reserves. Also if you are sweating all this time your body is losing sodium/salt that it very much needs, if you aren’t replenishing your body will crash and/or you risk dehydration.

For this reason it becomes very important to learn how to plan/strategize your calorie intake for during the race. Sports drinks are fine for replenishing some calories/sodium, but it may not be enough to refill the amount you are burning; many racers use salt tablets or specialized powder mixes to add to their hydration for that reason. There’s also a point for many racers where you can only ingest so much gels, gummies and sport granola bars before your body just wants “something real.” for this reason its important to test out what your body likes while doing your trekking, biking and paddling practicing we talked about on previous pages. You don’t want to try something out on raceday only to find out you can’t stand the flavor or texture.

There are some great guides out there written by adventure races that can help you think and plan your nutrition.

Sleeping: Yes you read that right, and right now you’re thinking to yourself, “really!? sleeping is a skill? I’m great at sleeping.” Once you get past the 24-30 hour length for an adventure race you start getting out of the range of what a human body is capable of of doing: operating without sleep/rest. There have been many, many, many adventure racers who have tried and tried to push the limits of how little sleep you can get and continue to be functional, but the fact remains there is a point at which your body will crash (literally and figuratively) if you don’t rest and that can be very dangerous beyond just losing a race. You might be a great navigator, cyclist or paddler, but how good are you at it when you haven’t slept in 30+ hours?

As such, its in these longer races you start to hear the term “sleep strategy” which means figuring out when, where, and for how long and how often you/your team needs to rest. Your body needs to rest, but you’re still racing against the clock, so it becomes important to figure out what your limits are and what “minimum” amount of sleep will rejuvenate you enough to continue operating at the level needed to keep going. Also finding a place to sleep is strategy in itself, Transition Areas tend to be noisy, and you can’t lay down just anywhere and get quality sleep.

Rock Climbing / Ropes: One of the more common disciplines added into longer adventure races is some form of ropes-work/rock climbing. These are usually added in as part of the course design to show you some cool sights, avoid very long roundabout routes as as a way to just change things up from the norm. The level of which you’ll need to do these skills will vary depending on the race. Just about all races that have these disciplines will have licensed/certified staff to assist racers, but the actual act of doing it is all on you. for that reason its very much worth your time to try and find a local climbing gym to practice even the most basic skills and so you are not using your arm muscles like this for the first time ever during the race.

Stand-Up Paddle Board: SUP has begun to show up a little more recently in races, especially after it was prominently featured in World’s Toughest Race Eco-Challenge Fiji. It is paddling sure, so we could have included it on that page, but what sets it apart from paddling in a boat/raft, is that your standing on a paddle board which means balance is now involved, not to mention the paddle stroke for a SUP is completely different than anything you would do sitting down in a boat/raft. For this reason this is very much a skill you don’t want to be trying for the very first time during a race. Most river outfitters and many parks on lakes rent SUPs so you can go out and give it a try without needing to purchase one yourself.

Wild-Card Skills / Adaptation: Probably one of the most used skills in adventure racing is the ability to adapt and think on the spot. You may not always be riding your bike during a bike leg, or sitting in your boat during a paddle leg. Courses sometimes require you to get out of the everyday expectation of how to get from point A to point B, and many races afford you the freedom to decide the quickest route yourself. there may be checkpoints that can be obtained on bike or on foot with the decision left up to you the racer. There may be an opportunity to short-cut across a stream/creek/river instead of biking several miles around using the existing roads.

All of this means you should practice some level of this in your training. Have you ever carried your bike for a 1/4-mile? Have you ever had to fix a broken bike chain or a flat tire before? Have you ever gotten your feet wet and your shoes dirty? Are you prepared to do those things, do you have a backup plan if your shoes/socks get drenched and you still have several more hours of racing left? Just get used to adapting in the moment during a race so you don’t freeze up if/when that moment arrives.

If you can’t find the time to develop an intermediate comfort level with a more obscure skill, consider whether it’s the best event for you and your team, especially if that discipline seems to be a significant part of the race. It’s not just your ability to complete the event that could be compromised, but your safety as well. Depending on the skills necessary, you can sometimes get away with only having a couple of proficient team members. If they are able to help guide the rest of the team safely through a section of the race, that may be enough. The RD should make this clear; if they don't, ask! And as I’ve noted throughout this series: know your limits. You and your team’s safety is paramount, but so is that of the other teams on the course, not to mention the race staff and other safety personnel involved in the event. If you know you are in over your head, make sure you put the time into developing the proficiency necessary to complete the section of the race.