After a three-year hiatus, the Two Rivers Adventure Race returns in 2024 as Rootstock Racing’s premier one-day adventure race, combining mountain biking, foot travel, packrafting, canoeing, and map-and-compass navigation, all within two hours of Philadelphia.

The thirty-hour event, sanctioned by the US Adventure Racing Association, will serve as the inaugural championship for the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) North American Region. Currently in its second season, the series brings together the best mid-distance adventure races in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The stakes at the championship race are high: the winning team in the premier division will earn a free entry into the 2025 Adventure Racing World Championship, to be held in British Columbia, Canada. It is the first time the World Championship will take place in North America since 2017.

“We are thrilled to see North America joining the existing ARWS regional series, and we can’t think of a better race than the Two Rivers to serve as our first championship event,” says ARWS CEO Heidi Muller. “Race directors Brent Freedland and Abby Perkiss consistently offer high quality courses and bring a keen eye for detail to their events. It is North American racing at its finest.”

This year’s course is befitting the caliber of competition that a championship event will likely draw. “The Mid-Atlantic region has one of the most active adventure racing communities in the United States,” says Freedland, co-founder of Rootstock Racing. “Many of the strongest teams in the US and Canada live within a day’s drive of Philadelphia, and the city serves as an easy hub for teams flying in as well. We look forward to hosting the top teams from across North America and showing the rest of the world the depth and breadth of the sport here.”

Even as the event will challenge the top teams, Freedland and Perkiss have designed a course that is accessible to newer racers excited to get their feet wet in overnight racing. All teams will complete a designated mandatory course, which requires less distance to travel and less technical navigation to reach the finish line. More experienced racers will be treated to additional optional checkpoints, guaranteed to challenge even the strongest athletes and the most capable navigators.

With fifteen years of experience directing adventure races together, Freedland and Perkiss have hosted dozens of events ranging from two-hour family-focused adventures to five-day qualifiers for the ARWS world championship. They have a reputation for challenging navigation, plenty of strategy and route choice, and a welcoming and fun community.

“And this year’s Two Rivers is no different,” says Perkiss. “After a three-year hiatus for the event as we focused on launching the multi-day Endless Mountains Adventure Race, we can’t wait to see the Rootstock family come together again, and we’re equally excited to welcome new teams into the fold in 2024.” Perkiss and Freedland are especially eager to welcome younger racers to the event. Any team with all members under 23 years of age will receive a 25 percent discount on entry.

The crux of this year’s course will be a massive trek/packraft, which will require racers to make choices about both the route they take and their mode of travel. “This section has the feel of an expedition race,” says Perkiss, “remote and wild. You could go many hours without seeing another person. Teams should make sure they practice their boat transitions for this one; efficiency will no doubt be a critical factor in who gets to the finish line first.”

The Two Rivers Adventure Race is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of October 26, 2024, pending final approvals from land managers. Dates will be confirmed, and the exact host location will be announced, on April 1. Pre-registration is now open. Teams that pre-register will have the opportunity to sign up 72 hours before registration opens widely. More details are available at the event website.

Any team competing for the free slot to the 2025 ARWS World Championship must also participate in one additional event in the North American Series during the 2024 season.