On a cool winter morning, a motley group of wiry runners, bulked-up bodybuilders, broad-shouldered swimmers and trim and taut cyclists gather at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach.
Dressed in a colorful array of bike tights, shorts and T-shirts, toting helmets, bicycles, extra shoes and backpacks, they look like a bunch of overachieving campers.
But they are actually competitors in three-person teams, ready to swim, trail-run and bike their way to the finish in a gritty race that will include scampering up and down a 12-foot cargo net, sliding down a slippery clay hill and climbing over a 6-foot chain-link fence — with a bike. Not to mention being taunted by a couple of shouting Marines.
While this gauntlet may sound like abuse to some, to these athletes, getting dirty, sweaty, exhausted, and maybe even bruised and beaten by the elements, is what they call fun. They are part of a growing number of sports enthusiasts who are putting their bodies to the test in competitions that go off road, out of bounds and beyond the scope of traditional races into what marketers call adventure.
And in Florida, as in other spots across the nation, adventure racing is a fast-developing sport that includes not only competitions, but also training programs for the many skills it requires.
An adventure race can include kayaking, canoeing, rafting, horseback riding, mountain biking, trail running, rock climbing and orienteering — that’s adventure sports lingo for finding your way in the wilderness with a map and compass. Each could be a challenge in its own right, but try stringing them all together in a row, for hours, or even days, and throwing in surprise events or challenges at the last minute.
“It’s like a blind date,” says Mike Arnspiger, former Marine, triathlete and part-owner of the Miami spinning gym, Extreme Cycle & Fitness. As a competitor in the sport and co-organizer of the new Adventurous Concepts Triathlon series, he speaks from experience, “You can have ideas about what to expect, and they can change. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not — but it can often exceed your expectations.”
Adventure races not only draw many ex-military types and triathletes like Arnspiger, but also road racers, mountain bikers and gym rats who are just looking for something new — for a chance to play outside, compete, and maybe even win a little money.
“It’s a nice change from triathlons,” says Keith Seago of Delray Beach. “It’s an adventure team effort. You find out who your true friends are. It brings out your best — and sometimes your worst!”
The adventure race concept got its start in 1989, when the French “Crocodile Dundee,” Gerard Fusil, started The Raid Galoise, a 300-mile course from the rain forests to the mountain peaks of New Zealand. The Raid still goes on, in different countries each year. Last year, 49 international teams started the race, held in Ecuador, but only 22 finished with all five members. (This year’s race will be in October, but the site hasn’t been announced.)
Then came The Eco-Challenge, in which former Raid racer Mark Burnett cloned his own race in British Columbia, Canada. He sold the concept to the Discovery Channel, bringing adventure racing to the American viewing public, a boon to the sport’s growth.
Fusil, disappointed by the attitude shift from his original concept, is now heading a new expedition, the Elf Authentique Adventure, to take place April 15-May 1 in the Philippines. “After a few years and a lot of imitations, all the competitions appeared more like a triathlon in extreme and natural conditions — not too much adventure, but only unbearable efforts, less brain and more muscle than autonomy and discovery spirit,” he explainsin an phone interview from his office in Paris.
“I think that more and more people are dreaming for adventure and discovery because life is too regulated… They do not want to live by TV. They want to know if they have] a hero temperament. They have an explorer mind, an expedition spirit, a soldier mentality, a strong body. They want to live with magnitude. They do not want to obey life.”
Given the number of adventure races that have popped up over the last decade, Fusil may have hit on something.
In the early ’90s, Michael Epstein, an endurance athlete and triathlon producer, began toying with the concept of bringing The Raid feeling into lifestyle sports. After garnering support from high-profile sponsors, he created The Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series: three- to seven-hour races that include five to eight miles of trail running, 10 to 15 miles of mountain biking, an hour of kayaking, and “special tests” — obstacles, trials and tribulations unknown to the racer.
Epstein brought the race series to several sites across the United States,including Miami’s Oleta State Park. The race will return for a third year June 6.
Other athlete/entrepreneurs have capitalized on the enthusiasm generated by Hi-Tec. Kevin Abbate, member of the two-time defending Hi-Tec Adventure Series champions in Miami, was the force behind the antagonizing Marines and 12-foot cargo net in January’s Special Forces Race in Quiet Waters Park.
Adventurous Concepts is South Florida’s newest addition to the adventure race circuit. Hi-Tec race veterans and fitness business partners Mike Arnspiger and James Molaschi used their military backgrounds to create a hybrid race — a solo adventure triathlon that includes ocean swimming, trail biking and running with obstacles added for the “surprise” element.
Held in John U. Lloyd Park in Dania, the series lets individuals test their abilities before launching into a team effort, Arnspiger says.
“You don’t have to be afraid — everybody can feel they’re doing something challenging. Sometimes, it’s hard to get a team together and this is a good way of being with like-minded people. The camaraderie is great.”
The first race in January drew 15 racers, from a couple former Iron Man competitors to first-time adventurers. Hunter Reno, sports fashion model and WAMI-TV personality, was one of two women competing. “I just love outdoor sports, and this kind of racing is suited to my athletic abilities. Besides, it is so much fun to train for!” she said.
Athletic Event Marketing (AEM), started by Robb Beams of Ocala, sponsors one- and two-day races in Central Florida. Competitors must qualify, and the stakes are high: $35,000 in prize money. To help athletes prepare for these races, Beams also runs a three-day training academy in the heart of the Ocala National Forest. Aspiring adventurers can learn the basics and nuances of kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, climbing and orienteering.
Team building is what three Williams Island Resort & Spa personal trainers learned as they participated in several Hi-Tec races. To share their experience, Bob Cook, Kevin Philion and Karrie Griffiths formed Outdoor Fitness Adventures.
“Communication is really important,” says Griffiths, a marathoner. “You have to listen, stop, look, discuss and go as a team. We were individual athletes and not used to working together — we learned the right way by doing the wrong way once!”
For the past year they have been teaching not only fitness in the outdoors, but team building and race skills as well. Their day and overnight courses, held at Oleta River State Park, include kayaking, mountain biking and trail running, as well as stretching and meditation. Philion, a former champion bodybuilder witnessed the power of team building in races. In one race, competitors had to climb a greased incline that was impossible scaleindividually. “We got one of the other teams who was having a hard time and said, ‘Hey, we’ll help you if you help us,’ and together, both teams made it over the obstacle.”
Another Miami operation, Adventures in Fitness, offers sport-specific workouts for adventure sports, including ascending and rappelling using six ropes and training for the dreaded “special tests,” which usually involve military or obstacle-course skills. Owner Dan Barrett, a longtime outdoor sports enthusiast and teacher, specializes in sea kayaking and adventure trips. His favorite one-day jaunt is a 12-mile round-trip paddle from Key Biscayne to Soldiers Key. Although his courses and travel itineraries sound grueling, Barrett says, “Fun is the operative word.”
And despite the competitive nature of adventure racing, most participants find fun in the challenge. “It’s a lot of mental work, getting three guys together,” says John Romaine, of the B& J Bicycle Team, the first-place, all-male team in the Special Forces Race. “There’s not a lot of ego.. We’re not really runners; we’re more bicyclists, so you have to be thinking, you can’t rush, you have to keep heart. And after it’s over, it feels so good!”
