I never expected to see blood at a water fight — or collapse from sheer fatigue. My adrenaline had been pumping for nearly an hour and my reserves were flagging. I was exhausted and cold to the bone despite my drysuit. But the smile on my face just kept growing. This was the most pure fun I’d had in the last decade. We were bobbing in the chaotic waves of the harbor town of Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands — an archipelago so remote I’d never even heard of it. Sitting in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland, this tiny self-governing Danish territory comprises 18 rugged islands that ar ..read more

It all started with a meatball. In 2014, shortly before the start of the Adventure Racing World Championship in Ecuador, the captain of the Swedish team Peak Performance gave one of his meatballs to a stray dog. That stout little canine then decided to follow the team for six days through hundreds of miles of Ecuadorian jungle, winning the hearts of the entire world along the way. Almost a decade later, the moving story of Arthur the dog is now coming to the big screen. Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, and even Bear Grylls star in the film. It’s based on the 2017 book by Swedish team captain Mikael L ..read more

After a long, grueling competition, the Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team emerged victorious at Tuesday’s conclusion of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship. The team of four athletes crossed the finish line at South Africa’s Cape St. Francis Resort about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. It marked the end of an exhausting journey through the Kouga region of the country. The athletes covered a staggering 522 miles in just 118 hours, 33 minutes, and 26 seconds. The Swedish team, consisting of John Karlsson, Malin Hjalmarsson, Oskar Svärd, and Per Vestling, also had plenty of competition. They faced ..read more

Races last for days, and you are always on the clock. So, when gear costs you time — like a loose gaiter that keeps sliding down, a stuck zipper, or a broken backpack buckle — it really makes an impact. It can even cost you the race. This year, we managed to pair the right gear with a solid team dynamic, which helped us win North America’s biggest prize purse in the Ozark Expedition Race. Our team, Team BendRacing/SkinDoctor is known for bringing the lightest, newest gear. And we’re extremely tough on it because nothing except function matters when we’re in race mode. We take it scrambling ag ..read more

Surviving Alaska’s weather, wildlife, and wilderness is tough. Really, really tough. Just ask Jack London or any of the others who answered The Last Frontier’s siren song over the years, only to find dreams of northern romance dashed by brutal Alaskan reality. A TV show premiering this April hopes to play on that brutality, pitting eight teams of two against the elements — and each other — as they race through Alaska in pursuit of a cool $500,000. Race To Survive comprises six races spread out over 6 weeks. In each race, the teams will traverse some of Alaska’s wildest terrain, sourcing their ..read more

The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) has changed hands. ARWS announced in a Jan. 23 press release that businesswoman Heidi Muller has taken over as principal shareholder, after purchasing the company from Australia’s Geocentric Outdoors. Muller made the transaction along with three private investors: Jason Wilford, Philip Sigsworth, and Michael Bond. Muller brings plenty of experience at ARWS to the table. The South African acted as CEO of the company for the past year, during which she exercised “full operational” control, according to the press release. As part of the transaction, the co ..read more

The Eco-Challenge adventure racing series aired in the ’90s, and after 17 years, it’s back. These are the Eco-Challenge winners and the teams that finished the ‘world’s toughest race.’ The 2019 Eco-Challenge Fiji hit airwaves on Amazon Prime Video on August 14, 2020. As the 10-part series comes to a close, we take a look at the final ranks of all 66 teams. (Spoilers ahead.) The race covers more than 415 miles (671 km), and teams must trek, bike, raft, climb, paddleboard, swim, rappel, and cross oceans to reach the finish. This year’s race in Fiji consisted of five legs or sectio ..read more

We interviewed a few prominent teams taking part in the latest edition of Eco-Challenge, the expedition adventure held in Fiji. Here’s the gear that helped them through the ‘world’s toughest race.’ “The jungle is trying to eat you. You’re going to be wet and cold.” Racing in the Eco-Challenge is no walk in the park. And to keep you and your team afloat, it requires a lot of gear. Never heard of the race series? Here’s what you need to know. In Eco-Challenge, teams race nonstop: navigating together on foot, mountain bike, raft, outrigger, canyoneering, and climbing to cover more than 417 m ..read more

We queried a few prominent teams that raced ‘The World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge,’ the expedition adventure held in Fiji. Here’s what the racers said about their gear. “The jungle is trying to eat you. You’re going to be wet and cold.” Racing in the Eco-Challenge is no walk in the park. And to keep you and your team afloat, it requires a lot of gear. Unlike expedition races of the past, this year’s Eco-Challenge race made things more egalitarian by providing each team with a gear stipend. That means there was no need for teams to self-fund or rely on sponsors for equipment ..read more

We interviewed a few prominent teams taking part in the latest edition of Eco-Challenge, the expedition adventure held in Fiji. Here’s the gear that helped them through the ‘world’s toughest race.’ “The jungle is trying to eat you. You’re going to be wet and cold.” Racing in the Eco-Challenge is no walk in the park. And to keep you and your team afloat, it requires a lot of gear. Unlike expedition races of the past, this year’s Eco-Challenge race made things more egalitarian by providing each team with a gear stipend. That means there was no need for teams to self-fund or rely on spo ..read more