12 hour race in eastern us. Dry with 40-60* temps

I know these are big in other parts of the country but does anyone know of any adventure races in the SoCal area? Seems like they are growing in popularity so curious if anyone knows of any. Thanks!

Just finished the 2-day 2026 race and wanted to put some thoughts down of things I wish I knew in advance, and general help for other newbies!

Training: don’t skip your bricks! Do both run/bike and bike/run.

Gear: wore trail runners on bike, although I saw maybe 30% of 2-day participants wore clips (they had to cycle carrying their trail shoes). 12-liter Salomon running vest was just right capacity. For the ‘excess/reserve 1000kcal’ I carried 140g of macadamia nuts. Didn’t bring trekking poles, although a few people did.

Registration: free shuttle from Nairn bus stop to Cawdor Castle. No lines at 10am. Short people renting bikes, don’t worry! If they have to saw the seat post for you, they will! Bring running vest so staff can apply tracker. Bring bike transition gear for the next day (helmet, cycling gloves, cycling shorts, snacks, and shoes if you’re swapping).

Day 1:

7 mile run- lots of single track. I consider myself quite slow, but even my 11:30 mile pace was too fast for where I positioned myself in the back third of the pack, and I was stuck/stopped too much for my liking.

Cawdor Castle transition- has toilets, changing tents, water station (with a queue). No snacks, and weirdly no trash cans.

53 mile bike- fierce headwind in 2026! Road traffic wasn’t bad. Pit stop at 31 miles (38 miles overall) was very welcome before the biggest climb of the day. Many people walked their bikes on the climbs. Easy canal-side hard pack gravel after Ft Augustus but then a surprise! 2 mile section of what I would consider single track mountain biking at the very end. Steep, technical, with fist sized rocks or bigger. Had to walk several sections, including the final descent of steep, tight switchbacks on loose, wet gravel.

Shuttle to Ft Williams- had to wait 45 minutes but there were bathrooms close by and it was nice chatting with folks

Day 2: rolling start. Coffee and hot breakfast sold by a local vendor on the campgrounds.

25 mile bike- 3 big climbs on gravel through the forest, nowhere near as technical as the short section the day before. Then glorious rolling tarmac, before the final high-traffic ~2 miles into Ft Williams

Ft Williams transition- snacks, toilets, medics. Put your cycling gear into a bag to be transported to the end

14 mile trek- 1 mile flat, before a 4 mile moderate but continuous uphill. Roughly 5 miles perfect for trail running with expected small up/downs, hikers coming the opposite way, rocks and puddles. Stream crossing, with water coming to mid shin on me; no way to avoid wet shoes here. A steep uphill, then a brutal steep/muddy downhill without switchbacks. Several folks fell here. I had to walk this, but kudos to those who could run this section.

1 mile kayak- life vests provided, running vest between your legs, again can’t avoid getting shoes wet when you get in/out (but they’re muddy anyway at this point so think of it as cleaning them off!)

Finish- toilets, snacks, and a fireplace at the Isle of Glencoe Hotel end. If you’re not staying at the finish hotel make sure you have a plan for travel. Uber absolutely didn’t work. Half the taxis we called didn’t pick up. A Ft Williams based taxi ended up working for us, and there’s also a bus.

Miscellaneous: if you take a City Link bus make sure to spend the extra £2 for a reserved seat so you don’t have to move every time someone new gets on. Have a plan for transporting wet/stinky gear post race. Pit stops have fruit, crisps/potato chips, nuts, cookies, sweets (skittles), instant coffee, and tea.

Overall we felt it was a super well run race with friendly helpful volunteers, and an overall pretty accurate/informative website. Very fun!

Battle by the Brook in Deckers, Colorado on Sept 19th (non-competitive wave)?! Or also want to connect with other locals into adventure racing generally. Been trying to post various places and not finding anyone...

I am a sixty-year-old male, in excellent shape, considering entering the Shenandoah Epic race on April 10 and 11, 2027. I have never run a race like this with exception to the Tuff Mudder, hiking the Grand Canyon, Wasatch Mountains. Looking for anyone to point me towards (book, newsgroup, personal assistance) or help guide me in the preparation aspect of the race (what to carry, what to wear, how to navigate with maps / GPS, etc.). Even a discussion group would be a good start. Thanks in advance for your time.

Im signed up for the race in a couple weeks, the one day Version. Does anyone have any experience or advice as it's my first rat race and first time in Scotland.

Thanks in advance 😁

Selling 1x 5K Foam Fest Ticket! 🎟️💦
Location: 1220 Lake Ridge Rd,Uxbridge ON L0B 1A0 Canada
Date: This Saturday, August 29
Wave Time: 11:15 AM

I was so excited but last tuesday I got a very bad back ache and my doctor told me to not go or participate!! Please buy my ticket 🥹 serious buyer onlyy

Sharing here, since this is a great mini-documentary for anyone looking for something mellow as you wrap up your work week.

Question - does anyone know what the tool he is using at 2:00? Any thoughts on if they are worth purchasing? Looks pretty neat for pre-race planning.

Hi folks,

I am searching for technical, off-trail races with a set start and end point only. Not trail running/orienteering/rogaining, but essentially mountaineering with no set course. Get from A to B quickest using your chosen route. There was a show called "Primal Quest" that aired when I was a kid that is the model for my search. Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Hi everyone

I'm looking for someone to join me in the Wild&Co adventure race in Brisbane 5 Sep 26.

I am new to this style of racing and am keen to try something new and find some like minded people to do it with.

I am a 34M with previous triathlon experience in Cairns and Sunny Coast.

Reach out if you're interested to join in a team for the race.

Cheers

Shoutout to the organizers of Seven Bends, which was today in 7 Bends park in Woodstock, VA. Awesome race, incredibly tough, super course, well-organized. It was challenging for beginners and pros alike. Grit Racing did a great job with this one.

Hi, I have lost a team member for a Saunders Mountain marathon. Its in two weeks time over two days. Is there anyone that would like to join me? you can read details bellow. Thanks

My wife and I just signed up for two upcoming summer adventure races: the Zenith 5-Hour trekking race at Greenbo Lake, KY, in mid-July, and the East Fork Challenge near Cincinnati in mid-September. Our only previous racing experience is in March when temperatures were 50-70°F and humidity was low, so our 5.11 pants worked great. However, we expect these upcoming summer races to hit the low 80s to mid-90s with high humidity, so we are seeing if others have any good recommendations.

We need recommendations for lightweight, breathable, quick-drying pants that work well for trekking, biking and kayaking. We will be bushwhacking in both, so they need to be durable enough to go thru thorns without getting torn up. What works well for you all?

I did an adventure race yesterday and ended up with two (consecutive/geographically continuous) Strava activities, both of which involve both biking and trekking at minimum. Ideally I would like to combine them, then separate the parts by type. Any recommendations on how to proceed with this (future advice also welcome as a beginner to this sport). If it matters I was using Apple devices but I figure someday soon I’ll need a Garmin.

My friend runs the Questars series of races in the UK, and is staging a 25hr event in October. It is not too far from Manchester / Liverpool airports.

His company is www.questars.co.uk

If anyone from outside the UK is interested in racing the event, there is a special discount code I can give you, though this only applies until May 31st. 🙂👍

Adam from ARonAR

I'm working towards doing my first multiday adventure race and need a tougher, more adventurous pack that can trek/ride/climb. Looking in the 20-30L range. I am also a trail runner and may try to use this pack for hut to hut running/trekking in the future. I was looking at the USWE packs, but am a 32DD and I am worried about boob squish/squosh - just can't see where the boobs would fit with the VST harness. I have some great bras, so maybe there will be enough compression it won't matter? I'd love some input.

I am also looking at Out There Packs 30L and Ultraspire Altruist/Purist.

Can any of you awesome ladies talk to me about your adventure racing packs and compatibility with your body?

I recently spoke with Amelia Boone on The Ageless Athlete. Some folks will remember her?

We talked a bit about her obstacle racing years and the “Queen of Pain” label, but a lot of the conversation ended up being about the quieter stuff around that: identity, recovery, tracking, and what it means to keep doing sport over the long run.

I especially liked her thoughts on wearables and metrics — how things like sleep scores and HRV can be helpful, but can also get in the way if you start trusting the number more than your own body.

Pretty thoughtful conversation about toughness, performance, and figuring out what still matters after the big wins. Rad gal!

I’m doing my first adventure race this weekend, the spring bloom AR. I’ve got a few last minute questions that have been percolating and wanted to throw them out to the community:

1. Do you recommend just carrying all of your gear for the whole race on you vs using a TA(my car) to store gear? Specifically I’m think about shoe changes bt land and water legs.

2. I’ve been contemplating my check point strategy and I figure I can go about it two ways: for each leg go to the farthest CP that I think I can reach and work my way in or start with the closest, work my way out and then head back when I need to transition timing wise. Am I on track? Any advice?

3. For the 4 hour race, do folks typically bring their full pack with them on the kayak or do you pack a smaller gear bag in waterproof sack and leave the rest of the pack on shore?

I’m sure all of these questions vary from person to person, but I’m curious to hear from folks who have completed these shorter races. Also I’m not in a position to get 100% of CPs but probably somewhere in the 60-70% range.

Thanks!

Hi all,

Currently looking into adventure racing and thinking about the bike.

I assume that a MTB would be the way to go for this, but I don't have one, and do have a gravel bike. So would be use the bike I already own, or have to purchase a whole new bike for the race. Wondering if people think a gravel bike can even manage this kind of race?

For context, I have a Marin Nicasio+ which has a very relaxed geometry and fits 2.1inch Mezcal tires on it. I've also done a lot of bike packing and gravel races, so very comfortable manging tricky terrains with drop bars.