The ultimate urban adventure sports challenge?

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Sports, adventure sports community, Challenge, city, Competition, Event, events, extreme sports, parkour, pole dancing, racing, Snowdon, team activity, team sport, united kingdom, urban, urban sports, Wales

There’s a belief that adventure sports belong in the hills, on top of mountains or offshore. Well, a new breed of urban adventurer is running, jumping and riding through our streets. While others opt out, these adventure sports people are getting in on the latest urban challenge: the Rat Race.

And they take part in teams, as well. So much for adventure sports events being solo events; the Rat Race is as much about teamwork, as it is personal endurance. And you’ll need plenty of endurance and stamina to make it through; expect to run, bike, kayak, climb and abseil against the clock, all day!

If you still can’t imagine it, think team orienteering, just without the trees and torrent-driven streams.

So, how does it work?

Teams of three or pairs compete to find checkpoints. Along the way they face a series of unpredictable challenges, from Parkour to pole dancing! So, just as you get into your stride you’ll need to reapply yourself, thinking on your feet but running and riding very much with your heart.

What’s also great is that it’s not just for the ultra-fit. With a basic level of fitness you can get in on a 10km ‘Mean Streets’ challenge that lasts for three hours. Two-wheelers can really enjoy the longer Nine2Five challenge, but they should remember that this is the Rat Race, so there will be also be kayaking, abseiling and the oddball test or two.

Serious triathletes and the super-fit should sign up with a team for the ‘Weekender’, a slightly daunting double bill of the two other challenges, both on the same weekend.

Adventure racing is not new. There have long been madcap endurance challenges that expect participants to prove themselves cross-discipline. But taking this to the streets is new, and is really taking off.

Rat Race began on the streets of the UK back in 2004. The team behind this new multi-sport event were determined to explore the potential of the urban landscape and create an altogether different challenge.

“The Rat Race Urban Adventure was created to bring adventure out of the wilds and place them on the streets of the city, “ says Jim Mee, Managing Director at Rat Race Events. “The result is, we hope, a really quirky and different way of seeing your own city or visiting a new one, whilst having great fun with your team-mates.”

Thanks to its unique appeal, the racing has spread to major cities and abroad, too. Unlike with other events, organisers reveal the course only hours before the race begins, so initiative, not preparedness, is everything.

The joy of summiting Snowdon, or catching your first thermal of the day can’t be imitated; cold autumn air as it grabs you by the bootlaces and drags you off into the hills can never be bottled, yet urban racing is proving adventure sports can be domesticated.

Interested in urban adventure racing, or just a sportsperson who likes a challenge? Drop us a comment, we want to know: Is urban racing the ultimate urban adventure sports challenge?

About the author

Mark Pawlak wrote 170 articles on this blog.

Editor at Adventure Sports Holidays, Mark's love affair with travel and the challenges of adventure sports continues... "You could save all year for a two-week, all-inclusive, doss by the pool, booze and buffet binge. Or, with a little planning and some good equipment, get off your arse and plan an adventure!"

• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook

Related posts:

1. SB3 Challenge attracting applicants
2. More places available for Fastnet
3. Forces Fitness: Have we found the ultimate challenge?

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!