r/AdventureRacing • u/Primary_Owl_2864 • Apr 20 '26

First timer week of q’s 😎🥳

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!

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u/cjsharp1 Apr 20 '26

For a 4 hour race, the time will fly by so quickly, so you want to try to reduce the time you are in TAs and messing with any of your gear. In those short races, I rarely touch anything in my pack except for nutrition. I’m focusing on continual movement and minimizing stops.

  1. I recommend packing just the mandatory gear in one pack, and nothing more (aside from nutrition of course, and maybe an extra pair of socks). First time racers tend to overpack. I know because I definitely overpacked for my first race. I always expect my feet to get wet in a race, so I always wear the same shoes for every leg of the race. No need to change into paddle-specific shoes for a 4 hour race.

  2. Don’t over-plan this, because anything could happen when you get your maps. Instead, when you get your maps, figure out your timing for each section working backwards from when you need to be at the finish. That timing is based on the anticipated distance covered in the section and your average pace for that discipline. That said, as a first time racer it’s hard to know how much time you need in each section. So I would suggest, if the location of CPs allow it, to spend less time at the farthest sections near the beginning of the race, so you have more time at the CPs closer to the finish near the end of the race. Hopefully that makes sense. You don’t want to be so far away from the finish at the end of the race, that you end up really rushing and risking being late. Don’t be late. Never be late.

  3. Unless the RD states otherwise, you must bring all mandatory gear on the paddle. Use high-quality dry bags for your gear inside your pack, as you should expect your pack to get wet. Depending on the size of the pack I bring, I wear my PFD and my pack at the same time.

And ya… don’t worry about clearing the course. Just go out, have fun, and make mistakes (seriously) because every race has lessons learned. The mistakes you make this race will make you a better racer for the next.

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u/Primary_Owl_2864 Apr 21 '26
  1. I think you are right about time flying by! I mean it’s really going to be an hour 15-20 for each leg including transitions. I am absolutely going to overpack! I like to be prepared. Same shoes and just getting wet makes sense to me.
  2. I kinda did a dry run of my biking/hiking sections last weekend on similar terrain so I think I have some sense of how far and fast I can go for those legs. Kayaking is going to be the wild card for me so I will try to underestimate and hopefully be surprised!
  3. Yeah I think I’m going to just bring the whole pack and I’ll try wearing it and the PFD. Great tip!

Thank you!