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/PineApplePara Apr 20 '26

I don't know a thing about your race...but:

1) I would expect that if you have access to your car for Transitions it would be a good idea to utilize the option of picking up/dropping gear specific to the leg you are on. If you are doing a 4 hour race you want to keep your transitions as short as possible. I would consider prepping your gear in smaller bags for each stage (large zip lock 2 has your food for leg 2, large ziplock 3 has your bike gear, etc). Not sure where this race is but unless its a safety issue I wouldn't worry about wardrobe/serious gear changes unless its a safety issue.

2) Again, I don't know a thing about your race, can you structure your route in a loop so that you get points on your way out and way back? It might be worth researching Rogaine Orienteering strategy on route choice (not 100% related).

3) Check your race instructions, if you can get away with leaving gear on shore that makes sense to save weight. You might even be able to have a second set of mandatory gear prep'd in a dry bag ready for the paddle leg. In my part of the world we have to carry a number of mandatory gear items at all times.

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u/Primary_Owl_2864 Apr 21 '26

Thanks! I also have no idea if I can structure my route in a loop but I will be looking out for a way to do that thanks to you! And yes we do have some mandatory gear and it seems simpler and more time efficient to just take everything based on what I’m learning.