“I enjoyed the event last year and found it to be a far better and a more engaging challenge than the Tough Mudder events that I had participated in the past. I said to my wife last year after I had finished the event that I would never go back to doing a Tough Mudder or simular events again. I will stick with adventure racing for as long as I can.” – Racer
“Overall, I am so grateful for the opportunity, the experience, and most of all the kindness of all those around me while racing and everyone who made the trip possible. Oh, and do I want to do it again, yup!” – Dirt in Your Skirt
“Those Spartan Races are a friggin’ joke compared to this!” – Racer in the Adventure Nation video
“One of the most fun races we did” – Getting Dirty Podcast
Despite what you think, you have not yet reached full badassery.
Did you know that Spartan Race founder Joe Desena, BattleFrog founder Don Mann, and International Obstacle Racing Federation head Ian Adamson got their start in traditional adventure racing?
(Ian and Don literally wrote the books on it!)
They’ve taken the adventures and experiences they had and helped make it more accessible to a large number of people by shortening the races, removing the navigation component, and yanking out the special skills.
And while that may suit a lot of people out there (dare we say, millions?), if you’re here, it’s because, like them, you’re looking for more. You’re looking for the next challenge, the next way to prove yourself, and the best way to really find out what you’re made of.
Welcome to Adventure Racing.
We don’t measure our races by distance, we measure by time.
Whether the race takes 2-4 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, or multi days . . . it’s on you to get it done.
You won’t find sandbag carries or slip and slides (most of the time, anyway) – but you will find kayak portages and steep, gravelly terrain to cross.
You aren’t out there with thousands of people – you’re out there with hundreds – and you’re out there.
You may not see anyone for hours at a time: this is real adventure.
Adventure racing (traditionally, that is) is generally comprised of solos and teams (a traditional, professional team is usually three men and one woman) who traverse an area of land gathering checkpoints on foot, by mountain bike, by kayak or swimming, and by special challenges such as rope rappelling and traversing.
It is not unheard of to cover 50+ miles a day in one of these events.
Your hydration and nutrition is on you – coming to you in the form of plastic bins in transition areas. Your feet are blistered? You have to push through – no one’s coming in a vehicle to take you off course – they can’t.
This is old school in the tradition of thousands of years of explorers leaving comfort of the know behind in search of something more.
But is it fun?
Type 1 Fun is your usual mud run or obstacle race: fun in the moment and relatively fun to talk about afterward. It’s a sunny day, playing outside with your friends – going off without a hitch.
Type 2 Fun is the kind that’s fun to plan, but there’s a bit of suffering in the process, but you’ve got some stories to tell at parties and the bar for years to come. This is the sweet spot.
Type 3 is a little darker – it doesn’t sound like a good idea at the time, it’s committing and scary when you undertake it, but the rewards stay with you the rest of your life.
Adventure racing is all of these: our Checkpoint Challenge is designed to whet your whistle, get you on your bike and kayak and end the day smiling with friends – beer (or root beer) in hand.
The Dawn to Dusk seems a little daunting but doable – it’s been described as harder than an Iron Man and definitely tougher than Tough Mudder – the stakes are higher – but you know that when the sun goes down, you’ll either be at the finish with warm food in your belly or we’ll be on our way to find you.
The multi-days is where your idols cut their teeth. You’ve done Death Race? You’ve done World’s Toughest Mudder? Well, that’s nothing. You’re in the wilds of Africa or South America, or even Wyoming or California. It’s not good times until you’re seeing sleep monsters.
So, not only is it FUN – it’s going to impact how you see the world – and you’ll meet amazing, supportive people along the way.
Why All Out Events?
All Out Events has been the only full-time professional team putting on adventure races on the West Coast for the past decade.
We know what we are doing – we’ve had everyone safely in their hotel beds or sleeping bags at the end of their journey for that time and we pay attention to what our racers say.
We survey before events and maintain a dialogue throughout the year about what we are doing right and wrong.
That’s why National Geographic Adventure Magazine awarded us the top beginner adventure race and why our races are the highest attended in the continent. Try us and you’ll get it.
How Do I Find Out More?
Want to know what to expect?
We’ve got an online library of trip reports and training tips to get you where you want to go.