Adventure Racing in Europe

tippgod

Hi All

i am looking for events similar to Gaelforce that are on in Europe/UK . A few friends of mine are looking for a weekend away and would love something like Gaelforce except abroad as we have done the race a few times.
Was looking for something next year if possible

thanks

Enduro

Adventure Racing means a different thing outside Ireland. Real adventure racing is a team event (generally a mixed team of 4) which lasts anything from a few hours to over a week, depending on the event. It would also have proper mountain biking, and generally would have kayaking stages longer than a few hundred meters, so its much harder to just "wing it" on the kayaks. Navigation is also a fundamental part of proper adventure racing. Courses would not be marked, and your team would be expected to navigate its own way around the course.

There are loads of really great adventure races all over Europe. It's a fantastic way to experience a place. Have a look at the European championship qualifier races as an example of the kind of races out there (The final will be hosted in Ireland next year).

If you want to try out these kind of races locally, then the CCAR series of races are a nice easy introduction to the sport. These can be raced in pairs, and generally lst 4 or 5 hours. Worth a go to give you a taste of the sport (which is a lot better than GF style events).

I'm not aware of any Gaelforce type multi-sport events in Europe outside of Ireland. The only similar one I can think of outside Ireland is the Coast to Coast in New Zealand.

EC1000

Do a triathlon. You know you want to.

woody1

scottish coast to coast ?
ok so its a little bit longer than gaelforce, but it seems very do-able..
google ratrace coast to coast

tippgod

Thanks for all the help lads. Id love to do a triathlon but the swim is stopping me. Struggle to do two lengths of the pool

Oryx

tippgod wrote: »

Thanks for all the help lads. Id love to do a triathlon but the swim is stopping me. Struggle to do two lengths of the pool

Loads of people face that at first (I did). Persist at it and youll get there. Get lessons.

EC1000

tippgod wrote: »

Thanks for all the help lads. Id love to do a triathlon but the swim is stopping me. Struggle to do two lengths of the pool

The vast majority of people who enter tri start off from there. No reason why you cold not swim a couple of kms by spring time if you put your mind to it over the winter. Join a tri club or join up with a pool session that does lane swimming.

Peterx

tippgod wrote: »

Hi All

i am looking for events similar to Gaelforce that are on in Europe/UK . A few friends of mine are looking for a weekend away and would love something like Gaelforce except abroad as we have done the race a few times.
Was looking for something next year if possible

thanks

http://www.220triathlon.com/blog/5-uk-adventure-races-for-triathletes-to-enter-in-2014/8422.html here's a link that might get you started.

http://www.trailplus.com/adventure-challenge-series.php
this one appears to be closest to the Gaelforce concept, which as Enduro pointed out is only called Adventure Racing in Ireland. Commonly called multisport elsewhere.

In terms of weekends away you have your choice of Killarney AR, Dingle AR, Wicklow WAR, Achill ROAR right here in Ireland and all with races very similar to Gaelforce.
Although Gaelforce is the only A to B course I think?

best of luck.