Adventure racing is a new, fast growing sport. Events range from the expeditionary level, 6-10 day epics to shorter races designed to fit into a long weekend or even a day.
Adventure races are team, or sometimes solo, multi-sport events, usually in a wilderness setting.
Common disciplines include hiking and running, biking, paddling and climbing. Adventure races test a team's ability to endure, to navigate with map and compass, to solve problems, to move efficiently through wilderness, and to maintain espirit. Teams must move at night, in the cold and wet, over obstacles, carrying what they need on their backs. Teams must be self-sufficient for the most part, although most races longer than half a day do allow or even require a support crew to handle the team logistics. The skill levels required for completion of the race are usually much lower than those required to win the event, so a beginning team, if it is strong, quick witted, patient, and motivated, can definitely finish, if not do quite well in the event.