Expedition Playbook: Intro to Multi-Day Racing

From Endless Mountains Co-Director Brent Freedland:
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​So, you’re considering signing up for your first expedition-length adventure race! One day, you feel excited, adrenaline already pulsating even though you are three seasons (or more) away from race day, the next you are nauseous, waking up in cold sweats, wondering what broke to make you think this would be a good idea.
 
The good news: what you are feeling is totally normal! True, a few hardened - or totally carefree? - adventurers sign up for their first multi-day race without a care in the world, but for most adventure racers, signing up for an expedition race for the first time marks a monumental leap of faith. There are the expenses, the training time, and the time away (especially for those of us with little adventurers at home). For most of us, though, those cold sweats arise from questions about the distance to travel, finding the right teammates, wondering what the race directors have in store, and uncertainty about whether we’ll able to make it through.
 
To be honest, even as a seasoned and successful adventure racer, I still get the nerves every time I click that “Register” button. I think of how my entry fee could be accruing money in my kids’ college savings account or earmarked for some long-delayed home improvement project. I worry about my ability to train and prepare, about who I might line up with at the start line, and whether the race director will deliver an event worthy of the time I am committing to prepare and the vacation time I’m agreeing to sacrifice.
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I get nervous. Every. Single. Race. Signing up for an expedition race in itself takes a certain level of bravery and fortitude. I’m a big believer that you SHOULD feel some degree of trepidation out of respect for the magnitude of the effort before you.
 
But I also know that what I will experience in an expedition race is almost impossible to replicate: close encounters with wildlife in their natural habitats, a checkpoint on a hard-to-reach feature, a glimpse into a different culture, community, or period of history. I will explore amazing places I’ve never seen before, some

spots likely few people ever have seen or will see. I will experience several cycles of sunsets and sunrises. I will be at the whim in Mother Nature and whatever she chooses to throw at you.
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​Expedition racing forces us to confront our weakness, but it also teaches us about our strengths: as individuals, as teammates, and as members of a greater community. We walk away better for it: better friends, better colleagues, better parents, better family members, better people. We learn to persevere, to appreciate the simple, to ask for help and offer it. We learn that there is so much to the human spirit and so much more that we can learn and accomplish. We are humbled, but we are empowered.

​So, those feelings you are feeling? Those questions? We have all been
there, and most of us still are, even ​

dozens - sometimes hundreds - of races into our adventure racing career. You are in good company, some of the best, in fact, and we hope you will join the community. In the weeks and months ahead, we will publish a series of articles aimed at racers new to expedition racing. Whether you are signed up for the Endless Mountains, pondering signing up for it, or considering a different multi-day race, keep an eye on our blog for more advice for your first expedition race!
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