A Successful First International Adventure Racing Conference (IARC)

November 10, 2023

The first International Adventure Racing Conference was held on the final day of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship, hosted by Expedition Africa in South Africa.

/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The first International Adventure Racing Conference was held on the final day of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship, hosted by Expedition Africa in South Africa. The conference achieved its objective of bringing together a mix of speakers from within the Adventure Racing community to share their knowledge and experience on a variety of topics.

The AR World Championship is an ideal setting for a conference of this nature with teams from all over the world in attendance. With in-person speakers, pre-recorded submissions and both in-person attendees and online viewers, the conference is set to be a much-anticipated annual assembly of adventure racing; an event that enriches the adventure racing community.

The conference was introduced by ARWS CEO Heidi Muller who said, “This conference is about the future of Adventure Racing, and the aim is to unite and inspire. It’s the first international conference for the sport and hopefully it can take place each year, encouraging all nations around the world to grow and develop adventure racing in their countries.”

The talks from the first International Adventure Racing Conference can be watched on the AR World Series channel on YouTube (youtube.com/arworldseries) and links to each speaker are given below.

The conference was hosted at Cape St. Francis Resort and One Water Race were a contributing sponsor to the event.

Look out for details of the next conference, which will be held at the 2024 Adventure Racing World Championship, hosted by Huairasinchi in Ecuador in November 2024.

Website: www.internationalarconference.com

Full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=If2Q5TbrVqQ

IARC 2023 Presentations

Welcome

Heidi Muller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8bSHab9ubU

What it Takes to be at the Top for Over 10 Years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LYiRpxBTM

Arguably the most well-known and recognised adventure racer in the world, Nathan Fa’ave spoke about his background, outdoor experience, entry into adventure racing and the years of racing that led to Nathan and his team becoming unbeatable for a decade.

The Ultimate Proof of Human Capacity – Endurance Racing from a Scientific Perspective

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz01Ed-wGs

Thomas Ogander from One Water Race spoke about his event –an ultra distance swimrun held in the Stockholm archipelago, an event that pushes human endurance capacity to the limit. Marcus Moberg added the scientific technologies, studies and finding that have come out of this event. Answering questions were Australian adventure racers Elizabeth Dornom and Glenn Wilkinson; they were on the winning team.

Adventure Racing Rules – Panel Discussion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXcaHN8dUM0

ARWS Adventure Racing referees Adrian Crane, Igor Dorotic and Mark Goulding discussed a number of issues and elements related to the need for referees, implementation of rules and the evolution of new rules.

Striving For Excellence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzxVspTo_b0

Heidi Muller, CEO of AR World Series and Race Director of Expedition Africa, spoke about striving for excellence through setting goals, continuing to learn, building a culture of excellence, and achieving your objectives with assistance from a support network.

Youth Development Around the World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuEoMhfCiWA

Youth development is in the spotlight, especially considering the exceptional performance of the young FEAR Youth team at the AR World Championship (9^th place). Alen Pujol (South America), Andrew Magness (New Zealand), Margaret Mitchell (South Africa) and Ajita Madan (India) told us about projects in their countries, sharing their insights and learnings.

Advances in Adventure Race Mapping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVOBOlCJGoY

Navigation is a key discipline of adventure racing. In his talk, Lars Bukkehave discusses elements of checkpoint placement – like hide-and-seek checkpoints, route choices, outdated basemaps, the ability to add new trails to maps, nautical charts and alternative maps that add interest.

Training for an Expedition Race

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp6RFwkEZqQ

Camila Nicolau & GuilhermePahl from Team Brazil Multisport discuss critical elements that go into preparing for an expedition-length adventure race. They discuss not only the physical training, but also technical skills, strategy and emotional intelligence.

The formation of the new International Adventure Racing Association (IARA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br6gyEmqwSo

In her talk on the formation of the new International Adventure Racing Association (IARA), Lisa de Speville, from the AR Countries Working Group, updated us on the steps that led to the formation of the Association, the progression and the next step of voting in an interim committee at the Establishment Meeting in December 2023.

What Adventure Racing has given me?

https://youtu.be/_y-ff2QhLrk?si=S7Xpw4VjiaJGaabN

At the 2014 Adventure Racing World Championship in Ecuador, Mikael Lindnord’s life took a completely new direction when he met a stray dog. Embracing this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Mikael and Arthur enjoyed six years together. Their initiatives resulted in the implementation of anti-abuse policies in Ecuador giving rights to stray dogs.

Mikael’s book ‘Arthur: The dog who crossed the jungle to find a home’, about adventure racing and his incredible dog, has been translated into 23 languages. In early 2024, the movie ‘ArthurThe King’ is scheduled for release. Mikael describes it as a movie about Arthur and adventure racing that is also a love story. He describes how the release of the movie is a huge opportunity to promote and grow adventure racing.

Closing Keynote Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5haoo-buNpg

Brian Gatens, from The Darkzone Podcast, gave a fine keynote speaker address on what makes for a successful team and success in our sport. Thoughtful and considered, his presentation is well worth a listen.