The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS)[1] is an endurance racing season where adventure racing teams compete in a range of disciplines including, for example, navigation, trekking, mountain biking, paddling and climbing.[2]
Mixed gender teams of four competitors compete in a series of up to a dozen non-stop, multi-day expedition adventure races held in locations spread across the globe. These races culminate in the staging of the Adventure Racing World Championships, the winner of which is crowned World Champions.
The competition's format provides that each of the individual events of the World Series function as a qualifier for the World Championships. The top two finishing teams in each event secure the opportunity to compete in the World Championships. The field of event winners and second place getters is then supplemented by the reigning world champions, who are given the right to defend their title, and a selection of wild card entrants round out the number of starters.
The actual World Championship race rotates each year. One of the qualifying events is singled out and designated as the World Championship event and this event provides a dramatic conclusion to the end of the World Series racing season.
In addition to the World Championship race, points are assigned to results from each of the qualifying races in the series to determine a World Ranking. Points are allocated on a team's best two results in a calendar year over a two-year period (with heavier weighting given to World Championship results), with the ranking cycle periodically refreshed every 4–6 months.
The Adventure Racing World Championship was the brainchild of Geoff Hunt and Pascale Lorre, long-time adventure racers who sought to "lend badly needed structure to the sport".[3] Hunt and Lorre's vision was first brought to fruition in Switzerland in 2001 where 41 teams contested the Discovery Channel World Championship Adventure Race[4] with the controversy-plagued event eventually won by Finland's Team Nokia Adventure. A team from New Zealand, including Kathy Lynch, came second that year,[5] US Team GoLite (became Nike ACG the following year) was 3rd.
After a two-year hiatus the Adventure Racing World Championships was next held in Canada in 2004 and has subsequently been held every year since.
In 2011 management of the race was passed to the Australian event management company Geocentric Outdoors.[6] The 2011 World Championships - won by Thule Adventure Team - were staged at the XPD Expedition Race in Tasmania, Australia, where 90 teams drawn from 21 countries made for the largest starting field in the event's history.[7] This is testament to the fact that the World Series hosts some of the best expedition adventure racing teams in the world and "continues to grow and become more prominent".[8] Geocentric Outdoors also instigated a number of new initiatives for the world series, including standardized equipment lists and logistics across the races, restrictions on mixed nationality teams at the World Championship race each year as well as the introduction of the World Series ranking system. These initiatives have encouraged larger international fields at the various races by lowering the logistical barriers for participation and rewarding participation in multiple events.
In 2012, the World Championships was held at Raid in France and were won by Team Seagate from New Zealand.[9] The title of World Champion returned to the Thule Adventure Team at Costa Rica in 2013, before again being reclaimed by Team Seagate in Ecuador in 2014. Despite having never won a World Championship, Spanish team Columbia Vidaraid held the number-one position in the World Series ranking through 2014 and 2015 due to their string of wins in World Series qualifying races in addition to their second-place finishes in the 2013 and 2014 World Championships. Seagate regained the top position in the rankings in 2016 after dominating at the incredibly demanding 2015 World Championships, held in the Pantanal in Brazil, as well as in the Shoalhaven area of Australia in 2016.
In the absence of a world governing body, and after the cessation of the dominant world level events in the mid 2000s like the Raid Gauloises (Raid World Series and World Championships) Eco-Challenge, Primal Quest, and Outdoor Quest, the Adventure Racing World Series remained as the only series in the sport.
| Year | Country | Race | World Champion | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Switzerland | Discovery Channel World Championships | Team Nokia Adventure | Finland | |
| 2004 | Canada | Nike ACG Balance Bar | USA | ||
| 2005 | New Zealand | Southern Traverse | Balance Vector | New Zealand | |
| 2006 | Sweden | Explore Sweden | Nike PowerBlast | USA | |
| 2007 | Scotland | Wilderness ARC[10] | Nike | USA | |
| 2008 | Brazil | Ecomotion[11] | Orion Health | New Zealand | |
| 2009 | Portugal | Portugal XPD[12] | Helly Hansen Prunesco | Britain | |
| 2010 | Spain | Bimbache Extrem | Buff Thermocool | Spain | |
| 2011 | Australia | XPD Expedition Race | Thule Adventure Team | Sweden | |
| 2012 | France | Raid in France | Team Seagate | New Zealand | |
| 2013 | Costa Rica | Costa Rica AR | Thule Adventure Team | France | |
| 2014 | Ecuador | Huairasinchi Explorer | Seagate | New Zealand | |
| 2015 | Brazil | ARWS Brazil | Seagate | New Zealand | |
| 2016 | Australia | XPD Expedition Race | Seagate | New Zealand | |
| 2017 | USA | Cameco Cowboy Tough | Seagate | New Zealand | |
| 2018 | La Reunion Island | Raid in France | Avaya | New Zealand | |
| 2019 | Sri Lanka | ARWS | Canceled | ||
| 2020 | Paraguay | Expedición Guaraní | Canceled | ||
| 2021 | Spain | Raid Gallaecia | Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team | Sweden | |
| 2022 | Paraguay | Expedición Guaraní | Team Avaya | New Zealand | |
| 2023 | South Africa | Expedition Africa | Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team | Sweden | |
| 2024 | Ecuador | Huairasinchi | ? | ? | |
| 2025 | Canada | Expedition Canada | ? | ? |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GODZone Adventure Race | New Zealand | March 2015 | Seagate | New Zealand | |
| Tierra Viva | Chile | April 2015 | SAFAT | Sweden | |
| Raid Gallaecia | Spain | May 2015 | Haglofs Sliva | Sweden | |
| Expedition Africa | Swaziland | June 2015 | Merrell Adventure Addicts | South Africa | |
| Expedition Alaska | USA | June 2015 | Tecnu | USA | |
| Cameco Cowboy Tough | USA | July 2015 | Tecnu | USA | |
| XPD Expedition Race | Australia | August 2015 | Mountain Designs | Australia | |
| Raid in France | France | September 2015 | Raidlight | France | |
| ARWS Brazil | Brazil | November 2015 | Seagate | New Zealand |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Mountain Adventure Challenge | Belize | February 2016 | Team Adventure Medical Kits | USA |
| GODZone Adventure Race | New Zealand | April 2016 | Team Yealands Family Wines | New Zealand |
| Tierra Viva | Chile | April 2016 | 2 DSN 74 Hoka | France |
| Expedition Africa | South Africa | May 2016 | Team Featherbed Painted Wolf | South Africa |
| Expedition Guarani | Paraguay | July 2016 | Columbia Vidaraid | Brazil/Spain/UK |
| Cameco Cowboy Tough | USA | July 2016 | Team Adventure Medical Kits | USA |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | August 2016 | Fairis | Ecuador |
| ITERA Expedition Race | Ireland | August 2016 | TEAM FMR | France |
| Raid in France | France | September 2016 | Seagate | New Zealand |
| Xtrail Expedition (Demonstration Race) | China | September 2016 | Thule Adventure Team | Sweden |
| XPD World Championships | Australia | November 2016 | Seagate | New Zealand |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition Guarani | Paraguay | March 2017 | Cyanosis | South Africa |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | April 2017 | Terra Aventura – Finalin | Ecuador |
| Raid Gallaecia | Spain | May 2017 | Naturex | France |
| Expedition Africa | South Africa | May 2017 | Skylotec Adventure | Sweden |
| Xtrail Expedition | China | June 2017 | Seagate | New Zealand |
| Raid in France | France | June 2017 | Lozere Team2Raid | France |
| Cameco Cowboy Tough World Championships | USA | August 2017 | Seagate | New Zealand |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Mountain Adventure Challenge | Belize | March 2018 | Bones | USA |
| XPD Expedition Race | Australia | April 2018 | Tri Adventure Antelopes | Australia |
| Expedition Guarani | Paraguay | May 2018 | Columbia Vidaraid | Brazil |
| Expedition Africa | South Africa | May 2018 | Blizzard | Russia |
| Expedition Oregon | USA | June 2018 | Leki | Sweden |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | June 2018 | Movistar - Terra Aventura | Ecuador |
| Nordic Islands AR | Sweden/Finland | August 2018 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden |
| Shenandoah Tough | USA | September 2018 | Mountain Race Company | USA |
| Raid in France World Championships | La Reunion Island, France | December 2018 | Avaya | New Zealand |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition India | India | March 2019 | Naturex | South Africa |
| Expedition Guarani | Paraguay | April 2019 | Columbia Vidaraid | Brazil |
| Expedition Oregon | USA | April 2019 | Quest AR | USA |
| Raid Gallaecia | Spain | May 2019 | Team Yeti | Denmark |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | June 2019 | Columbia Vidaraid | Brazil |
| Nordic Islands AR | Sweden/Norway | July 2019 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden |
| ITERA | Scotland | August 2019 | Lozere Team2Raid | France |
| Expedition Africa | Rodrigues Island | September 2019 | Greener Adventure Cyklekraft | Sweden |
| Adventure Race Croatia | Croatia | September 2019 | USWE | Sweden |
| Sri Lanka World Championships | Sri Lanka | November 2019 | Canceled* | - |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | December 2020 | Team Movistar Terra Aventura | Ecuador | |
| - | Expedition Oregon | USA | May 2021 | Columbia La Jolla IVF | Spain |
| PC 12 AR | Colombia | June 2021 | Team Bosi | Colombia | |
| Nordic Islands AR | Sweden | June 2021 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden | |
| XPD Adventure Race | Australia | July 2021 | Resicon-Thought Sports | Australia | |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | September 2021 | Team Movistar Terra Aventura | Ecuador | |
| Raid Gallaecia World Championships | Spain | October 2021 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden | |
Canceled races (due to COVID-19):||Expedition Africa, Adventure Race Malaysia, ITERA, Raid in France, Adventure Race Croatia, Patagonia Raid
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama AR | Panama | February 2022 | Brazil Multisport | Brazil |
| Expedition Africa | Lesotho | April 2022 | Estonia ACE Adventure La Sportiva | Estonia |
| Expedition Oregon | USA | May 2022 | Vidaraid | USA/Spain |
| Adventure Race Croatia | Croatia | June 2022 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden |
| Expedition Canada | Canada | June 2022 | Bend Racing | USA |
| Raid in France | Australia | July 2022 | 400 Team Naturex | France |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | August 2022 | Fairis-Proflora | Ecuador |
| ITERA | Scotland | August 2022 | Racing Denmark | Denmark |
| Expedition Guarani World Championships | Paraguay | September 2022 | Avaya | New Zealand |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legend Adventure Race | Australia | February 2023 | E-dog and the JJ's | Australia | |
| - | Adventure Race Croatia | Croatia | May 2023 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden |
| Expedition Canada | Canada | May 2023 | 400team Givaudan | Sweden | |
| Endless Mountains AR | USA | May 2023 | Bend Racing | USA | |
| PC 12 AR | Colombia | June 2023 | Vidaraid | Spain/USA | |
| Huairasinchi | Ecuador | July 2023 | Andes Racing | Ecuador | |
| Nordic Islands AR | Faroe Islands | August 2023 | NIAR | Sweden | |
| Expedicion Guarani | Paraguay | August 2023 | San Juan Aventura | Argentina | |
| Expedition Africa World Championships | South Africa | October 2023 | Swedish Armed Forces | Sweden | |
| Race | Country | Dates | Winner | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legend Adventure Race | stralia | February 2024 | Blunder Bus | Australia | |
| - | Tierra Indomita - Vulania | Chile | April 2024 | Vidaraid | Spain |
| Expedition Ozark | USA | May 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Malacara Expedition | Brazil | April 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Adventure Race Croatia | Croatia | May 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Expedition Africa | Namibia | May 2024 | ? | ? | |
| PC 12 AR | Colombia | June 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Rajd Beskidy | Poland | June 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Raid in France | France | July 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Expedicion Guarani | Paraguay | July 2024 | ? | ? | |
| AR Panama | Panama | August 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Expedition Oregon | USA | September 2024 | ? | ? | |
| Expedition Africa World Championships | Ecuador | November 2024 | ? | ? | |