Adventure Racing is one of the most challenging events in the world and tests both endurance and navigation skills. These races are open to people of all sorts, including males and females, and usually include multiple races or different sections of one ultimate race. These events include canoeing/paddling, cross-country running, mountain-biking, and climbing, possibly the most physically challenging activities in the world. There are many different types of these races which all last a certain amount of time, these are listed below with the amount of time it usually takes to complete and other minor details.

The sprint is usually a two hour – six hour long race that requires minimal navigation skills, it sometimes includes games that test the mind, agility and other physical and mental attributes. The 12-hour event does not always last 12 hours, sometimes it lasts as little as 6 hours. This race only includes minimum navigation and orientation events. The 24-hour race is more intense than the sprint and 12-hour as they usually require a whole team to complete, including support to place certain necessities to complete the race in certain places. Also navigation is the most significant skill you will need during this race, if you get lost, you will need a miracle to catch up and win the race.

Multi-day races last a few days, they are much like the 24-hour race except they involve more events and last much longer. Expeditions are the longest of all adventure races, they require complete dedication, maximum endurance and navigational skills. They usually last 11 days and will include the most physically and mentally challenging obstacles and events that you could possibly imagine.

Most programmes consist of a pre-planned week or month with specific goals for each day. You will most likely have a mix of sprinting, climbing, endurance, cadence training and recovery days. Some training programmes have specific workouts you can follow, so if you are a good all-round cyclist, but would like to improve your climbing ability, they offer workouts focused solely on climbing. Some online cycling training programmes also let you contact their staff if you have any questions or are struggling with certain aspects of your training.

You may also be wondering what these paid programmes offer that the free programmes do not. As mentioned above, paid programmes allow you to actually contact somebody if you don’t understand anything. The quality is generally much better as well, by quality I mean that the programme is easy to understand and follow and the programme is actually structured so that you get maximum benefits without overtraining. You are also purchasing a properly researched Programme, not just a single workout somebody posted on a forum, which works for them.

For people new to cycling, the training sessions help them avoid common ‘sins’ most people commit when they first start cycling. For experienced cyclists, cycling training programmes save you time having to plan your training sessions, they also save you a lot of time from having to figure out what will benefit you and what wont. If you race, these programmes will also give you a bit of a competitive edge over your opponents, since you will be stronger and better prepared come race day.