The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS)The Free Dictionary, 2011. 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.Science Daily, 2011.
Format Mixed sex 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 winning team at each event secures the opportunity to compete in the World Championships. The field of event winners is then supplemented by the reigning world champions, who are given the right to defend their title, the winners of regional championship races and the remainder of the field comes from open entry round out the number of starters.
The 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 four results over a two-year period (with heavier weighting given to World Championship results), with the ranking cycle refreshed every 4 months.
History 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".Swift, 2001. 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 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, 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.Sleepmonsters, 2011. 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.AG Outdoor, 2011. 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".Adventure Junkie, 2011. 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.Explore Compete Live, 2011. 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.
Depictions in culture A memoir of the 2014 Ecuador race by Mikael Lindnord was published in 2016, focusing on a dog that attached itself to his team. Lindnord's book was adapted into the 2024 film Arthur the King, which transposed the story to 2018 and the Dominican Republic.
World Championship results
Year Country Race World Champion Nationality 2001 Switzerland Discovery Channel World Championships Team Nokia AdventureFinland 2004 Canada Raid The North Extreme Nike ACG Balance BarUSA 2005 New Zealand Southern Traverse Balance VectorNew Zealand 2006 Sweden Explore Sweden Nike PowerBlastUSA 2007 Scotland Wilderness ARCScotland, 2011. NikeUSA 2008 Brazil EcomotionXtreme Sport, 2008. Orion HealthNew Zealand 2009 Portugal Portugal XPDXtreme Sport, 2009. Helly Hansen PrunescoBritain 2010 Spain Bimbache Extrem Buff ThermocoolSpain 2011 Australia XPD Expedition Race Thule Adventure TeamSweden 2012 France Raid in France Team SeagateNew Zealand 2013 Costa Rica Costa Rica AR Thule Adventure TeamFrance 2014 Ecuador Huairasinchi Explorer SeagateNew Zealand2015 Brazil ARWS Brazil SeagateNew Zealand2016AustraliaXPD Expedition Race Seagate New Zealand2017USACameco Cowboy Tough Seagate New Zealand2018La Reunion IslandRaid in France Avaya New Zealand2019Sri LankaARWSCanceled2020ParaguayExpedición GuaraníCanceled2021SpainRaid GallaeciaSwedish Armed Forces Adventure TeamSweden2022ParaguayExpedición GuaraníTeam AvayaNew Zealand2023South AfricaExpedition AfricaSwedish Armed Forces Adventure TeamSweden2024EcuadorHuairasinchi400teamFrance2025CanadaExpedition Canada??
2015 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityGODZone Adventure RaceNew ZealandMarch 2015SeagateNew ZealandTierra VivaChileApril 2015SAFATSwedenRaid GallaeciaSpainMay 2015Haglofs SlivaSwedenExpedition AfricaSwazilandJune 2015Merrell Adventure AddictsSouth AfricaExpedition AlaskaUSAJune 2015TecnuUSACameco Cowboy ToughUSAJuly 2015TecnuUSAXPD Expedition RaceAustraliaAugust 2015Mountain DesignsAustraliaRaid in FranceFranceSeptember 2015RaidlightFranceARWS BrazilBrazilNovember 2015SeagateNew Zealand
2016 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityMaya Mountain Adventure ChallengeBelizeFebruary 2016Team Adventure Medical KitsUSAGODZone Adventure RaceNew ZealandApril 2016Team Yealands Family WinesNew ZealandTierra VivaChileApril 20162 DSN 74 HokaFranceExpedition AfricaSouth AfricaMay 2016Team Featherbed Painted WolfSouth AfricaExpedition GuaraniParaguayJuly 2016Columbia VidaraidBrazil/Spain/UKCameco Cowboy ToughUSAJuly 2016Team Adventure Medical KitsUSAHuairasinchiEcuadorAugust 2016FairisEcuadorITERA Expedition RaceIrelandAugust 2016TEAM FMRFranceRaid in FranceFranceSeptember 2016SeagateNew ZealandXtrail Expedition (Demonstration Race)ChinaSeptember 2016Thule Adventure TeamSwedenXPD World ChampionshipsAustraliaNovember 2016SeagateNew Zealand
2017 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityExpedition GuaraniParaguayMarch 2017CyanosisSouth AfricaHuairasinchiEcuadorApril 2017Terra Aventura – FinalinEcuadorRaid GallaeciaSpainMay 2017NaturexFranceExpedition AfricaSouth AfricaMay 2017Skylotec AdventureSwedenXtrail ExpeditionChinaJune 2017SeagateNew ZealandRaid in FranceFranceJune 2017Lozere Team2RaidFranceCameco Cowboy Tough World ChampionshipsUSAAugust 2017SeagateNew Zealand
2018 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityMaya Mountain Adventure ChallengeBelizeMarch 2018BonesUSAXPD Expedition RaceAustraliaApril 2018Tri Adventure AntelopesAustraliaExpedition GuaraniParaguayMay 2018Columbia VidaraidBrazilExpedition AfricaSouth AfricaMay 2018BlizzardRussiaExpedition OregonUSAJune 2018LekiSwedenHuairasinchiEcuadorJune 2018Movistar - Terra AventuraEcuadorNordic Islands ARSweden/FinlandAugust 2018Swedish Armed ForcesSwedenShenandoah ToughUSASeptember 2018Mountain Race CompanyUSARaid in France World ChampionshipsLa Reunion Island, FranceDecember 2018AvayaNew Zealand
2019 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityExpedition IndiaIndiaMarch 2019NaturexSouth AfricaExpedition GuaraniParaguayApril 2019Columbia VidaraidBrazilExpedition OregonUSAApril 2019Quest ARUSARaid GallaeciaSpainMay 2019Team YetiDenmarkHuairasinchiEcuadorJune 2019Columbia VidaraidBrazilNordic Islands ARSweden/NorwayJuly 2019Swedish Armed ForcesSwedenITERAScotlandAugust 2019Lozere Team2RaidFranceExpedition AfricaRodrigues IslandSeptember 2019Greener Adventure CyklekraftSwedenAdventure Race CroatiaCroatiaSeptember 2019USWESwedenSri Lanka World ChampionshipsSri LankaNovember 2019Canceled*- Canceled due to 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
2020 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityPatagonia RaidArgentinaFebruary 2020Columbia VidaraidBrazil Canceled races (due to COVID-19):||Expedition Africa, Adventure Race Malaysia, ITERA, Raid in France, Adventure Race Croatia, Expedition Oregon, PC 12 AR, XPD Adventure Race, Nordic Islands AR, Huairasinchi, Expedición Guaraní World Championships
2021 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityHuairasinchiEcuadorDecember 2020Team Movistar Terra AventuraEcuadorExpedition OregonUSAMay 2021Columbia La Jolla IVFSpainPC 12 ARColombiaJune 2021Team BosiColombiaNordic Islands ARSwedenJune 2021Swedish Armed ForcesSwedenXPD Adventure RaceAustraliaJuly 2021Resicon-Thought SportsAustraliaHuairasinchiEcuadorSeptember 2021Team Movistar Terra AventuraEcuadorRaid Gallaecia World ChampionshipsSpainOctober 2021Swedish Armed ForcesSweden
Canceled races (due to COVID-19):||Expedition Africa, Adventure Race Malaysia, ITERA, Raid in France, Adventure Race Croatia, Patagonia Raid
2022 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityPanama ARPanamaFebruary 2022Brazil MultisportBrazilExpedition AfricaLesothoApril 2022Estonia ACE Adventure La SportivaEstoniaExpedition OregonUSAMay 2022VidaraidUSA/SpainAdventure Race CroatiaCroatiaJune 2022Swedish Armed ForcesSwedenExpedition CanadaCanadaJune 2022Bend RacingUSARaid in FranceAustraliaJuly 2022400 Team NaturexFranceHuairasinchiEcuadorAugust 2022Fairis-ProfloraEcuadorITERAScotlandAugust 2022Racing DenmarkDenmarkExpedition Guarani World ChampionshipsParaguaySeptember 2022AvayaNew Zealand
2023 Adventure Racing World Series
Race Country Dates Winner NationalityLegend Adventure RaceAustraliaFebruary 2023E-dog and the JJ'sAustraliaAdventure Race CroatiaCroatiaMay 2023Swedish Armed ForcesSwedenExpedition CanadaCanadaMay 2023400team GivaudanSwedenEndless Mountains ARUSAMay 2023Bend RacingUSAPC 12 ARColombiaJune 2023VidaraidSpain/USAHuairasinchiEcuadorJuly 2023Andes RacingEcuadorNordic Islands ARFaroe IslandsAugust 2023NIARSwedenExpedicion GuaraniParaguayAugust 2023San Juan AventuraArgentinaExpedition Africa World ChampionshipsSouth AfricaOctober 2023Swedish Armed ForcesSweden
2024 Adventure Racing World Series