One of the first international events of the year is coming up soon when the Adventure Race European Championships is staged in Poland from 23rd-27th January in the Beskid Niski region.

 

The race is being put on by the 360° team and the long course covers almost 500Km and includes navigational running, mountain biking, cross country skiing and a series of 7 ‘special tasks’.  These are a feature of Polish racing and usually include some really challenging winter rope skills work, though the organisers have promised they will set them to test both the body and the brain.

 

The course is in a ‘circular’ format with a series of smaller loops from each main transition, which is always a good idea in winter conditions, allowing teams to make best use of the warmth and hot food and drinks when they stop.

 

The race has had a limited entry so far, with 12 teams taking part, all from Eastern Europe, but entries are still open and there is an amazing offer of free entry to the first team from other nations.  (Ski hire is even included.) What’s more the winner gets a free entry to the AR World Championships in Costa Rice – it’s not often there’s a free expedition race, especially with a prize like that on offer!

 

So any European/Scandinavian teams who are in shape and can manage a last minute entry could be onto a good thing!

 

They will have to race against the best Russian, Czech, Estonian and Polish teams to do well however.  These include CZAR Team Berghaus/Merida/Nutrend, ACE Adventure Team, Czech Adidas Adventure Team, Garmin/Arena/RedFox and Salomon/Suunto/OpavaNet, so the competition should be close.  We hope to have daily reports right here on SleepMonsters once the race is underway and you can find out more about the race at http://www.zima_2013.team360.pl/en