Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge

Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge, Largest US Adventure Race, Returns Memorial Day Weekend

Press Release / 19.05.2022

The Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge returns on May 28, 2022, as the largest adventure race in the United States, with 3-hour, 8-hour and 18-hour editions.

Taking place in and around Wausau, Wisconsin, the 2022 Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge has once again sold out, with entries capped at 500 racers. The 2021 race drew racers from 14 states, and an equal number of states are expected to be represented in 2022.

While the racecourse and even the start and finish lines will remain a secret until just before an adventure race, this year’s race will be in the national spotlight with U.S. Adventure Racing Association title sponsor Toyota Tundra set to have a major presence at the event. A Toyota Tundra and Toyota staff will be lining the finish line and Team Toyota Tundra, last year’s national champions, will be on the start line aiming for the win.

“The reputation the Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge race directors have built for having a top-notch race is why national-level sponsors want to do brand activation at this event,” USARA Executive Director Mike Garrison said.

In adventure racing, teams of two to four navigate with a map and compass through a mix of private and public lands through trekking, biking, and paddling, as well as completing special challenges. The 3-hour challenge is designed with first-time adventure racers in mind, while the 8-hour provides returning racers a bigger challenge. The 18-hour race is intended to be a test even for the most experienced adventure racers.

Last year, every single racer responding to the anonymous post-event survey said they would recommend the race to others, with 53 percent of the event’s racers brand new to the sport. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism also awarded a Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) grant to the event for a second year in a row for its efforts to promote outdoor recreation. According to a post-event survey, 80 percent of racers said the 2021 race took them to a new area that they would like to visit again.

“We are thrilled to introduce so many to the sport we fell in love with,” Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge Co-Race Director Anna Nummelin said. Nummelin and her husband and the race’s other co-director, Tim Buchholz, are some of the top adventure racers in the United States. After finishing dead last in their first adventure race together, they podiumed at the last two U.S. Adventure Racing Association National Championships.

The Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge takes place over Memorial Day weekend. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits University of Wisconsin-Wausau Campus Foundation and IRONBULL. The event has sold out at 500 racers each of the last two years, so the team created a winter version of the event, the Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge – Winter Edition, held in mid-January. For those still wanting to be a part of this year’s event may join the team of 40+ volunteers at: https://www.ironbull.org/volunteer-rmac Local sponsors include the Town of Rib Mountain and CoVantage Credit Union.

For more race information on the Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge, go to the Rib Mountain Adventure Challenge Facebook page or https://www.ribmountainadventurechallenge.com/