ITERA-lite

ITERA-lite - An Exciting New Addition to the UK Adventure Race Calendar

Press Release / 18.01.2023

Durty Events, one of the UK’s leading off-road multi-sports event organisers has announced ITERA-lite - a 2-3 day event of non-stop multi-sport adventure across the best of the Southern Uplands of Scotland.  Race dates are 27th-31st of July.

ITERA-lite (the little brother of the epic ITERA 5-day race) is designed to be a do-able stepping stone to expedition length events for new adventure racers, a training opportunity for established teams, as well as being a great race and adventure in its own right. It will also be a member race of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) Europe.

Competitors can expect around 300km of non-stop multi-sport action with stages comprising trekking, mountain-biking, kayaking, navigation, as well as special stages –taking competitors to some hidden gems across the South of Scotland - recently announced as one of Lonely Planet’s best travel destinations for 2023.

Durty Events anticipate the winning time to be around 48 hours and all teams to be complete within around 60 hours. Shortcuts will be available for the novice or slower teams, meaning the drama and excitement of expedition adventure racing will be more accessible for all.

The ITERA-lite course planner is Tom Gibbs who also planned the well-received ITERA races in 2014, 2019 and 2022. As an ex-World Champion he knows what 'good' adventure races look like. The Race Director will be Paul McGreal who also worked in this role on ITERA 2019 and 2022 and has raced several expedition-length events.

Unlike ITERA, entries will be accepted from either teams of 4 people or Pairs – and they do not need to be mixed teams. However, the competitive teams will still need to have at least one female member in their team of 4. The lowering of conditions for less competitive teams is designed to reduce any barriers to entry and enable people who have never tried adventure racing before to give it a go. Anyone thinking about entering will also be able to take advantage of Early Bird pricing which is being held open to encourage as many new teams to enter as possible.

Durty Events Founder and ITERA Race Organiser Paul McGreal comments: “We’re very excited that we have been able to introduce ITERA-lite as an accessible introduction to adventure racing and a stepping stone to ITERA. We believe adventure racing is really going to take off in the UK, and we’ll be at the forefront of that.

“We are collaborating with other organisers such as the Burn Series providing an adventure race pathway from the entry-level novice, all the way up to expert. Being able to confirm our commitment to adventure racing through a series of various formats and events is a sign of how much determination we have to take adventure racing to a wider cross-section of people – as well as more providing more choice for seasoned adventure racers.”

To find out more about ITERA-lite, visit www.itera.co.uk, email info@durtyevents.com, follow the event on @durtyevents on Facebook and Instagram.