Huairasinchi ARWS

The Amazon’s jungle, rivers and ancestral territories will be the setting for the 19th edition of the Huairasinchi Expedition Race in Ecuador

Press Release / 24.07.2022

This year will be the first time that the Huairasinchi World Series expedition adventure race will be held in the lowlands of Ecuador, where the highest point does not exceed 1000 meters above sea level.

The city of Tena is the epicenter of this mega adventure and the teams will start the competition in a secret location located 100km away from the city. The race will be a real navigational challenge in primeval jungle, on ancient native trails (culuncos) and paddling the many rivers which feed into the mighty Amazon. The winners of this edition will receive places in the ARWS South American Regional Championship and for the 2022 Adventure Racing World Championship in Paraguay.

This race has serveral new teams, led by experienced competitors, with a lot of racing experience on the ARWS circuit.  In the Expedition ARWS Category there are 2 teams ranked in the top 10 in the world.  Those are Life Imptek Adventure and Papacara Salud SA Vitaliy.  In addition, the FAIRIS team will include Martin Saenz, the most experienced competitor from Ecuador on the world circuit, and also on the team is another very experienced international competitor, American racer, Jari Hiatt.

To add more spice to the competition, the multiple winner of Huairasinchi, Felipe Munchmeyer (Ex Movistar Terra Aventura), comes to the race with a new and very experienced team called Andes Racing.  Then there is the San Juan Adventure Team from Argentina, who arrive supercharged by the inclusion of Spanish racer Urtzi Iglesias, one of the best navigators in the world, and a multiple ARWS winner with Team Vidaraid.

This race will be very technical, requiring special skills in rowing and sailing. The ARWS Expedition Category teams will be on rivers with class 3 rapids and the navigation will demand the maximum concentration and skill from the teams.  The jungle is a complicated place to navigate due to the canopy of trees and the low elevation, so it is difficult to have reference points such as mountains and creeks.  In this race the key strategies will be: moving forward efficiently, avoiding damaging pack rafts and reading the terrain.

The ARWS South America Adventure Category has 23 teams taking part. They are well matched, which promises an aggressive, fast and hard-fought race.

All of the teams will have to face very tough terrain; humid, remote and full of flora and fauna, and each competitor will have to take great care of their feet to avoid complications due to the large amount of water and the humidity that they will encounter in the route.

You can follow the race media at: @huairasinchi @proyectoaventuraec @thewild.pack and on ARWS media channels.

There will be live satellite tracking available on the race website - https://www.proyectoaventura.com/site/2/huairasinchi