USARA National Championship

Intriguing Battle Of Top Teams Set For 2022 USARA National Championship

Clifford White / 07.09.2022

The team list for the 2022 USARA National Championship has been released, revealing what will be an intriguing battle for the crown of top U.S. team.

This year’s championship, in its usual 30-hour format, begins Friday, September 16 in Bishop, California. The defending national champion, Team Toyota Tundra/WEDALI, will be on the start line, as will several other elite U.S. teams with legitimate shots at the top step of the podium.

Bend Racing, the current top-ranked team in the Adventure Racing World Series Rankings, is sending a team, as is Bones Adventure, one of the most experienced U.S. teams. Teton Adventure Racers includes Abby Broughton and Jason Popilsky, two former national champions with the former powerhouse team AMK, and NYARA’s team has Jarrod Shoemaker, a former Olympian in the triathlon who recently competed in the One Water Race, the world’s toughest swimrun.

Team Kuat, VERT, Orienteering Utah, Strong Machine AR, No Complaints and Katana Racing all have aspirations of finding themselves in the top 10, or even top five if any of the top teams struggle – a very real possibility in the desert heat and high altitudes the race will traverse.

In the female division, Rootstock Racing will field a strong team and will face off against perennial contenders Fragile Flowers and up-and-comers BRF Barf Racing and Lost Arrow Sports.

In the male division, GearJunkie boasts a very experienced team, as does Only Mostly Lost and Cherubini Brothers AR. Recalculating is one of several local Californian teams that may have an advantage when it comes to knowing the terrain and having the experience racing at altitude.

USARA Executive Director Michael Garrison said he’s excited to see how the battle to become the 2022 USARA National Champion adventure racing team will shake out on a course that’s much different than racers have experienced in recent USARA nationals events, which have mostly been held in the U.S. South and Midwest. This year’s race organizer, All Out Events, has planned a point-to-point course that will take racers above 12,000 feet in elevation, including a transition area at the top of the Mammoth Mountain ski area. Early forecasts are calling for a hot, sunny day and cooler temperatures overnight.

“The course is big, it's physical, and it's beautiful,” Garrison said. “The elevation is real, both in how high you will get on the course and how much climbing you will do. There's less focus on ‘orienteering-style’ navigation and more on route-finding and moving consistently and efficiently. It's a true point-to-point course. There are no loops! This will make for a truly spectacular journey through some gorgeous landscapes.”

Besides the glory of being crowned the 2022 USARA National Champions, the top teams will have the chance to win a free entry into the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship, hosted by Expedition Africa and taking place in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa in October 2023. The prize is being offered as part of USARA’s partnership with the Adventure Racing World Series.

Real-time satellite tracking of the teams participating in the event, provided by Adventure Enablers, will be available at USARA.com beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific time on Friday, September 16 and ending at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, the 30-hour cutoff for teams to arrive at the finish line in downtown Bishop.