Racing the Red Fox in Russia

Race Release / 05.04.2016

The 15th annual Red Fox Adventure Race, a grueling non-stop, no-sleep challenge in the wilderness, is slated for June 9 – 13 this year in the Karelia region of North Western Russia at Ladoga Lake on the border of Finland.

The 2016 edition will feature a short course of 25 hours, and a long course of 50 hours. This is a change from previous years, when the long course was 72 hours and the short 48 hours.

Nonetheless it’s quite a challenge, according to the members of last year’s U.S. team sponsored by Red Fox North America and Polartec®. That team, four women from the U.S., were able to finish but it wasn’t easy.

Last year it was also held in the scenic Karelian region of Russia, on the shores of Onega Lake, 300 miles north St. Petersburg. The Red Fox Adventure Race consisted of three loops that had teams running, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, swimming, hiking through deep mud, the woods, brush, water, just about anything imaginable. It’s no walk in the park.

“You need to have knowledge of everybody’s strengths and weaknesses before the race. You are only as strong as your weakest member. Knowing when, where, and who you will have to help at different times will help with strategizing the different aspects of the race,” explained Shawnie Mulligan of Colorado.

“You need to push harder from the start. It’s a long race and you need to conserve energy but getting too far behind from the start will be hard to recover from,” Shawnie added. “Having it light for most of the day tricks your body and allows you to push harder and longer then you would think.”

Amy Caldwell of Vermont was also a member of the U.S. team in 2015. “None of us had ever competed in an adventure race before which ended up making it a real adventure for all of us,” Amy said.

“Here are a few tips for people interested in doing the race this year. First off, if you have never done an adventure race before, I would definitely recommend getting a book on adventure racing. There are many out there and they help give you an idea of what you are getting yourself into.”

“The main events in the Red Fox races are trekking, biking, kayaking, and climbing. You must orienteer from checkpoint to checkpoint, so you need to have at least one person on your team that has really practiced navigating with a compass and map. Last year the trekking sections took place in the middle of the forest with no trails. This made the navigating even more important,” Amy explained.

“The Red Fox Adventure race also has many checkpoints – both mandatory and optional – that require someone on the team to be a very competent lead climber. They also have at least one major checkpoint that has a serious climbing checkpoint. Last year you had to jumar up a 100 meter vertical cliff or transverse a 400 meter rope from an island to the top of the cliff. This information is usually given ahead of time so you can practice the skill at home.”

Mosquitos are also a challenge, according to 2015 U.S. competitor Kathy Wickum of Colorado, also with the Red Fox/Polartec® team. “The mosquitos became a bit of an issue,” Kathy recalled. “Yeah I had a hard time with the mosquitos. I’m not used to that. Also the climbing was hard for me. I tried to prepare as best I could. I had been practicing and rappelling but the climbing that they had us doing was difficult.”

“It was also difficult to gauge how the team was doing compared to other teams because most of the time you never saw anyone else,” Kathy added.

Despite the challenges, bugs, mud, cold and lack of rest, the 2015 U.S. team were left with tremendous memories and a sense of satisfaction.

“When it is three in the morning, and you are lost in the middle of nowhere, in another country, you wonder… how am I supposed to keep going,” Jimi Alida, the fourth member of the Red Fox/Polartec® team, said when looking back at her experience last year.

“You are tired, cold and hungry. But if you are willing mentally to go forward, your body will follow. It’s pretty remarkable. It is so mental,” Jimi explained. “We got in our kayaks at 3 a.m., and started moving and talking and laughing. And the physical body really follows the mind!”

“It is amazing what you can do without food and sleep,” Kathy said.

Entries to the race, which is part of the AR European Series, are open until May 18th.

http://www.adventure-race.redfox.ru/en/news 

­