Endless Mountains Adventure Race 2026
Largest Field to date at the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race
Press Release / 16.06.2026
When the fourth edition of the Endless Mountains Adventure Race kicks off next week, thirty-eight teams will line up at the start, the largest field to date for the only US-based qualifier for the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship in Corsica.
The field includes the top three teams from 2025, led by 4 Hour Fuel, three-time defending champions at the event. This year, Alex Provost and Karine Corbeil, who have been on the squad for the last two editions, are joined by Lars Bukkehave, who stood atop the podium at the inaugural Endless Mountains in 2022, and Dusty Caseria, new to the race but not to the pointy end of the sport, having navigated his team to a win at the US Adventure Racing Association National Championship in 2023, also in Vermont.
“Every time you come back as a champion,” says Provost, “it means you have something to lose. So, it’s certainly an extra pressure for us to come back. But at the same time in the last few years, we’ve been able to cope with that. It’s going to be exciting.”
The 2023 Endless Mountains winning team
The returning champions will be pushed by VERT, who finished second last year and who recently topped the premier division at the Tug Hill Extreme Adventure Race, an ARWS North America regional event, propelled by impressive horsepower and a team approach to navigation that left little room for error.
“We see navigating as ‘a team discipline,’” says Vermont local Kit Vreeland. “We’re constantly communicating with all team members to get input, whether it’s ‘what do you see in the topography,’ or ‘we’re looking for this backstop,’ or asking somebody to pace count or start a stopwatch. I love that kind of working together and taking all the information in.”
Last year’s third place team, Strong Machine Adventure Racing, will see navigator Glen Lewis joined by three Endless rookies in Cliff White, Kate Blume, and Gavin Woody, but they are by no means rookies in the sport. Last November, the roster finished second at Rootstock Racing’s 24-hour Two Rivers Adventure Race, their first time racing as a foursome. With White and Blume’s longtime familiarity with New England terrain, Woody’s prowess in the mountains, and Lewis’ navigational acumen and deep understanding of Rootstock courses – this year’s Endless Mountains will be his 28th Rootstock event – the team is one to watch.
For the first time, two teams from Europe are joining the North American-heavy field: Bull Adventure Team, composed of athletes from Denmark, Finland, and Estonia; and Gymcity AR, hailing from Ireland and Poland. Though new to Endless Mountains’ unique navigational rigor, both teams are familiar names on the ARWS circuit. Gymcity earned a victory at the 2024 Rajd Beskidy in Poland, and just last month Tauno Riibak of the Bull Adventure Team won the Malacara 500 as a member of Tactical Foodpack.
Other teams to watch in the premier 4-person mixed division include Mercators AR, comprised of Una Hall, David Grabiner, Scott Cocks, who raced with VERT in 2025, and Mari Chandler, returning for her fourth Endless Mountains with a new squad; No Ragrets, who finished seventh divisionally in 2025 and bring with them another year of expedition experience; Spare Parts, a squad who raced together for the first time at the Tug Hill race two weeks ago to a third place divisional finish; and Checkpoint Zero, who last raced Endless Mountains in 2023 in memory of their late captain Peter Jolles.
Race directors Brent Freedland and Abby Perkiss describe Endless Mountains as a modified rogaine format, offering teams who aren’t completing the full course (very few do at Endless Mountains) the opportunity for strategic “choose-your-own adventure” flexibility, and the event has a storied history of teams making tactical decisions in self-selecting optional checkpoints based on their collective strengths.
Expect to see smart racing from 2nd Breakfast Club, Cherubini Brothers AR, Grit Adventure Racing, Lost Arrow Sports, and Why Wait, as well as NYARA – Ubuntu, Over the Mountain, and Team Dark Zone Podcast/NYARA, each of which has Vermont locals on their roster who will no doubt know all the best general stores and maple creemee stands along the route.
In the mixed-open field, Trust the Compass returns as reigning division champs, but they will toe the line against Russ and Val Nordquist of Team Nerdquist, who took the honors in the first two editions of the event (Val joins Glen Lewis at the top of the Rootstock Frequent Racer Club).
Also in contention will be Granite Racing, who return after the 2025 edition, building on a year of strong racing and further honed team chemistry; Irrational Fortitude, bringing together returning racers Chris Paisley and Brittany Locker with Endless rookie Zach Locker, who missed last year’s race due to an ACL replacement; the Montreal-based Andre Cyr and Aurelie Potvin, who direct the St-Lawrence Adventure Race, part of the ARWS Stage Race Series; and Dan Szilier, who just completed his 25th Rootstock event and who is taking on his fourth Endless Mountains with Elke Dolder and Becky Lamont. They are racing as Irritatingly Optimistic, but rest assured that the energy they bring to the event will be a welcomed treat for fellow racers and volunteers alike, especially on Day Three.
The all-women’s division brings together two returning Endless Mountains teams, in Chickpoints and Fragile Flowers. These are among the most experienced racers in the country competing on all-women’s teams, a field that has seen exponential growth across the United States thanks in large part to Stephanie Ross, founder of the Women of AR Campaign.
“I’ve seen huge changes,” says Fragile Flowers captain Olga Huber, reflecting on the evolution of the sport. “How many teams do we have now at Nationals that are all-female? The first time I did it, there were three of us.” In 2025, ten teams lined up in the division; in 2024, the field saw a historic fourteen all-women’s teams.
This year, expect to see plenty of jockeying for position in a deeply experienced all-male division at Endless Mountains. With none of the past divisional champions returning, the field is wide open in 2026. Dot watchers should keep close watch on veteran racers Charlie Roberts and Shane Hagerman, racing as 2 Dudes and a Donkey; Steve Hambling and Paul Merchak of The NorthStar, back for their fourth Endless Mountains following an impressive performance from Hambling and his team at the recent Cerberus Stage Race; Uphill Both Ways, who bring a long history of finishes at Canada’s renowned Wilderness Traverse; Masters Adventure Racing Team, pairing Tom Ambrose and JD Eskelson, both returning for their second Endless Mountains; Chad Denlinger and Cody Bush of Misguided, who finished second in the mixed-open division in 2025; and Chaos Required, coming back for their fourth Endless Mountains. In 2025, they finished second divisionally, their best result in the race to date. Perhaps 2026 could be their year.
They are joined by Coastal Plains, For Sight Racing, Goose Adventure Racing, and Ozark Trail, all making their Endless Mountains debut; Lost Squirrels and Orange Lederhosen, both looking for redemption after early exits from the event in 2025; and Wild North Adventure Racing, who competed in the first two editions of Endless Mountains as Team Edge of the Wild.
The 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race is presented by Rootstock Racing and supported by MRS Packrafting. The event begins on Monday, June 22 at 10:00am EST.
For more information and expansive in-race coverage, visit the Endless Mountains website, as well as Rootstock Racing’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Live tracking is available here.
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