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Adventure racing is a sport in which teams - generally three boys and one girl - race across vast distances using only human power. The clock starts at the start line and stops at the finish; failure for any one member means failure for all. It is truly the ultimate team sport, pushing world-class athletes to their limits and beyond.
Kayaking, running, biking and orienteering are the core disciplines, but depending on the race and location teams may find themselves riding horses - or camels - abseiling down cliffs and water-courses, ascending ropes for hours or canoeing down a jungle river in a native craft.
- Anna recognised among the top 10 female adventure racing athletes in the world (2002)
- Pasi: 5 X-Adventure World Cup stage wins as captain of Team Nokia Adventure
- Pasi won the 900km Raid Gauloises Himalayas in around 5 days
- Anna finished 10th of 80+ teams to complete Eco Challenge Fiji
The scale of the races
Some races are around 1000km in length (non-stop). Others may only cover 300km of jungle terrain and yet may last even longer. The longest race completed by Pasi was the Raid Gauloises Himalayas (which he won in around 5 days), whereas the longest time he was ever out on a course was in the Raid Gauloises Vietnam, with Anna, which he finished in around 7 days. For Anna, her longest race was Eco Challenge Fiji, in which they were out on the course for a full 10 days.
Anna's racing
Anna was a professional adventure racing athlete for around 5 years after bursting onto the scene at the Raid Gauloises Himalayas in 2000. She competed in most of the well-known international races, including the Southern Traverse (with Ran Fiennes), Primal Quest, the X-Adventure series, Baja Traversia, the Bull of Africa, Raid Gauloises Himalayas, Raid Gauloises Vietnam, the Red Bull Northern Exposure (first), the Adrenalin Rush (European World Champs qualifier, first) and Eco Challenge Fiji (10th, with The North Face). Alongside the standard mixed-sex teams, she ran an all-female developmental squad in the UK, team Buff Endure, which often proved competitive against UK and international mixed-sex teams. In 2002 she was recognised as one of the top 10 female adventure racing athletes in the world.
Pasi's racing
Pasi entered the world of adventure racing in a more predictable manner, having participated in over 40 scouting and wilderness skills championship races - testing orienteering and navigational skills, first aid and rescue abilities, knowledge of nature and practical wilderness skills - prior to starting AR. He participated in 13 X-Adventure Raid Series World Cup stage races between 1998 and 2004, and in five of those he captained his team, Nokia Adventure (one of the foremost teams in the world), to first-place finishes. He also captained Team Nokia Adventure to first in the 900km Trans-Himalayan Raid Gauloises Himalayas in 2000.
