Moab adventurers need skills

MOAB — There is no easy route when trekking 500 miles over and around mountains, riding raging rivers and scaling sheer cliffs.

It's risky, so organizers of the most arduous adventure races want to make sure the competitors have the needed experience in such disciplines as kayaking, orienteering and climbing.

"It's serious situations out there," said Rich Brazeau, CEO of Primal Quest. "We just want to make sure they're very prepared. We sleep better at night knowing that they are."

Primal Quest is a true expedition race — up to 10 days while trying to plot a course through the rugged West by foot, bicycle, kayak, horse and about any other nonmotorized means necessary.

There are strict requirements that the participants be certified in climbing, kayaking and swimming. In addition, two members of each team must be certified in first aid, two in horseback skills and two in navigation.

Finding qualified instructors for the different disciplines can be difficult, so some racers do it all at once in weekend courses.

Gravity Play Sports Marketing, a Durango, Colo., company that puts on adventure races, has added certification camps to the introductory weekend courses it offers.

"It fit right in line with what we were already doing, so it was a good match," said Will Newcomer, who runs Gravity Play with his wife, Jenny. "Most people kind of had to go to different spots to find someone who was certified in that particular discipline."

Training is recommended, although it isn't required for all races. There are risks regardless of racers' experience levels; two years ago, Primal Quest was suspended for two days after a 300-pound boulder struck a racer in the head as he ran down a rocky slope.

The determining threshold for races that require certification is usually based on length of competition. Multiple-day races — expeditions — are the more difficult ones, and racers need to know what they're doing. In a sprint, which can take a day or even an afternoon, general fitness can get the racers through.

The paperwork is verified over about two months, then each racer must show two days before the race starts that he or she can back up the certification.

"There's a large difference between an expedition race and some of the smaller races," Brazeau said. "That's why we require competitors to go through such great lengths."