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Meet Team Eastern Mountain Sports, 2006 U.S.
Adventure Racing Champions!! Yeah, baby!
So, what exactly IS Adventure Racing? We asked team Captain, Jennifer Shultis and she said that
she can't tell us.
That's because there is no EXACT way to define the sport...but then again, that is part of the allure. While races almost always include paddling, trail running, and mountain biking, the course is a mystery. Race courses are kept secret and not revealed until shortly before the race. Unmarked courses wind through wilderness and teams must find their way from checkpoint to checkpoint using only a map and compass. According to Jennifer, "Basically, the race director tells you where to go and how to travel for that section (for example, by foot) but you have to figure out how to get there."
For many new to the sport, just completing a race can be a victory! In adventure racing, you're part of a team, so it goes beyond individual achievement. You must work together to finish. Around the world, adventure racing gives amateur teams the opportunity to toe the line next to world-class, profession teams. Adventure races can last anywhere from 4 hours to 7 non-stop days, and can take place in the wilderness, in swamps, along the ocean, in cities, in deserts or in snow-covered mountains. An adventure race will be the most fun race you've ever experienced!
Who makes the best adventure racers?
Everyone on the Team was a successful racer before coming to
adventure racing. Our racers have backgrounds in bicycle road racing, mountain bike racing, triathlons, track and field, nordic skiing, ultra running and even competitive horse jumping. There is no recipe for success and when we're not adventure racing, you still might find us out doing any of these sports. A successful team is more about finding the right people, not just the fastest.
How do I get involved?
If you're just starting out, you don't need fancy equipment to get started: running shoes, a mountain bike and helmet, a compass and maybe a PFD (life preserver) are all that you need. The race promoter usually provides boats and paddles. As you get more competitive, you may decide to invest in more specialized or ultralight gear. To get started, talk to our EMS Climb School about attending an adventure race clinic! From kayaking to mountain biking to climbing, we've been guiding longer than most anyone.
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Team Eastern Mountain Sports is one of the most successful adventure racing teams in the world.
They won the 2006 U.S. Championships, fielding two teams that raced the entire course together, then crossed the finish line arm-in-arm to take the first TWO places in the US Championships. AND they won the 2007 North American Rogaine Championships in Canada (a rogaine is a 24-hour non-stop foot orienteering race) with the second team winning their division, too!
- U.S. Nationals
- New England Adventure Racing Series
- JEEP Adventure Racing Series
- Eastern Mountain Sports Adventure Racing Series
- Ultimate Adventure Racing Series
- NYARA Adventure Racing Team of the Year
- 2006 NYARA Male Adventure Racer of the Year, Joe Brautigam
- 2006 NYARA Female Adventure Racer of the Year, Jennifer Shultis
2007 Race Schedule
- New England Adventure Race Series
- EcoMotion Expedition, Brazil
- Swamp Stomp, 30 Hour, FL
- CheckPoint Zero, 30 Hour, GA
- MIX Expedition, 4 Day, Upper Peninsula, MI
- The Genesis Adventure Sprint Series
- NYARA Longest Day
- Berryman 36 Hour, MO
- USARA National Championships
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Jennifer on gear:
Arm and leg warmers are one of the best additions any adventure racer can make to their wardrobe. These can turn any short-sleeve shirt into a long sleeve or any pair of cycling shorts into tights. Perfect for races that start in the chilly morning since you can simply remove the arm and leg warmers as you or the day starts to warm up. Pull them off, pop them into your pack and keep on the move!
For a super quick way to eat while paddling, safety pin energy gels to the front of your PFD. When you need to refuel, just pull one off, rip open the top and yum! No need to dig through pockets looking for food when you really need to be paddling and helping your team to keep moving. Plus, unlike that PB&J, gel packets are water tight.
Keep organized! Put all of your mandatory gear into a single, water tight, clear ziplock-style bag. When you are stopped on course for a gear check, there is no need to go rummaging through your pack for your needed gear. Just pull out the bag—it’s all there. You usually don’t even need to open the bag—just point through the plastic to show the required items. You are much less likely to lose mandatory gear this way, too.
Get a truly waterproof map case to hold your maps while you race and then keep it zipped up tight. Many racers think a ziplock bag will work, only to have their maps destroyed when water leaks in due to rain or while paddling. A destroyed map could mean not finishing your race or, even worse, spending the night in the woods.
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The 2006 Eastern Mountain Sports Adventure Team
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Core Members
Joe Brautigam, Bethel, CT
Chad Denning, Hanover, NH
Dmitry Drozdov, Waltham, MA
Dave Lamb, Kingston, NH
Jennifer Shultis, Lexington, MA
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Pinch Hitters/Honor Roll
Eric Bowker, Williston, VT
Vytenis Benetis, Lithuania
John Hartley, Montclair, NJ
Will Hawkins, Rochester, NY
Dave Kane, NYC
Viktoria Brautigam, Boston, MA
Kristen Dieffenbach, Maryland, USA
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Tom Zidek, Canada
Jason Poole, Colorado
Scott Pleban, Virginia
Frida Rosenberg, Sweden
Pete Swenson, Colorado
Shane Sigle, Colorado
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