A fully fledged Queensland Adventure Race series ….. A youth development program offering a low barrier pathway into adventure racing ….. Australia’s first expedition-length, rogaine-format adventure race ….. An exciting partnership with the Adventure 1 Global brand ….. Date and location announcements for the Rogue Raid ….. An all new website.
With undoubtedly the biggest press release to come from Rogue Adventure it’s time to take a few deep breaths and unpack it all.
The Raid Series
After an 8 year run of organising “The Rogue”, it’s time to formalise the race into it’s own fully fledged race series: announcing the Raid Adventures. The Raid Adventures adopt the same format of racing you know from the Rogue, now in a series of events that extend from a the Colts Raid (a 3 hour youth-only race) through to the Frontier Raid (a 6 hour race), the Mojo Raid (a 12 hour race) and the original Rogue Raid (a 24 hour race), along with the 3 hour Urban Raid.
What’s changing? On the front of it, not too much: each race will the multisport, rogaine-format adventure race that has exploded in popularity off the back of the Rogue Raid. Achievable by anyone willing to take on the challenge, these courses will still push the country’s elite racers to their limit.
The race series now has its own dedicated website: Jump over to RaidAdventures.com to lock in your next race.
The Adventure 1 Partnership
As was recently announced, the premier event of the Raid Adventures series – The Rogue Raid – will now be a qualifying member of Australia’s national adventure racing series, Adventure 1, from 2018. The entry of the Rogue Raid into the series comes off the back of the announcement of the global partnership between Adventure 1 and 100% Pure Racing – organisers of the GODZone expedition race. This will provide the Rogue Raid a greater platform for media exposure as well as tie-ins to their live tracking technology. Furthermore, competitors will be racing for not only a place in the ranks of the Australian Adventure Racing pecking order but also for a free entry to GODZone. For Adventure 1, the Raid Adventures series of races provide the missing link in bringing competitors from a grass-roots level to the point where they might aspire to one of the big expedition races around the world.
The Rogue Raid will be the second race in the Adventure 1 series – more details on dates and location below.
Location and Date Announcement
So after one of the most protracted permit negotiations I’ve experienced, the Rogue Raid has provisional approval to be hosted from Lake Samsonvale on 5-6 May 2018. This will be the first time a competitive event outside of sailing has ever been staged on the lake. Lake Samsonvale has the advantage for interstate teams of being just a 45 minute drive from the airport. However, teams should still expect the full trail (and off-trail!) experience with all of the route choice, navigational challenge and strategy The Rogue has come to be know for.
The Rogue Raid has developed a reputation for selling out, with entries disappearing in just 10 minutes this year. I’ve made provisions to expand the numbers for the event, but there will still be limited capacity so I recommend teams get in early to book a place and avoid disappointment.
The Colts Academy
Of all the developments on the horizon for the Rogue Adventures series, it’s the Colts Academy program that I’m most excited to announce. The program represents the first adventure racing specific pathway for youth to enter the sport in Australia. The program has been designed to remove all possible barriers of entry into the sport, providing an avenue for young competitors to gain the necessary skills to participate in adventure racing as well as find like-minded friends to form a team in a safe, supportive, yet challenging environment. The initiative will initially be run as a pilot program with a skills development day, followed by Australia’s first youth-only adventure race: The Colts Raid. Plans are then on the horizon to expand the program to a wider audience.
You can read more here and I will be expanding further in a separate press release when we are ready to begin wider promotion.
The Raid 100
Yes, that’s 100 hours, not 100 km. Australia’s first expedition-length, rogaine-format adventure race is set to hit our shores. To celebrate 10 years of “The Rogue”, the Raid Adventures team will be pulling out all stops in 2019. The course will be set so that the minimum route to finish will be a linear journey that should be comfortably achievable by the majority of teams in 100 hours, while the fastest teams will be pushed for over 4 days of racing in a bid for top honours. The race will visit the stunning backdrop that is the wilderness rivers of northern NSW and granite terrain of the border country: there is an amazing adventure playground waiting to be explored by an adventure race for the very first time.
Full details will be rolled out in due course, so keep an eye on the Raid 100 page.
Final Thoughts
With so many novel concepts stepping out of the shadows all at once, it’s going to take time to roll out all aspects of every event fully. For the time being, I’ve expanded my thoughts on the current state of play in a separate opinion piece here. Until then, I look forward to seeing you at a Raid Adventure.
