It's not that triathlons get easy, but they do get a bit repetitive. Swim, bike, run. Swim, bike, run. The distances change, but it's always just more of the same. Maybe it's time you ditched your aerobars and wetsuit for hiking boots and a backpack, left the tarmac behind for whitewater and live volcanoes, and tried the mud, sweat, and tears of adventure racing.

Adventure racing is a nonstop multisport—and often multiday—team competition. In major races, like the Raid Gauloises and Eco-Challenge, four- or five-person teams travel 300 to 400 miles via mountain biking, kayaking, mountaineering, orienteering, whitewater rafting, and other various surprise events, including horse and camel riding. Winning teams sleep an average of two hours a night. All teams must travel and finish together or face disqualification. "I think competitors would agree that the Raid is sixty percent mental and forty percent physical," says Nelly Fusil, Raid Gauloises co-founder. Last year the Raid was held in Ecuador, where teams scaled El Cotopaxi, a 19,600-foot live volcano. For this year's Raid (April 29 - May 11), 50 teams will face the mighty Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal; combating 13,000- to 17,300-foot altitudes; trekking ancient ox trails; mountain biking through Nepalese villages; rappelling sheer canyons; and canoeing and rafting class-IV rivers.

While the Raid is not for novices, one-day adventure races are. Attracting both elite and recreational athletes, one-day races like the Hi-Tec Race Series are a terrific way to get into the sport. The courses are substantially scaled back from long races but keep competitors moving for three to six hours, depending on the course and the team's fitness level. Hi-Tec races require three-person teams to complete (on average) an hour kayak, six-mile trail run, 18-mile mountain bike, and random events (like mud crawling or knot tying). Athletes familiar with each discipline, who can maintain endurance activities for three hours (the equivalent of a long run, bike ride, or triathlon), are ready for a one-day adventure race.

Would-be racers can learn adventure racing skills—night and day land navigation, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, sleep management—from expert adventurers at camps like Odyssey Adventure Racing Academy, Presidio Adventure Racing Academy, and Trident Eco-Adventure. While Presidio recommends that participants have biking, trekking, and paddling experience and be able to run a 10K in about an hour, Odyssey and Trident's camps are open to anyone of a moderate level of fitness. "Basically, you should be able to ride a bike," says Don Mann, Odyssey's president, "though we did have to teach someone how once." All the camps break classes down into teams by ability. "If you come in great condition, it's not too much of a challenge. If you're only minimally fit and don't know how to climb or paddle, it's still very doable, just more of a challenge," says Mann. After several days of classes, most adventure academies end with a real adventure race, where campers have the chance to test their new skills. "One of the things I'm proudest of is that our students are more likely to finish the Endorphin Fix [Odyssey's two-day adventure race held at the end of each academy session] than the experienced racers who do it. It's one of the toughest short races in the country, but our students are prepared."

But no camp will completely prepare students for adventure racing. The beauty of the sport is that it's unpredictable. "Unlike marathons and triathlons, adventure racing isn't solely focused on athletic performance," says Don Baker, Trident Adventure's president. "In the outdoors, it's not good enough to be a tremendous athlete or an amazing aerobic machine. The situation is always changing, always different than what you expected." After all, if the great outdoors doesn't create it's own surprises, the race organizers are always shaking things up with mystery events. "If you don't keep your eyes open and think, you'll find yourself incredibly lost or in perilous situations. The challenge of adventure racing is to be an athlete who thinks, who completely participates in the experience."

Races

Hi-Tec One-Day Race Series: Eight races between May and October 2000 in Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Sacramento, Hartford, Pittsburgh, and New York City.
To find out more: Click on www.hi-tech.com, or call (818) 707-8867.

Raid Gauloises:The tenth anniversary race is in Tibet and Nepal, April 29 to May 11, 2000. Coverage of the Raid will be on Outdoor Life Network TV.
To find out more, visit www.raid-gauloises.com.

Camps

Trident Eco-Adventure
Where: California
What: Weekend adventure camps for all skill levels
Fitness level: If you can ride a bike, you're welcome.
Cost:$625
To find out more: Visit www.tridentadventures.com, or call (858) 755-0811.

Odyssey Adventure Racing Academy
Where:West Virginia
What:Three- and six-day training courses. At the end of six-day courses, students compete in the Endorphin Fix, a two-day adventure race, against experienced racers.
Fitness level: If you can ride, you're in.
Cost: $736 for three days; $1,270 for six days.
To find out more: See www.beastoftheeast.com, or call (757) 425-2445.

Presidio Adventure Racing Academy
Where: California
What: Four-day training courses culminate in a 24- to 30-hour adventure race.
Cost: $1,395
Fitness level: You should have prior experience in biking, trekking, and paddling and be able to run a 10K in under 65 minutes.
To find out more: Check out www.presidioar.com, or call (415) 775-8210.