He developed this association together with his partner and friend Rodolfo Peralta, with whom he organizes an average of 10 adventure competitions per year. 

Huairasinchi is the most renowned race in the company and was selected to organize the Adventure Racing World Championship in 2014 and 2024. Proyecto Aventura focuses on motivating people to change their lives with sports and to respect nature.

• Organizer since 2003 of more than 170 national and international events.
• Organizer of the 2014 Adventure Racing World Championship in Quito.
• Part of the international Adventure Racing World Series circuit since 2008.
• Participated in the continuous improvement of rules within the ARWS.
• ARWS International Referee at the Xtrail race in China 2017.

As an athlete:

Adrian was primarily a mountaineer and ultra runner in 1995 when Eco Challenge arrived. He had experience with many multi-day mountaineering trips and many 24 hour or longer ultra-running events which gave him a great base to undertake adventure racing. In those early days his orienteering and navigation skills were a great advantage and even though his cycling and water skills were merely proficient, It appeared he had better preparation for early adventure races than most of the competitors. His teams did well until others caught up with the skills and training to excel in AR.

He organised events as Gold Rush Adventure Racing from 1999 to 2018.

Adrian was the first ARWS Head Referee from 2017 to 2024.  His role included working at six AR World Championships, developing and revising the rules to keep them current, and mentoring a team of new referees from around the world.  In this role Adrian has played a pivotal part in the ARWS and the global development of adventure racing. 

Snapshot of Adrian's AR Journey:

• 1995 Eco Challenge Utah 7th place
• 1995 Raid Gauloise Patagonia 11th place.
• 1995 Eco Challenge New England 2nd place
• 1996 Eco Challenge British Colombia 2nd place
• 1997 Raid Gauloise South Africa 12th place
• 1997 Eco Challenge Australia. Finished incomplete
• 1998 Eco Challenge Morocco 4th place
• 1999 Eco Challenge Patagonia. 14th place
• 2000 Raid Gauloise Himalaya 12th place
• 2000 Eco Challenge Borneo 21st place
• 2001 Eco Challenge New Zealand 17th place
• 2002 Raid Gauloise Vietnam 12th place
• 2002 Eco Challenge Fiji DNF.
• 2017 Appointed ARWS Head Referee
• 2019 Eco Challenge Fiji DNF.

He is the team navigator, and during this time has competed in 25 international level expedition length races with the team. The team has always been at the front of the field in Adventure Racing in South Africa and internationally, having attended their first ARWC in New Zealand in 2005.

Their performances include a win at the ARWS Expedicion Guarani in Paraguay in 2017, giving them their highest world ranking of #6 shortly thereafter. Nicholas has also excelled in other sports where map work is required, representing South Africa at 15 World Orienteering Championships. He has also twice finished in second place at the World Rogaining Championships.

Hailing from a triathlon background and later paddling, with surfski fishing contributing to the bulk of his training until a Great White put an end to that. Hanno has participated in races around the world, completing multiple World Championship races, first as part of the McCain Adventure Addicts and then later the Merrell Adventure Addicts.

He has also participated in many shorter races worldwide and now looks forward to continuing this sport with his son, Daniel. An avid fisherman with an unsatiable love for the outdoors, big mountains, and anything wild and untamed.

With 8 AR World Championships under his belt he has successfully guided Cyanosis Adventure Racing Team to a 6th spot in the AR World rankings and has continued to represent South Africa’s Cyanosis AR Team in the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) around the world for over 21 years with no signs of letting up.

Team Captain of one of the oldest adventure racing teams in the world, Team Cyanosis founded in 2002, Clinton has been racing locally and internationally since 2002 with Southern Traverse New Zealand being the team's first AR World Champs in 2005. Selected to race Eco Challenge in 2019 Clinton guided the only South African team in the field to a very respectful 12th after primary navigator Nicholas Mulder contracted a very serious foot infection limiting the teams progress drastically.

21 years of adventure racing, multiple domestic (South Africa) wins 

Multiple top 10 International finishes including victory at Raid Guarani in Paraguay ARWS 2017
112 adventure races domestic & international
17 ARWS Qualifiers
8 AR World Championships

She has been racing with 400 Team at the international level since 2009 and has completed 12 ARWS Qualifiers with 9 podiums,including 4 victories (3 x Raid in France). She has finished 8 World Championships with a highest position of third place in 2018 in La Réunion (Raid in France) when the team lost a sprint finish in the last few meters of the race!

Sandrine is the most consistent member of the highly successful 400team, alongside fellow Hall of Fame member Sebastien Raichon, and these two are the bedrock of the team.  Sandrine has raced in the last 15 ARWS qualifiers with 400team since 2012, not missing and ARWS race and raced in Europe, North and South America and Asia. 

[Edit; After joining the Hall of Fame in 2023 Sandrine and 400team won the Adventure Racing World Championship in Ecuador in 2024.]

My first experience with the Adventure racing World Championships was in 2009 in Portugal. Our team finished 13 positions that time.

Since 2009 I have participated in each ARWC and in 2023 had completed 13 consecutive Adventure Racing World Championships..

Our best position at ARWC was 4th position in 2018 on Reunion Island (Raid in France). 
We have finished twice in 5th position; in Paraguay 2022 and Spain 2021 and in the World Series race in Croatiain 2023 placed 3rd.

My most memorable race was Expedition Africa in Swaziland, where we had a sprint finish against the team from Estonia to win. This was a true victory for me on so many levels as this race took place in May 2015, which only gave me 7 months to prepare after my last chemotherapy in October 2014.

In 2017 I mentored my first of 3 expedition racing tems and found it to be extremely rewarding.

It was humbling to see the satisfaction of the novices crossing the finish line, having endured and overcome the hardships of the course.

He has been a competitive kayaker in his youth, a rugby player, a triathlete, and several times champion in international Quadratlon events.

Antonio was a professional adventure racer as captain of the international Red Bull team from 1997 to 2008.

In 1998 he came third in the Eco Challenge  Morocco and a year later, along with Emma Roca and the Torres brothers 2nd in Eco Challenge  Argentina.

For many years he has been part of one of the most competitive teams on the international scene and had several victories on thge Salomon X-Adventure circuit, Desafio de los Volcanes, 7 Cerros Medellin, and many more.

A last great victory was as the winner of the ARWS Qualifier in Portugal in 2008. He is still involved in racing, and has the same enthusiasm to complete them today. He has been one of the most valued organizers on the world adventure racing scene, staging more than 60 events of all kinds. He has organized 9 ARWS races; 6 in Spain and 3 in Costa Rica and 2 AR World Championships, Bimbache Extrem in Spain 2010 and as part of the team at ARWC Costa Rica in 2013.

His new project is to organize an ARWS race again, this time in Morocco 2025, and in the next years another AR World Championship.

Stuart first raced ARWC in 2005 (NZ - Southern Traverse) with fledgling team Orion Health set up and captained by Wayne Oxenham. After an 11th place on the first attempt the team improved to 5th in 2006 (Sweden), then 3rd in 2007 (Scotland) before winning in 2008 in Brasil with Brent Edwards and Anna Berthelsen completing the team.

After a (relatively) disappointing 4th place in 2009 (Portugal) and un unranked result (due to injury) in 2010 in Spain, the team stopped racing after Wayne stepped down to spend more time with family .

After not racing ARWC in 2011 and 2012 Stuart joined Team Thule for a one-off race in Costa Rica in 2013, winning ARWC that year.

He was then picked up by team Seagate (subsequently Avaya), With Nathan Fa'avae, Sophie Hart and Chris Forne (amongst others), Stuart won five more ARWC titles from 2014 (Equador) to 2018 (Reunion Island) making an unprecedented 6 back-to-back ARWC titles.

After winning Eco Challenge Fiji in 2019 Stuart and team Avaya did not contest the 2021 world championship in Spain due to covid travel restrictions in place in New Zealand at that time.

Returning for a final team Avaya race in 2022, Stuart added a record (jointly held with Chris Forne) 8th world title at the ARWC race in Paraguay.

With numerous other Expedition AR and stage racing wins Stuart is regarded as one of the most successful adventure racers of all time.

Not quite retired but now focussing more on adventures with his young family, whether Stuart will make an appearance at any future ARWC races is uncertain, but to quote him when behind at an adventure race:

"It's not over till it's over.... And it's not over yet!"

James has competed with 20 different teams in ARWS international races since 2011.

He has competed in 8 World Championships (best position 14th in Paraguay in 2022) and more than 30 ARWS expedition races, as well as 7 other expedition length adventure races.

Best ARWS results:

1. 1st - 2018 Shenandoah Tough (USA)
2. 1st - 2016 Cameco Cowboy Tough (USA)
3. 2nd - 2018 Expedition Oregon (USA)
4. 2nd - 2016 Maya Mountain Adventure Challenge (Belize)
5. 2nd - 2008 Untamed New England (USA)
6. 3rd - 2023 Endless Mountains Adventure Race (USA)
7. 3rd - 2012 Adidas TERREX Adventure Race (Scotland)

James says his primary roles in the team are pack mule and “MacGyver” (problem-solver).

With around 30 expedition-length races behind her, she’s won a third of them, including many ARWS Qualfiiers and, a personal favorite, the Patagonian Expedition Race.

Alongside work and parenting, she enjoys various kayak, mountain, and water disciplines to hone AR skills and endurance! 

She’s stood on the podium at Ironman and UTMB, and is the proud owner of European and national long-distance MTB shirts …which are now a bit tight!

Urtzi is known as a fierce competitor and is one of the most prolific racers on the ARWS circuit.

He has a degree in Basque Philology and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, and has been organizing sporting events and designing adventure and trail running races for more than 10 years.  He has been 3 times Spanish MTB orienteering champion.

Urtzi's main team is Vidaraid, who have been a world #1 ranked team, and he has 12 ARWS wins on his record.  His highest World Championship finish position was 2nd at Expedition Africa in 2023.

Malin is a serving officer in the Swedish military and her first sport was football, where she won two Swedish Championship gold medals in girls' football (aged 15).  She took part in her first adventure race in 2003 and  is a pivotal member of the double world championship winning SAFAT team.

Malin has not missed an ARWS Qualifier or World Championship race with the team since they were founded in 2014.  During competitions she is the logistics expert and organiser for the team ... making sure they have all they need to compete at every stage of every race.

She says, " As a person, the sport itself has made me more humble. The only thing you know when you stand at the starting line is that problems will arise, and it's the team that handles and solves these problems the best that wins. This could mean that you can be incredibly strong and carry anything one moment, only to be so weak the next that you just want to curl up in a fetal position and cry.

Our team was formed in 2014 with a common goal: to become the best in the world. It took us 7 years, so if anything, it has taught me to never give up."

Malin's ARWS racing highlights:

• 3rd 2015 Brazil
• 4th 2017 USA
• 1st 2021 Spain
• 2nd 2022 Paraguay

• 1st 2023 South Africa

Seven wins in ARWS Qualifier Races, including 3 consecutive wins at the Nordic Island Adventure Race.

Chris came into adventure racing from an orienteering background and has had an equally successful racing career in long distance orienteering, rogaine and MTBO, with many titles to his name. 

In 2023 he said, "I still consider myself more of an orienteer than an adventure racer. Orienteering is still my main focus”, but he's been pretty good at his 'second sport' and apart from his World titles has been on the winning teams of many other great races, including Eco-Challenge and GODZone.  He is the most successful GODZone competitor with 7 wins with Seagate/Avaya and 3 as captain of other teams.

Chris Forne World Titles

2007 - Scotland

2012 - France

2014 - Ecuador

2015 - Brazil

2016 - Australia

2017 - USA

2018 - Reunion Island

2022 - Paraguay

Between 1992 to 2003 Cyril raced many national competitions in France and at the international level completed 5 Raid Gauloises, 5 Raid the North Extreme in Canada, 2 Southern Traverse in New Zealand, 5 races in China and 1 in Mexico.

Highlights of his racing CV include;

2003 - 1st place in Raid the North Extreme, Canada
2004 - ARWC Newfoundland, Canada
2008 - 1st place in the Patagonia Expedition Race: Bull of Africa
2009 - 2nd place in the Patagonia Expedition Race: Abu Dhabi Adventure Race
2010 - Costa Rica AR; XPD Australia; Raid the North Extreme
2011 - ARWC Tasmania; Costa Rica AR
2012 - Costa Rica AR
2013 - ARWC Costa Rica: Expedition Africa
2014 - ARWC Ecuador; ARES Russia
2015 – Expedicion Guarani, Paraguay
2016 - ARWC XPD, Australia
2018 - ARWC Raid in France, La Reunion, France
2021 - ARWC Raid Gallaecia, Spain
2023 - ARWC Expedition Africa, South Africa
2024 - Tierra Indomita Vulcania, Chile

Races Masato has been part of:

• 1994 Eco Challenge (Malaysia)
• 1997 Raid Gauloises (South Africa & Lesatho)
• 1997 Eco Challenge (Australia) / Special Award
• 2004 Mild Seven Outdoor Quest (Malaysia) / Special Award
• 2010 Patagonian Expedition Race (Chile)
• 2005 ARWC (New Zealand)
• Masato Tanaka has now taken part in more than 60 expedition races

A mom of two Alexander (4yrs) and Alissia Hufner (8yrs old), Shelley remembers watching the Eco-Challenge when she was younger and loved it.  She then started rock climbing and met her husband Alard Hufner and together they climbed “The hand of Fatima” in Mali, the Towers in Torres del Paine Patagonia, Trango Tower in Pakistan, West face of Mt Mulange in Malawi and many more. Her love for adventure started.

She got into trail running because she loved being out in nature and the challenges it brings. She only started mountain biking when she did her first adventure race, The Red Ants Rumble, with Piers Pirow, who introduced her to this amazing sport in 2012. 

From then on she was hooked, taking part in many Expedition Africa events, including the Expedition Africa World Championship in 2023. 

She has also taken part in European Races and Godzone in New Zealand. She loves adventure racing because it’s about working together as a team and she has been so fortunate to have raced with many strong AR athletes/friends, who have been instrumental in getting her through these epic AR events.

Adventure racing:

- AR World Championship - Paraguay 2022 - 5th place
- AR World Championship - Spain 2021 - 5th place
- Czech Adventure race - Czech Paradise (CZ) 2020 - 1st place
- AR World Cup - Croatia 2019 - 4th place
- AR World Championship - Reunion 2018 - 4th place
- European AR Championship - Raidaran Spain 2018 - 4th place
- Adventure race - Aventura X-Perience Spain 2018 - 1st place
- Adventure race - Slovenia 2016 - 2nd place
- European AR Championship - Turkey 2014 - 3rd place
- World AR Championship - Costa Rica 2013 - 13th place
- World AR Championship - France 2012 - 12th place
- World AR Championships - Spain 2010 - 9th place
- AR World Cup - Bergson Poland 2009 - 1st place
- AR World Championship - Portugal XPD Race 2009 - 11th place
- AR World Cup - APEX race Switzerland 2011 - 5th place

Mountaineering Himalayan expeditions:

- Muchu Chhish 2021 Expedition (7475 m) - An attempt to climb the highest seven-thousand-foot mountain in the world yet unclimbed. Reached 6600m (Pavel Korinek, Tomas Petrecek)
- K2 Expedition 2019 (8611 m) - Attempt to climb the second highest mountain in the world - Chesen's Way. Reached 7300m (Novotný, Luptak, Petrecek)
- Expedition Nanga Parbat 2018 (8126 m) - Attempted first ascent of the eight-thousandth Nanga Parbat via the Rupal wall. Reached the height of 7200m (Holecek, Petrecek)
- Expedition Wild Challenge Gasherbrum 2015 - attempted first ascent of the southwest face, reached 7300m (Holecek, Petrecek)
- Expedition Double Gasherbrum 2013 (GI - 8068 m, GII - 8035 m)- Reached two eight-thousand peaks Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II (Novotny, Petrecek)
- Expedition Dhaulagiri 2012 (8167 m) - summit not reached (Uher, Novotny, Masek, Petrecek)

I enjoyed school long distance athletics setting a few records that still stand today. In 1997, I began the Adventure Racing journey with a breakthrough race in 1998 called the Camel Trophy. In 1999, we focused on the traditional form of adventure racing, which was still new in South Africa. We won most of the local races over the past two decades, except for a few parenting years. An accident in 2010 damaged my hip so much that I was not able to run for three years. It still affects me to this day.

I've participated in numerous ARWC events for which I would like to thank all my teammates and sponsors. My brother once said “If I were allowed to take 10 days to heaven, most of them would come from adventure racing”.

It’s been amazing!

Besides my own personal participation, I would like to introduce more people to this sport and hopefully race with my children and I hope the sport will give them the self-actualization that I’ve had from it.

Everything changed when he gave some meatballs to a stray dog during the World Championships in 2014 in Ecuador. The stray dog followed Mikael and the team the rest of the race, was named ARTHUR and taken to Sweden to live with Mikael and his family.  Arthur and Mikael's story spread across the media worldwide.  It was a story of endurance, redemption and love. The ESPN documentary about Arthur got two EMMY Award nominations and Mikael is a best-selling author in 23 counties with his book, 'Arthur - The dog who Crossed the Jungle to find a Home'.

Mikael was honoured in Quito and Guayaquil in Ecuador for his work with the Arthur Foundation, working with stray dogs, and Arthur's story was instrumental in a change in the law in Ecuador to give all stray dogs rights.  He was honored with the key to the city of his home town, Örnsköldsvik in Sweden.

His story is told in the Hollywood movie ARTHUR THE KING, where Mikael is portrayed by Mark Wahlberg.

John is known as one of the most experienced competitors in international racing, with two world titles under his belt, and a history of competing at the highest level since 2006.  John is the motivator and strategist in the SAFAT team.

After the finish in South Africa when he collected his second AR World Title, he gave a clear message.

“To all the kids and young people out there, if you want something bad enough and are willing to do whatever it takes to get there, no dream is too big, no bar it to high, only you set the limit. I'm a living example of that. Never let anyone take your dreams away from you!”

John's World Championship Highlights

Graham had a successful canoeing career throughout the 90’s and early 00’s where he became one of SA’s most decorated paddlers - winning 28 South African titles and representing the country 13 times, achieving numerous top-five finishes at World Canoeing Championships and World Cup events.

As his competitive paddling wound down, he took up the sport of adventure racing and successfully led the Merrell Adventure Addicts as they became one of South Africa’s top teams, regularly competing on the world stage in the Adventure Racing World Series. A veteran of 27 expedition length Adventure Races, Graham is South Africa’s most experienced racer and only gets stronger over a long race, emphasizing strategy over speed.

With his love of the outdoors and the experiences he gained as a competitive sportsman, Graham took up event organising with the primary goal of getting ordinary people outside and pushing their comfort zones, be it someone doing their first 5 km trail run or a person doing a multi-day non-stop adventure race.

Respected in the sporting world for his unwavering ethics, he seeks excellence in everything, but above all honour amongst competitors.

Graham has competed in 8 AR World Championships and 13 ARWS expedition races.

He managed the sponsorships of Seagate and then Avaya, and was the spokesperson for the teams. In New Zealand he is a successful race organiser with his wife, Jodie, most notably pioneering women's adventure racing with The Spring Challenge, the biggest event of its kind in the world.

Nathan Fa’avae Adventure Racing Highlights

TEAM AVAYA

2023
1st GODZone Fiordland

2022
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, Paraguay
1st GODZone ‘The Traverse’

2021
1st GODZone Rotorua

2019
1st Eco Challenge – World’s Toughest Race, Fiji

2018
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, Reunion Island

TEAM SEAGATE

2016
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, Australia
1st Raid in France
2nd Yeti Adventure Challenge, Denmark

2015
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, Brazil
1st Royal Belum Ironbound Challenge, Malaysia
2nd Raid Gallaecia, Spain
1st GODZone Wanaka

2014
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, Ecuador
1st Expedition Africa
1st GODZone Kaikoura
1st Geo Quest, Australia

2013
1st Mystery Lake Adventure Race
1st Southern Lakes Adventure Race
2nd Eco Motion Pro, Brazil
1st Rollos 24-hour Adventure Race
2nd Wenzhou Outdoor Challenge, China
1st GODZone Mount Cook

2012
1st World Adventure Racing Championships, France
1st Ordos Adventure Challenge, China
1st GODZone Milford Queenstown
1st Tierra Viva Patagonia, Argentina

2011
3rd Adventure Racing World Championships, Tasmania
3rd Tour de Tasman
1st Wulong Mountain Quest, China
2nd Expedition Idaho, USA

2010
1st Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
2nd Adventure Racing World Championships, Spain
1st Zunyi Mountain Challenge, China
2nd Wulong Mountain Quest, China
1st NZ Adventure Racing Championships

2009
1st Rollos 24-hour Race
1st 6-hour Race
3rd Dream Raid, New Caledonia

2008
1st Rollos 24-hour Race
1st 6-hour Race

2007
1st National Rogaine Championships

2006
1st Southern Traverse
1st Rollos 24-hour Race

2005
1st Adventure Racing World Championships, New Zealand
1st Arrow Queenstown
1st Arrow Christchurch
5th Raid Gauloises, France

2004
1st Primal Quest, USA
1st Balance Bar Series, USA
1st Arrow Hanmer
3rd Outdoor Quest, Borneo

2003
1st Outdoor Quest, Borneo
1st Balance Bar, LA
3rd Primal Quest, USA

2002
1st Eco Challenge, Fiji
1st Gorge Games, USA
1st Southern Traverse, New Zealand
5th Primal Quest, USA

2001
2nd Eco Challenge, New Zealand
2nd Adventure Racing World Championships, Switzerland
5th Raid the North, Canada

2000
1st Discovery Channel Adventure Race, New Zealand

1999

1st Southern Traverse, New Zealand

On a personal level, Sebastien is an exceptional ultra trail runner with 2 victories in the 450km Tor des Glaciers, with the record to boot. He is also the first finisher of the French Barkley, and holds a record for crossing the Alps in France (630km in 150h).

He was also the Race Director of the Raid des Dentelles, an ARWS Europe race in 2023 and is part of the 400team club, who organise other adult and youth races to develop the sport in France.

Sebastien is the captain and leader of 400team, and in the ARWS has raced in Ecuador, France, Croatia, South Africa, Faroe Islands, Argentina, Reunion Island, Spain, Lesotho, India, Belize, USA, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland and other countries!  In 2021 the team held the world #1 ranking. 

At Raid in France with 400team he has an unprecedented record of success, and within France Sebastien is recognized is a leader for the sport of adventure racing.  However, Sebastien does not judge the success of a race by the ranking position.  "Crossing the finish line of an adventure race is already a victory, and that is true for each team at each start."

(Edit; in 2024 Sebastien and 400team achieved their dream and won the Adventure Racing World Title at Huairasinchi in Ecuador.)

I started with Adventure Racing in 2009 and I am the navigator of the BLACK HILL team.

My first experience with the Adventure racing World Championships was in 2014 in Equador. Our team finished in 8th position that time and since then I have partipated in every ARWC.

Our best position on ARWC was 4th position on Reunion Island in 2018.

We finished twice in 5th position; in Paraguay 2022 and Spain 2021 and in 2023 we placed thrid at Adventure Race Croatia.

Over the last 25 years he has competed around the globe doing nearly 200 adventure races, including 35 expedition and multi-day stage races. 11 of those were world championships including the first Adventure Racing World Championships in Switzerland in 2001.

One of the UK's most successful AR athletes, Tom is known for his strategic thinking and navigation which has helped him to over 100 race wins. The 2009 World Championships in Portugal being the pinnacle, where he was part of the only British team (at time of writing) to win the world championships and was also filmed on TV crying at the finish along with some of his teammates.

In addition he has won the European Championships in Turkey 2014 and has been national champion multiple times in AR and other disciplines.

He has since branched out into course planning and has planned 4 ITERA expedition races where he is on a mission to plan the best expedition course ever. He hopes the ITERA race will help bring new people into AR and help grow the sport in the future.

He hasn't hung up his racing shoes yet and still looks forward eating lots of food whilst competing in interesting events around the world.

Mari has raced with elite teams all over the world, in the ARWS, Eco-Challenge, Primal Quest and is a 4 time USARA Champion.

• 1st adventure race was a 5 hour race in 2005 (Big Blue Adventure Race)
• Completed over 50 expedition races and more than 100 races total
• Raced with top American Teams: Dart Nuun, Tecnu, Adventure Medical Kits, Wadali and Bones
• Raced with Ecuador Team Movistar, Swedish Team Orbital, and Spanish Team Vidaraid
• Competed in 35 ARWS events, 9 of which were World Championships.
• Podium finishes in 21 of the 35 races.

Mari's wins in ARWS competition include; Expedition Alaska, PC12 AR (Colombia), Expedition Oregon, Raid de Viento (ARG), Cowboy Tough (USA) and Gold Rush Mother Lode (USA).

"When the race is over, you think about the tough, miserable moments (and the exhilarating ones) and feel an amazing sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that cannot be duplicated in any other thing you do in your life.”

"There’s nothing else out there that can challenge your mind, body and soul, all at the same time and all while seeing some of the most amazing places in the world."

Some of Jon Ander's notable achievements are:

• 2009: Bimbache Extrem Spain - 5th
• 2009: Patagonian Expedition Race - 2nd 
• 2009: Estoril Portugal World Championship - 11th
• 2010: Bimbache AR World Championship - 5th
• 2011: Costa Rica - 1st
• 2011: Gold Rush USA - 1st
• 2011: XPD AR World Championship Tasmania - 9th
• 2012: Ecomotion Brasil - 1st 
• 2012: Raid in France World Championship - 7t
• 2013: Ecomotion Brasil - 1st 
• 2013: Costa Rica ARW CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd Costa Rica.
• 2013: Rocky Man Brasil
• 2014: Untamed New England - 1st 
• 2014: Huairasinchi ARWC - 2nd
• 2015: Raid in France ARWS - 2nd 
• 2015: Expedition Alaska ARWS. Unranked.
• 2015: Godzone New Zealand - 2nd
• 2015: Ecomotion Pantanal Brasil ARWC - 4th
• 2016: Expedicion Guarani - 1st.
• 2016: XPD ARWC Australia - 3rd
• 2017: ARW Wyoming, USA - 8th
• 2017: Xtrail China Unranked
• 2017: Exp Guarani, Paraguay -3rd
• 2018: Exp Guarani, Paraguay - 1st
• 2018: Primal Quest OCR World Championship Canada -1st 
• 2018: Reunion Island ARWC -10th
• 2018: Xtrail Japan - 1st .
• 2019: Exp Guarani Paraguay - 1st
• 2019: Huairasinchi Ecuador - 1st
• 2019: Itera Scotland - 3rd (DRQ)
• 2020: Raid del Viento Argentina - 1st 
• 2021: ARWC Gallaecia, Spain - 4th
• 2022: Expedition Oregon - 1st
• 2022: Expedition Panama -3rd
• 2023: PC12 (Colombia) - 1st.
• 2023: Expedition Ozark (USA) - 3rd
• 2023: ARWC South Africa - 2nd

I joined a rookie team, "Team Tension Structures" later "Team McCain", which turned into the long-lasting team, Team Merrell.

We raced many adventure races together, many local expedition AR’s, trail runs, mountain bike races and paddling races. We rode our bikes across South Africa, ran a 400 km nonstop trail run and took SUP's down the Breede River from source to sea. To name but a few.  Adventure became a way of life.

In 2013 I fell pregnant with my first son and changed tack to SUP racing, which soon led me to Holland for a 240km nonstop race, but it wasn’t long before I realized I needed to go back to adventure racing. I rejoined Team Merrell and we set our sights and hopes on the 2016 World Champs in Australia. Unfortunately, my derailer broke early in the race and with that came a lot of disappointment. This was another turning point for me as I realized it was time to focus on my family.

At this point, our boys were aged 1 and 3 years and I made a pact with myself and them that I would only do one big event a year. I absolutely love showing my boys how to live life to the fullest, go on adventures and in general how to appreciate and love the outdoors. If after all these years I can pass on some of my passion to them I am happy. We never know what the future holds but I do know I will always be looking for the next adventure, whether it’s an expedition race or a long family adventure. Thank you again to my past teammates and sponsors for all that you did for me.

Over the past 15 years the team has raced at ARWS events in Ecuador, France, Croatia, South Africa, Faroe Islands, Argentina, Reunion Island, Spain, Lesotho, India, Belize, USA, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland and more!  They like to explore new places to race as the opportunity arises!

Their committment to international racing and performance means the team is always a podium contender, and i n 2021 400team held the world #1 ranking for a time. 

At Raid in France the team has an unprecedented record of success with 5 wins since their first in 2014 (as 400team/Raidlight). They have also finished 2nd twice and were third at the Raid in France World Championship on Reunion Island.  They only missed out on second place by less than a minute after a sprint finish!

400team has also won Raid Gallaecia (2017), Expedition India (2019) and Expedition Canada (2023).

Sebastien Raichon has been the charismatic leader and captain of the team since its formation, and while there have been many members of the years Sandrine Beranger and Adrien Lhermet have been the most consistent, with Sandrine at the core of the team in the past decade and Adrian racing sincer 2012. (All are ARWS Hall of Fame members.)

Within France the 400team coumunity works to organise races, including youth races, and they are very active in mentoring young racers and providing them with new opportunities to compete.  The next generation of 400team is coming through! 

(Edit; In 2024 400team achieved their dream and won the Adventure Racing World title at Huairasinchi in Ecuador.)

Vidaraid are the most consistent team in the ARWS over the past two decades. The team has kept their, now iconic, team name since they were formed and both Urtzi Iglesias and Jon Ander Arambalza have been team members since their first race.  Urtzi is the captain and navigator, and Jon Ander the powerhouse of the team.  Since 2013 Marco Amselem has been a regular team member as well.

The team is known for their fierce competitive spirit, pushing hard and racing with less sleep than their competitors! They will always be podium contenders and after three second place finishes in the World Championships they are still hungry to win that elusive world title.

Team Vidaraid ARWS Wins

2011: Costa Rica
2011: Gold Rush USA
2012: Ecomotion Brasil 
2013: Ecomotion Brasil
2014: Untamed New England
2016: Expedicion Guarani
2018: Exp Guarani, Paraguay
2018: AR Japan
2019: Expedicion Guarani Paraguay
2019: Huairasinchi Ecuador 
2020: Raid del Viento Argentina
2021: Expedition Oregon  2022: Expedition Oregon 2023: PC12 (Colombia) 2024: PC12 AR (Colombia) 2024: Tierra Indomita Vulcania (Chile)

They were the first team ever to attain the maximum world ranking points and have held the world #1 position longer than any other team.

2017 marked the end of the Seagate sponsorship, the longest running team sponsor in the sport, and at this point Avaya took over the title sponsorship until the team disbanded after their last World Championship win in Paraguay in 2022.

The team has an unequalled record of success at New Zealand's GODzone expedition race with 6 wins from 10 editions and when Eco-Challenge was relaunched by Amazon in 2019 in Fiji they were winners again. 

From the first days of the team Nathan Fa'avae, Sophie Hart and Chris Forne have been the most regular team members, with Stuart Lynch joining in 2014 to become a core team member.  Fa'avae has won 7 world titles, and Forne and Lynch 8 each. 

ARWS World Championship wins

2012: Team Seagate - Raid in France
2014: Team Seagate - Huairasinchi (Ecuador)
2015: Team Seagate - Eco Motion Pro (Brazil)
2016: Team Seagate - XPD (Australia)
2017: Team Seagate - Cowboy Tough (USA)
2018: Team Avaya - Raid in France (Reunion Island)
2022: Team Avaya - Expedicion Guarani (Paraguay)

15 x Adventure Racing World Championships:

1st 2009 Portugal
3rd 2013 Costa Rica
3rd 2022 Paraguay
4th 2011 Australia

21 x Adventure Racing World Series Qualifiers & Regional Championships:

• 1st 2005 – Wilderness ARC – GB
• 1st 2006 – Wilderness ARC – GB
• 1st 2010 – Adidas TERREX – GB
• 1st 2013 – Terra Viva – Argentina
• 3rd 2013 – Ecomotion – Brazil
• 1st 2014 – ITERA – GB
• 2nd 2016 – Terra Viva – Chile
• 1st 2016 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 2nd 2016 – ITERA – Ireland
• 3rd 2017 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 1st 2018 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 3rd 2018 – Huairasinchi – Ecuador
• 1st 2019 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 1st 2020 – Patagonia Raid – Argentina
• 1st 2021 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 1st 2022 – South America Championships – Chile
• 1st 2022 – Panama Adventure Race – Panama

• 1st 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016

• 1st 2014 – Turkey
• 1st 2015 – Ireland

• 2nd 2003 – Adreanline Rush – GB
• 5th 2003 – Southern Traverse – NZ
• 3rd 2004 – Beast of East – USA
• 4th 2010 – Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge – UAE
• 1st 2015 – Expedition Guarani – Paraguay
• 1st 2018 – Primal Quest – Canada

• All the editions of the Argentina-Chile Volcanoes Challenge
• All editions of Ecomotion Pro Brazil
• 15 XK Races Argentina
• 3 times in 7 Cerros Medellín, Colombia
• 4 times at Raid Gaspésie, Canada
• 6 times at Expedicion Guarani

Lots of shorter races started to be organized in various countries and thus he created “AdventureMag” a website portal focused exclusively on adventure racing, organizing the calendar and publishing news. He needed to create content, so he borrowed a camera and went to cover nearby races, creating news and taking pictures. The portal grew and he started receiving invites to cover a lot of races in Brazil and abroad.

Today, in addition to adventure racing, he has photographed many trail running and mountain bike events.

Main races covered/photographed so far are:

• Ecomotion Pro (all editions: 2003 to 2015)
• Portugal XPD (2005 to 2009)
• Brasil Wild – Expedition Race (all Editions: 2003, 2004, 2005)
• EMA Expedição Mata Atlântica 2000
• AR World Championship 2008 – Ecomotion Pro – Lençóis Maranhenses – Brasil
• AR World Championship 2009 – Portugal XPD – Portugal
• AR World Championship 2013 – Costa Rica
• AR World Championship 2014 – Equador
• AR World Championship 2015 – Ecomotion Pro – Pantanal – Brasil
• AR World Championship 2022 – Expedición Guarani – Paraguai
• Raid Gaspésie – Canadá – (all editions: 2015, 2016, 207, 2018, 2019)
• Patagonian Expedition Race 2011 – Chile
• Desafio Aysén – Chile (2012, 2013, 2014)
• Expedición Guarani (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
• Tierra Viva 2011
• Norcha 2021 – Portugal
• Expedição Terra de Gigantes (2018, 2022)
• Malacara Expedition Race 2021 – Rio Grande do Sul – Br

In the late 1990’s working on one of the first outdoor websites in the initial ‘dot.com boom’ Rob took the chance to promote early UK races and secure some of the big pots of dot.com investment funding for sponsorship for British adventure races and racers. It was here he met web developer Richard Brown, and when the boom inevitably turned into a bust, the pair set up SleepMonsters.com as a worldwide web portal for adventure racing.

SleepMonsters.com was registered in September 2001, just before of the first Adventure Racing World Championship in Switzerland, and became the go-to site for adventure racing information (in English). Rob wanted a distinctive name associated with the sport, and early search engines came up with zero results for the word SleepMonsters! (This was before Google ... or social media, or satellite tracking, or wifi, and very early days for mobile phones.)

Over the years Rob has covered races all over the world, as a reporter and photographer, mainly for SleepMonsters, but in the early days also for national newspapers and glossy magazines worldwide. He has worked on all but two Adventure Racing World Championships, many World Series races, the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, the Patagonian Expedition Race, Southern Traverse, Wulong Mountain Quest and Salomon X-Adventure World Cups to name just a few. In the UK he has provided media coverage at all of the ITERA races, and worked just about every race in the country.

At the start of 2023 Rob took up the position of Media Director for the Adventure Racing World Series, at the invitation of new owner Heidi Muller.

Rob has also been a Contribuing Editor at Runner’s World (UK), providing the first coverage of trail running, triathlon, mountain and endurance racing at a time when road running was first growing into a popular sport and marathons were seen as the limit of endurance. He was the first English language journalist at Marathon des Sables, and covered ionic races such as Spartathlon (Greece) and Diagonale de Fous (Reunion Island) and the original Dragon's Back Race (Wales) in 1992.

He was a founder of The Everest Marathon in Nepal, and trustee of the race charity which raised money for projects in the Khumbu region, such as training the first Sherpa dentists, opening medical centres, and building the first porter shelters.

The Everest Marathon is the only marathon Rob has run (so his PB is not great) and he knows the Himalaya well as in 1981/2 he walked the length of the range (Nepal, India and Pakistan), which took a year and a day. In 1990 he was part of a team which established and completed the first Munros Relay, when a team of 7 ran to the summits of all 277 Scottish summits over 3000 feet, racing non-stop for 12 days 17 hours 8 minutes.

He then retired in 2007 and volunteered at his first ARWS race in Portugal in 2007, and that’s when he decided this is what he wanted to do – follow the AR World Series around the world!

He loves everything about it; the adventure, the adrenaline, meeting people and travelling.  Since his first ARWS race in Portugal he has been to dozens of countries around the world, volunteering at the races from South Africa to Costa Rica, from to Australia to Alaska, and in total he has been to over 100 races since 2007.  

His contribution to the sport is immense and many races rely on his unflagging logistics and transition building skills. Jose helps make adventure racing happen, and the AR coummunity is lucky to have his support and to see his familar smile at so many races.