Skip to main content

Road to Adventure: AXS Adventure Race Report

Adventure racing is a multidisciplinary sport where racers navigate through backcountry terrain – often without the benefit of trails – using map and compass, and all manner of transport from stand up paddle boards to mountain bikes. In September Austin Parker is tackling the Adventure Xstream Series adventure race in Glenwood Springs, CO to get a taste of this grueling sport. As part of his training, we are documenting the best gear for paddling, running, biking, and recovery, as well as keeping track of all the (mis)adventure along the way.

Recommended Videos

Road to Adventure: Rewind | SUP Gear| Mountain Biking | Recovery Gear | Backpacking | Best Adventure Races |Race Day Essentials |

The summer of running before dawn, paddling after work and marathon weekend sessions on our bikes was over. All that we needed to do was put it all together in one painful day, so we loaded the car up and headed for Glenwood Springs, Colorado for the AXS Adventure Race Series. The drive from Salt Lake City was just long enough to let some pre race jitters set in, especially as we rolled though the narrow canyons along I-70 and watched steep trails and gnarly sections of whitewate go by. After we stopped in town to pick up our jerseys, a map with all of our checkpoints on it, and dinner, we spent the evening packing and repacking gear that we would carry in our packs and also pre-load into plastic tubs to leave at each transition area. Sleep was not much of an option.

Race day morning dawn was crisp and cold. We showed up to the River Park along the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers just as the majority of racers were pulling in to get last minute gear checks completed and form up at the starting line. Each team seemed much better prepared than we were, often hauling multiple boxes of bike and running gear into the holding area. Suddenly our new Osprey Packs felt a little heavier as we worriedly checked one last time for every last spare tube, tire lever, and pack of Honey Stinger Chews.

A few minutes before our scheduled start time, the race director pulled our Sprint division racers together and it was decided that we’d head out early. With a countdown from his megaphone we were off to tackle our first leg of the race. The run portion of the course wound up a series of fire roads from the valley floor almost two thousand vertical feet. That three-and-a-half mile section of trail running felt like an eternity. At the top, Glenwood Caverns greeted us with our first checkpoint to get recorded, and a short section of navigating through the cave and a rappel out the upper entrance. Following that, we turned around and headed back to the start line the way we came. I don’t think I’ve ever covered three miles faster than the full tilt spring we made – after all, after the cave section we could see the lead we had on others in our Co-Ed Sprint Division.

At the start, our first transition area, Sprint racers geared up for a twelve to fifteen mile bike ride (part of adventure racing is plotting your own course, so course distances are often unpublished). Our notes on the map led us to the bottom of the Red Mountain trail, and a daunting climb up old access roads from a long abandoned town ski lift. The dirt road climb made it easily observable that when it was running in the 1940s, Red Mountain Ski Area would have been an amazing gem to have in your backyard – although I’m sure skiers never planned to go straight up the mountain. The top of this climb gave us stunning views of the Roaring Fork Valley, and the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers. On a more relaxed day we’d be fly fishing the mellow water, but during the race we only took enough time to snap a couple pictures, find our single track descent, and take off. Second place had caught us on the climb and we were eager to make up some time; at least I was. My wife and race partner was more than a little apprehensive of some of the steeper section on her bike. After navigating a few sharp switchbacks and building confidence though, she suddenly let go of the brakes and charged. The race was back on.

The final bike portion was a trail through town and then following the highway six miles up the Colorado River to our second transition. Contrary to what we had plotted on the map, we ran into a couple of sustained climbs as the trail left the main highway and meandered closer to the river and campgrounds. We paid for our haste downhill, especially as we hadn’t drunk enough water during that leg, and each uphill section became slower and slower. Eventually the mile markers became our only source of satisfaction as we ticked off each quarter mile section in preparation for the river.

At transition two, we hurriedly stowed our bikes and stripped out of sweat soaked clothes in favor of PFDs and paddles. The stretch of river from the Grizzly Creek put-in is generally mellow in September, so we sped down stream as fast as we could paddle. The first couple of riffles and rapids were very forgiving – fortunate for us, as we’d never taken a tandem kayak down real whitewater. Eventually we got into a nice rhythm and started overtaking rafts full of tourists and racers in kayaks at every turn. Soon the main bridge into down town Glenwood Springs came into view and we were greeted by flags marking our take out point. We hauled our boat up the ramp and jogged into the finish for the win. With racers finishing the longer course up to twelve hours after the starting line, the finish area was a mellow affair. We chatted with some of the other teams while replenishing our water and cleaning our gear. Soon after we had everything packed up, my only thought was for my recovery tights and some caffeine for the long drive home. After more than twenty-six miles on the course and nearly four-thousand vertical feet of human powered climbing, we were spent. You can bet we’ll be back next year.

Photos Courtesy of AXS Adventure Racing and Austin Parker

Austin Parker
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Austin Parker is a former contributor at The Manual Parker is a powder skier and sport climber and is no stranger hauling…
10 cigar myths the internet won’t let die
The cigar 'facts' shared in every lounge that are actually complete BS
two men enjoying cigars

The internet has been such an asset to the cigar world. It allows us to look up obscure brands, communicate with fellow fans across the globe, and access a greater amount of information than ever before. There's a downside, though: rumors catch on like wildfire, and once they're out there, they're nearly impossible to get rid of.Visit any cigar lounge or read online forums, and you'll find the same tired myths that have been making the rounds for decades. While a few are harmless pieces of folklore, others are robbing you of your hard-earned cash, ruining your smoking experience, or just flat-out lying to you about health hazards.Let's burn down those stubborn misconceptions once and for all.

Myth #1: Darker (Maduro) cigars are always more powerful

Read more
Cigar etiquette 101: Dos, don’ts, and modern manners
Please don't be that guy. Here are the cigar etiquette mistakes that scream 'amateur'
well-dressed guy smoking on a couch in the dark

Walking into a cigar lounge for the first time feels like crashing somebody's secret club. They've got this unspoken language, weird rituals, and enough unwritten rules to make your head spin! But here’s the thing—cigar etiquette is not some gatekeeping nonsense to try to make you look dumb. It's about respecting the process, the experience, and not being the person who ruins everyone else's vibe.Whether you're new to this or have been faking for years, this guide will sort you out because there's nothing more likely to ruin a good smoke than someone who clearly has no idea what they're doing.

The basics: Respecting the ritual

Read more
The first movie from Materialists director Celine Song just found a new streaming home
The movie is a brilliant look at the roads not taken.
The cast of Past Lives

Few directors have a debut feature that's as splashy as Celine Song's. The director, who now has Materialists in theaters, had a breakout hit at Sundance called Past Lives that took her all the way to the Oscars. Now that Materialists is in theaters and doing quite well, you might want to catch up with Past Lives, which was one of the best movies of 2023.

The film stars Greta Lee and is told in episodes that span more than 20 years. It starts in South Korea, and follows two Korean children who are clearly close friends and may even have a romantic spark as one of them prepares to move to Canada. Then, we follow their story over decades as they come into and out of each other's lives until they're both in their mid-30s and they reunite for a day in New York City.

Read more