Endless Mountains Adventure Race hit Ridgway on Thursday night
RIDGWAY - Thirtytwo teams lined up earlier this week at the start of the inaugural Endless Mountains Adventure Race for a secret route that will take them through the heart of the PA Wilds region.
The Endless Mountains Adventure Race will serve as a demonstration race in the 2022 Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) season. The field, the largest among North American ARWS events this year, represents a wide swath of the U.S. adventure racing community, with a few international racers on the line.
Teams of 2-4 will have five days to complete the 342-mile/550-kilometer course, exploring the sprawling, majestic PA Wilds region of Pennsylvania, which is comprised of more than two million acres spanning one national and eight state forests, 29 state parks, 50 state game lands, and countless towns and villages nestled in the mountains and valleys of northcentral PA. Teams will encounter local history, paddle scenic waterways, climb and traverse rocky ridges and mountainsides, and trek and bike through some of the state's most remote forests.
Everyone will encounter the rich wildlife of the PA Wilds, and the lucky ones will cross paths with some of the 1,400 elk that make up one of the only herds in the eastern United States. Along the way, teams will work together to overcome the challenges that only expedition races can bring: being tested to the physical and mental limits with challenging overland navigation, wild terrain, and weather that can tame even the most hardened outdoors enthusiasts.
The actual race map was kept secret until the day the racers began, though they knew what type of terrain and waterways they would encounter.
The teams began in Punxsutawney earlier this week and participated in biking and running, as well as overland navigation through rough terrain before transitioning into canoes for one of the last legs of the trip, which saw the racers traveling the Clarion River from Ridgway to Clarion. Clarion University is serving as the race's headquarters and endpoint. The races spent Thursday night in Ridgway and enjoyed the Firemen's fireworks in the evening from the banks of the Clarion River. Those interested in the race can find more information on endlessmountainsar.com, including live tracking of participants.