Get Hooked on a Sport Where Excitement and Teamwork Create Community

Jason Gockel felt the alarm bells ringing in his head. It was early October 2023, and the teacher from Bend Forest School stood atop a bridge in La Pine State Park, peering 30 feet down into the Deschutes River as it slipped past, cool and green. This was his first adventure race—a multisport, human-powered contest that involves navigating between checkpoints often by foot, bike and boat—and the 37 year old had already spent the morning hiking off trail, cycling roads and using only a map and compass to orient his way through the park. Now, to complete a checkpoint, he and his partner, Matthias Ambert, had to rappel off the bridge into the water. But something wasn’t right. The rope was much too short. He’d have to free-fall the last few feet right into the drink.

“I’ve done a lot of climbing, and rappelling off the end of a rope is something you never, ever want to do,” Gockel said. “But that’s what you had to do.”

Gockel felt the end of the rope eerily slip through his harness as he plunged into the river with all of his clothes on. It took only a few seconds to swim to shore but something far more enduring had washed over him. This first-timer had caught the adventure-racing bug, bad.

“I was totally hooked,” he said. “It was one of the most fun days of my life.”

Since then, in less than a year, Gockel has competed in no fewer than four adventure races, most of them in Central Oregon, which is an excellent venue thanks to an abundance of wild and varied terrain. On October 5 and 6, the La Pine Loop race—the same race that got Gockel started—will unfold for the seventh time. That race also includes a family-friendly version with checkpoints where kids gather materials to make something fun they can keep, for example, charms for a necklace. Other races throughout the year include the Technical Endurance Challenge near Redmond and Smith Rock in April and Sunriver Scramble, a six- to eight-hour race taking place in June.

In September, some of the best teams in the world compete in Expedition Oregon, a whopping six-day contest that has racers tackling class III rapids, exploring caves, climbing cliffs and mountain biking single-track trails. “We call it America’s Toughest Race,” said Bend resident Jason Magness, who along with his wife, Chelsea, organizes, directs and competes in adventure races throughout Oregon and the world. Together they also manage and participate in their own professional team called Bend Racing, one of the best adventure racing teams on the planet. 

Magness and Bend Racing may sound familiar. The team featured prominently in Amazon Prime Video’s 2020 reboot of the highly popular Eco-Challenge series that put adventure racing on the North American map in the 1990s. That new television series, which was hosted by Bear Grylls, saw Magness and three other teammates battle their way across the jungles of Fiji, where they built a make-shift raft out of bamboo to float down a river, sailed a traditional boat between islands and ran and biked for days on end through stifling heat and torrential rain. Mark Burnett, the series producer who also created shows like “The Apprentice,” likened the race to “an expedition with a stop-watch.”

For newcomers to the sport, such an undertaking would feel like cruel and unusual punishment, but the bite-size races are a great way to give the sport a try in a format that really ups the fun. Magness says adventure racing’s appeal at pretty much any level typically boils down to a person’s willingness to embrace the unknown. You might make a wrong turn. Maybe your bike gets a flat. Perhaps everything goes far more smoothly than ever before and no one even gets a blister.

“No two races are ever alike,” Magness said. “There aren’t a lot of endurance sports out there where you really don’t know what’s ahead.”

That element of surprise certainly appeals to Gockel but his new hobby taps into something bigger, too—a sense of community. “I love being part of a team and how you can all work together to problem solve while running through the woods or paddling down a river,” he said. “If you want to be competitive, you can be competitive, and if you want to just have fun you can do that, too. Everyone who crosses that finish line has a smile on their face.”

What is an Adventure Race?

Adventure racing takes racers off the road and into the unknown. Think triathlon, but make it wild. Instead of a swim, bike and run, the sports vary race-to-race and adapt to the natural landscape of each event. Teams of two to four athletes navigate miles of wilderness on mountain bikes, in kayaks, on ropes and by foot with no marked course. They work together and reach checkpoints along the way with the help of compasses and maps. For amateur teams, the only prerequisite is a sense of adventure. But to go pro, Bend Racing lists team requirements needs as: navigator, medic, bike mechanic, a captain to make big decisions, a pace counter to keep the team on track and “a stoker” to keep morale high.

Where to Find a Race:

April 20-21: Technical Endurance Challenge, Redmond and Smith Rock | Features: Day one is an advanced adventure race, but a kid and family- friendly race takes place on day two.

June 1: Sunriver Scramble, Sunriver | Features: Technical sections are suited for professional racers, but there are options to shorten the course and avoid difficult segments. 

September 6-14: Expedition Oregon, Columbia River Gorge | Features: A world championship qualifier for experienced teams, this event is for experienced teams and spans six days with extremely technical sections for advanced racers.

October 5-6: La Pine Loop, La Pine State Park | Features: The seven-hour event is for intermediate and experienced endurance athletes. A four-hour course is less technical and best for kids and families.