How the race works Untamed New England is a team competition, primarily for coed teams of 4 participants. Teams of 2 and 3 people, and single gender teams, are also permitted but the main division for prize purposes is 4-person coed. The race is not a relay, teammates must complete the course together and travel for the duration of the event as a cohesive unit. The race is non-stop, with no designated rest periods or aid stations. Teams must be self-sufficient, responsible for their own food and water, when and where they sleep, from the start to the finish of the race. This race does not use support crews or team assistants. Gear staging will be done entirely by the race organization. 1 week before the race, teams will be emailed an outline of the race course showing the order of disciplines, transition areas, and rough distance estimates; this will help teams to pack and prepare their equipment prior to arriving at the race course in Maine. Teams will hand over their equipment bins to race staff before the race start, and then race staff will stage this equipment at pre-defined Transition Areas. Teams may go for extended periods -- up to 36-hours -- without seeing a Transition Area with their gear bins. After teams complete the check-in formalities the day before the race, the exact race course will be revealed. Teams receive topographic maps and a race booklet explaining each leg of the race, this communicates which activity (biking, paddling, etc) and where checkpoints are located that teams must visit (trail junction, mountain summit, etc). Teams must progress along the course, visiting each checkpoint in order and changing activities as dictated by the race booklet. The race booklet will also communicate any off-limit routes (particularly dangerous, for example) and where race staff will be staging team equipment. Usually, the route teams travel between checkpoints is entirely up to them; this is where strategy really comes in to play. Once the starting gun goes off, the racing is non-stop to the finish line. There will be a couple published time cut-offs along the route of the race. If a team misses a time cut-off they will be routed to a shorter course (this ensures that the 4-day race doesn't become a 7-day race for a slower team). Race disciplines Untamed New England 2012 will include mountain biking, orienteering (expect a team orienteering relay on the course), packrafting, padding (kayak & canoes), ropes (ascending/jumar & rappel), trekking, whitewater rafting, wilderness navigation.

If you want to get a feel for the type of race this is, review the 2008 Untamed New England Adventure Race course summary. You may also want to review the Captain Communication #3 from the 2010 race. There is a lot of information here to give you a sense of the event, and the course outline on Page 2 is exactly the sort of thing racers will get prior to the 2012 edition.