Event Information

Information for 2025 will be added shortly, information from 2024 is shown for reference

Event Timing

The race is on the 24th of August with start times for each event as follows:

9 Hour 7:00am

6 Hour 

8:00am Open Male, Open Mixed and Student Teams.

8:30am Open Women & Family Teams.

3 Hour 9:30am

You should aim to arrive at the start location around 45 minutes before your event starts to organise your equipment and be ready for the briefing 15mins before the start.

The Course

The course will be kept secret from competitors until the day of the race. Competitors must follow the course and alternatives designed by the organisers and must race within the spirit of the competition. Slower teams may be short-coursed by the organisers to ensure they finish within the time limit. 

6-hour and 9-hour courses will be linear, so it would be very helpful to have a driver who can drop you off at the start and take your vehicle to the finish.

The 3-hour course will be circular, which means that the start and finish will be in the same place.

Further information about the nature of each stage of the course will be available to competitors closer to the event.

The 9 Hour course includes an optional watercraft stage of 1-2hrs in duration. This may be completed on any type of craft including packrafts, kayaks, rafts, or paddleboards. Your team will have to provide your own craft and life jackets for this stage, and you must carry your seam-sealed jacket with you during the stage (at minimum). We also recommend wearing footwear in case you capsize or need to do any wading during this stage.  

Team Size

You can race in a team of 2, 3, or 4 people.

Team Categories

There are 3 age categories available in each race duration, Student, Adult, and Family. All members of a Student team must be currently enrolled at either primary or secondary school. Family teams must have at least one adult (over 18) and any number of school students. Adult teams are also split into Male, Female, and Mixed gender categories. 

Canterbury Schools Championship

This year the Canterbury Adventure Race will also be the Canterbury Schools Adventure Racing Championships. Championship teams will have to meet the following criteria, any teams not meeting the criteria can still race but will be in the Non-Championship category.

• 4 team members

• All team members from the same school (or 2 schools for single-gender schools)

• All team members in the correct age class. The age classes are Yr7-8 (Junior/3hr), Yr9-10 (Intermediate/6hr), and Yr11-13 (Senior/9hr). 

It is permissible to "run up" a class, for example, a Yr10 could compete in either the Intermediate/6hr or Senior/9hr class, but not the Junior/3hr class. If they wanted to take part in the 3hr event they would have to be in the Non-Championship class.

School teams must complete and return the Principals Permission form linked on the Entry page for their entry to be complete.

Timing and Scoring

Timing and scoring may be done manually or electronically. The clock will start at the beginning of the race. Your team may be given a NavLight timing tag at registration, you will use this to record your visit to each checkpoint (more info on how this works here). When a team decides to rest at a checkpoint, the clock doesn’t stop.

Transition Areas

Teams are required to check in to each transition with the marshal on duty.

Prizes

Thanks to our generous sponsors we will have a fantastic array of spot prizes that everyone will go into the draw to win.

Support Crew

The races are unsupported. That means you have to do all your transitions yourself. This creates an even playing field and means you don’t have to rope in support crew. For student teams we allow an adult to assist with transitions. Friends and family are of course welcome to come to cheer you on and take photos. There will be plenty of spots along to course to view the race. For safety reasons supporters should not venture on course without checking with the organisers first. 

Compulsory Gear

The compulsory gear list is below, if you are missing anything then check out Bivouac's recommended gear for this event here. Don't forget to use your special code for a discount on any purchases in-store at Bivouac.

Individual (must be carried by each person)

• Survival Blanket

• Thermal top long-sleeved - Merino or Polyprop

• Thermal bottoms

• Thermal hat and gloves

• Whistle

• Water proof Jacket - this must be seamed sealed (no wind breakers, plastic ponchos, or puffer jackets)

• Cycle helmet

• Mountain Bike (brakes must work, wheels safe, tires in good condition)

• Front and rear bike lights (9 Hour only)

• Running shoes

• Backpack

• Food & water

• Head torch (in case you become lost and are out after dark)

Team

• First Aid kit

• – Minimum: triangular bandage, crepe bandage, strapping tape, knife or scissors, antihistamine, gauze bandage, personal medication

• Compass - 1 per team

• Maps (Provided)

• Cell Phone (Fully Charged)

• Pen or pencil

Gear Check

There will be spot gear checks during the race and if you don’t have an item a penalty will be given to your team. There is no gear check at registration.

It is the responsibility of each participant to ensure that their equipment (including bike) is in good condition. However, the event organisers reserve the right to prevent participants from starting if they feel that the condition of their equipment poses a risk to themselves or others. 

Nutrition

PURE Sports Nutrition is the official hydration partner of the Canterbury Adventure Race and will be on course with Lemon and/or Superfruits flavours. This premium natural isotonic electrolyte drink uses real freeze-dried fruit, carbohydrates and electrolytes to help hydrate, fuel muscles and replace lost electrolytes.

● Contains the electrolytes, sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium

● 5% carbohydrate content

● Not overly sweet or over-flavoured

● Gut friendly formulation

● No added colour, dairy / gluten / preservative free and vegan friendly

Hydration is key to performance with weight loss of 2% or more starting to negatively impact sports performance. Head to www.puresportsnutrition.com to find out more and redeem your exclusive 15% off discount with code CARACE15.

Need a team mate?

Send us and email and we will put a post up on our Facebook page to try find you a team! We currently have someone who is keen to join a fit team for the race, so get in touch if you need an extra person on your team.