I Tried Four Adventure Sports Over 30 Days

If you’re anything like me. You could use a little more adventure in your life.

I’ve spent so much of my adult life tied to a desk with a screen 6 inches from my face.

Sometimes, I catch myself scrolling on my little screen, with my medium screen on my lap and my big screen playing some sitcom I’ve watched a thousand times in the background.

Needless to say, adventure has not been as prevalent in my adult life as it was during my childhood.

I got physical activity every time I went to a gym, but even that felt synthetic. The fluorescent lights, pushy personal trainers and salespeople, and machines that simulate real-world movements made the whole experience feel fake. 

As kids, many of us couldn’t wait for the school bell to ring to tear off on our bikes to explore some new corner of town, hit the blacktop to shoot some hoops with our friends, or play hide-and-seek at the neighborhood park.

Every afternoon held the promise of adventure in a natural environment. We didn’t check weather conditions beforehand, and no one considered injury rates. We just got out there.

This is the feeling I wanted to get back to with this challenge. 

How do I incorporate little adventures into my day-to-day again?

To answer that question, we have to rewind.

My Latest Challenge: I Tried Four Adventure Sports Over 30 Days

Sitting at the kitchen table, I asked my wife about my latest challenge idea.

“I want to run, bike, and kayak 300 miles in a month.”

Always helping me bring my ideas back to reality, she suggested, “Why not just try each during the month instead of setting some ridiculous mileage amount.”

As usual, she was right. And reluctantly, I agreed.

So, I set out to dedicate one week to trail running (including a half-marathon trail race), the next week to completing 5k and 10k Spartan races back-to-back, the third week to biking, and the final week to kayaking.

Because I always need to see how far I can push myself, I decided to cap the entire month off with a makeshift adventure race.

If you’re unfamiliar, adventure racing is like an adult scavenger hunt. Usually performed as a team, participants navigate to stations on a course using a variety of modes of transport (like running, biking, and paddling).

Since I don’t know anyone in my area who would consider this a good way to spend a Saturday, I made my own miniature adventure race. But more on that in a minute.

What are Adventure Sports?

Unlike field sports like baseball or football, adventure sports take place in the natural environment – mountains, trails, bodies of water, etc. When many think of adventure sports they think of extreme adventure like skydiving or bungee jumping. But the term adventure sport can be applied to everything from hiking, rock climbing, and trail running, to scuba diving and BASE jumping.

Here are some common examples:

1. Rock Climbing: Scaling natural rock formations or artificial climbing walls.
2. Skydiving: Jumping from an aircraft and free-falling before deploying a parachute.
3. Whitewater Rafting: Riding inflatable rafts through rough river rapids.
4. Paragliding: Gliding through the air using a parachute-like canopy and harness.
5. Bungee Jumping: Jumping from a tall structure while connected to an elastic cord.
6. Surfing: Riding waves on a surfboard, often in the ocean.
7. BASE Jumping: Parachuting from fixed objects like buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
8. Mountain Biking: Riding bicycles off-road on rugged terrain.
9. Snowboarding: Descending snow-covered slopes on a single board.
10. Scuba Diving: Swimming underwater using a self-contained breathing apparatus to explore marine environments.
11. Trail Running: Running or jogging on hiking trails or off-road paths, often through varied terrain.
12. Cycling: Riding bicycles, which can include road cycling, mountain biking, and bike-packing adventures.
13. Kayaking: Paddling a small boat called a kayak through rivers, lakes, or the ocean.
14. Obstacle Course Racing: Competing in races involving various physical challenges and obstacles.
15. Hiking: Walking or trekking on trails or through natural landscapes, typically in mountains or wilderness areas.

These are just a few examples of sports that provide a diverse range of experiences for adventure enthusiasts. From adrenaline-pumping thrills to serene moments in nature, adventure is always at the core of these sports.

Before we go any further, allow me to make a brief safety reminder. 

Adventure Sports Safety Precautions 

Safety is paramount in adventure sports, given the inherent risks involved. Here are some general safety precautions that participants should keep in mind:

1. Training and Education: Proper training and education are essential for any adventure sport. Learn from qualified instructors or guides before attempting any activity.
2. Use Proper Equipment: Always use high-quality, well-maintained gear and equipment appropriate for the specific activity. Ensure that safety gear like helmets, harnesses, life jackets, and protective clothing fit properly and are in good condition.
3. Assess Conditions: Before starting an activity, assess environmental conditions such as weather, water currents, tides, and trail conditions. Be aware of any potential hazards or changes that could affect safety.
4. Know Your Limits: Understand your physical abilities and limitations. Don’t attempt activities that are beyond your skill level or fitness level. Progress gradually and avoid pushing yourself too hard.
5. Buddy System: Participate in adventure sports with a buddy or group whenever possible. Stay together and look out for each other throughout the activity.
6. Follow Rules and Regulations: Adhere to all rules, regulations, and guidelines for the specific activity and location. Respect private property, wildlife, and the environment.
7. Stay Hydrated and Fueled: Maintain proper hydration and nutrition before, during, and after the activity. Carry an adequate supply of water and snacks as needed.
8. Emergency Preparedness: Be prepared for emergencies by carrying essential items such as a first aid kit, communication devices (e.g., mobile phone, satellite phone, whistle), and navigation tools (e.g., map, compass, GPS).
9. Check Equipment Regularly: Inspect gear and Equipment before each use to ensure they are in good working condition. Pay attention to signs of wear and tear, and replace or repair any damaged equipment promptly.
10. Listen to Your Instincts: Trust your instincts and intuition. If something doesn’t feel right or conditions seem unsafe, err on caution and postpone or cancel the activity.

Now that we have that out of the way let’s dive into the first leg of my adventure month, trail running.

Adventure Sport 1: Trail Running

Trail running is a growing sport worldwide. What’s not to love? Running through nature, navigating winding trails in the fresh air, exploring new areas—it checks all the boxes of adventure I was looking for. And since I’m fortunate enough to live in one of the best places in the world for trail sports, the Pacific Northwest, it was something I could easily do after my workday.

Mt Peak in Buckley, WA, was my go to spot for the week. It is just far out there enough to feel like you’re away from it all without being so isolated that you need to plan for a hike.

There are several ways to reach the top of Mt Peak, where a popular fire lookout awaits eager hikers. But there is one path adjacent to the most popular route that never has foot traffic.

That’s because of the rough terrain, steep climbs, and natural obstacles like fallen trees and protruding roots.

Perfect!

I ran down the trail, passing through forests of ferns and conifers. The pines loomed high above, and the canopy darkened the trail. I felt like I was running through the set of Jurassic Park.

After about a quarter mile, I hit a wall—a wall that would have taken me several miles to reach if I were running on the road.

Running inclines is challenging. Soon, my trail run resembled a speed hike—and eventually, just a hike.

“Wow,” I thought. “How do these trail runners do it?”

I would get my answer at the end of the trail running part of my challenge. More on that in a minute.

After I reached the fire lookout, I snapped a few photos of the stunning view to show my wife when I got home. Then, I ran down the mountain, carefully navigating the hazardous path I had just hiked.

I spent the rest of the week running similar trails throughout Western Washington. Here are the changes I started noticing.

I could run uphill for longer, and my breathing wasn’t nearly as heavy. I mean, it wasn’t pretty, but there was a noticeable difference between my first run and my seventh run.

My confidence grew on the downhill runs, too. At first, I put on the breaks during the downhills. But the more I hit the trial, the more confident I became. What I like most about mountain sports is that the more you do them, the more your physical fitness improves. Uphill running increases your muscular endurance, VO2 max, and aerobic conditioning in a way that is hard to replicate on a treadmill.

The runs were becoming normal. I have this saying: if I can get through the first seven days of any challenge, I can make it to the end. On day 2, my entire body was sore, and I wanted to stay home that afternoon. By Friday, my body had begun to adapt, and my mind had adjusted to the fact that this was what we were doing. After work, we run trails.

Two weeks later, I ran my first half marathon-length trail race. Here’s what I learned.

Most of the runners started off running. Then, all but the top ten or so switched to a mix of running and power hiking. Despite the course page stating the trail consisted of rolling hills, the run was mostly straight up for the better part of 9 miles before we hit a downhill. And then it was right back uphill.

It felt more like hiking to me than running. Despite all the running I had been doing this year, I was no match for some of these mountain goats. I watched long-legged trail athletes zoom past me, powering up the inclines like it was nothing. Even though they weren’t necessarily running the entire time, their power hiking was so much faster than mine. Then, when they did hit the downhills, they were gone. 

If you’re loving this article, make sure to check out these!

10 Exercises for Trail Runners to Build Full Body Strength

The Ultimate Guide to Strength Training for Hiking (+Training Plan)

Your Guide to Trail Running Basics for Complete Beginners

Every aspect of this race was more difficult than any road race I had ever done. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but jumping over roots and maintaining stability on loose gravel is draining. Even the downhills were tiring because you still maintained a degree of control through your calves and hamstrings in case you needed to slam on the breaks. That degree of control takes a lot of muscle energy to sustain.

A surprising challenge I wasn’t expecting was the dirt and pollen of a sunny spring morning in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Judging by the sniffles and coughs I heard from my peers echoing through the trees, I wasn’t the only one struggling to breathe.

I crossed the finish line as a young man handed me a magnet. It had the name of the mountain but nothing to speak of about the race or the distance I just ran. Trail running appeared to forgo the frills of a road race. Magnet in hand, I began the drive back home. 

Adventure Sport 2: Spartan Races

I continued running in the afternoons and worked on my strength training in the mornings. I incorporated sandbags, kettlebells, and body weight Crossfit-style workouts to prep for my first Spartan races. I had run obstacle courses before, but it had been a while. Spartan is known for putting on a challenging race. So, I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

My day started with the 10K Super in the rocky desert of southern California. The course featured stony trails, tall grasses, and an array of ground shrubs. 

I was surprised at how upper-body intensive the obstacles were. Thankfully, I had done a lot of pull-ups in preparation. 

Most Spartan obstacles involve pulling yourself up and over something, swinging across something, or hanging while moving laterally across something.

Here are a few examples.

You will have to climb over a handful of high walls without any support. The parallel bar dip is the best exercise I can think of to train for this.

If you’re enjoying this article, make sure to check out these!

How to Prepare for Your First Sprint Spartan Race

2024 Spartan Race Schedule (Dates, Locations, & Details)

2024 Tough Mudder Race Schedule (Dates, Locations, & Details)

Some obstacles use the mounts you find on rock climbing walls. This is essentially a pull-up with an odd-shaped grip, so train your pull-ups, lat pull-downs, and rows.

Lastly, quite a few obstacles involve swinging. Dead hangs, hanging leg raises, and farmer’s carries are good ways to train your grip and core for these types of obstacles.

The most challenging part of the experience was not even the most difficult of obstacles. The most challenging thing was this.

The dunk pit. 

The dunk pit is a large pit filled with muddy water. A tall, inflatable wall stretches across the pit, making it impossible to wade through the mud or climb over the wall. The only way is to submerge yourself in the cold water fully, go under the wall, and pop out on the other side.

As a card-carrying germaphobe, I stared down that wall for at least two minutes before I finally conquered my fear. I dunked my head in the murky water, swam under the wall, and popped my head out on the other side. My feet sunk in the mud below me as I tried to climb out of the pit. I spit out mud for the next few minutes before lumbering on to the next obstacle—a seemingly endless crawl through a field of mud and barbed wire.

I rolled through the final stretch of barbed wire and took off running up the final hill. I hopped over the fire to cross the finish line. I handed my finisher shirt and medal to my mom and my sister. They were kind enough to hang out in the spectator area while I ran my races. My brother-in-law snapped photos of me covered in mud. And just like that, my 15-minute break was over. I had to walk over to the start line of the next race.

Running the 5k Spartan Sprint, covered in mud, made the race a grind. But eventually, I crossed that finish line, too. I was starving, and all I wanted was junk food. So, we stopped at the nearest burger place on the way home for what must have been the best burger and fries I’ve ever had. 

Two legs of my adventure sports journey were in the books.

Here are my top takeaways from those races.

If you choose to skip an obstacle or you’re unable to complete it, you are supposed to run an extra distance. However, no one is enforcing this. So, A LOT of people skip obstacles, and many skip the penalty distance. In my opinion, if you’re going to do a Spartan race, you should at least attempt the obstacles.

I wish I would have spent more time training my grip. There were a few obstacles that I had the upper body strength to complete, but my grip would give out before I made it through the obstacle.

I will do more training sessions for future races that incorporate strength training and cardio. To improve my time, I’ll switch out some of those easy runs for more challenging threshold runs. Lastly, I’ll use my rest days for active recovery activities like rucking or biking.

Adventure Sport 3: Biking

I gave my joints a break after running three races earlier in the month. I spent five days leisurely biking around the walking paths and trails of San Diego, CA. I don’t have many takeaways other than this.

Even though I had built up a solid cardio base in the running, it didn’t translate as well as I had hoped to bike. My legs would burn after a few miles, and I would need to take a break. This made me realize that even though cross-training can have numerous benefits, you still need to do it frequently enough to develop the different muscular adaptations for each training mode.

In the future, I’d like to try triathlons, so my biking will need some serious work. 

Adventure Sport 4: Kayaking

On a cold, rainy morning, I pumped up my inflatable kayak in the parking lot of an empty lake. Like trails, the Pacific Northwest is full of lakes, rivers, and streams.

The kayak was easy enough to inflate, but I felt it would be a pain to pack it back up (spoiler alert: I was right). But that was future me’s problem.

I pushed off the concrete boat launch, beginning my next miniature adventure. 

I slowly paddled through a canal lined with dense vegetation. From the canal, I couldn’t see the lake. It felt a bit like paddling through the jungle cruise in Disneyland. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a crocodile surfaced in the distance. Thankfully, we don’t have those in Washington. 

As I rounded the bend, the canal opened to a large, empty lake.

I had the whole thing to myself.

I paddled hard from one side of the lake to the other in about 10 minutes. A quarter mile down. My goal for the week was at least one mile paddling a day. 

I unpacked my snack of beef jerky and an apple. I bit into the apple, surveying the scenery and feeling like I was doing it. I was living a more adventurous life, even if it was just a pre-work paddle around the lake.

A water sport like kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding is an excellent way to get a core and upper body workout. Maintaining your posture while paddling challenges the ab muscles and lower back in a way I wasn’t expecting. The paddling had my lats burning after a few minutes. Now I know why rowers have such massive backs.

My DIY Adventure Race

After three weeks of running, pedaling, and paddling, it was time to combine these adventure sports for my do-it-yourself adventure race.

Thanks to my poor planning, I pulled into a packed parking lot at the lake where I intended to complete all three legs of my journey. The annual fishing derby was in full swing, and it looked like I would have to find another lake for my kayak.

I started off on foot with a six-mile run along a well-trafficked trail adjacent to the lake—the perfect opportunity to break in my new running shoes. The path was mostly flat and even had brief lengths of paved road. 

After returning to my car, I pulled out my bike and pedaled in the opposite direction of my run. This direction led to a network of trails and footpaths that extended dozens of miles through the farm and forest land east of Seattle.

I logged nine miles before my legs began to feel the weight of what I was asking of them. After I hit the 12-mile mark, I loaded up my bike and drove to a lake a few miles down the road. I told you there were a lot of lakes here!

Unlike the fishing derby lake, this lake was empty. A quarter of the lake is lined with a mix of luxurious mansions and run-down lake cabins. The rest of the lake is covered with pure Washington wilderness. A tree line so dense Sasquatch himself could have been staring right at me, and I never would have known.

It started raining so hard that I thought my kayak was taking on water. My back muscles began cramping as I fought against the wind. It took me almost an hour, but I finally saw the distance on my Garmin tick over to 21.00 total miles.

I smiled and threw my head back in relief. I lay there in my kayak as the rain pelted my face.  

I stayed there for a little bit, getting soaked in the rain. I wanted to enjoy the feeling of exhaustion I had just earned. Sure, there was no finish line photo or colorful medal. But I had set the goal of experiencing a small dose of adventure every day, and that’s precisely what I had done.

Adventure is not reserved for adrenaline junkies and risk takers. There are plenty of opportunities for average athletes like you and me to enjoy new experiences, try a new sport, and live a life full of adventure with a little effort.

How to Create Your Own Fitness Challenge

The best advice I can give you is this. 

Pick something you enjoy or you have always wanted to try. 

Whether it’s strength training, long runs, or an adventure sport it doesn’t matter. It can be anything! Go cycling, cave diving, or even wingsuit flying. Join a group of base jumpers. Whatever sounds like an enjoyable experience to you is a great starting point.

I gravitate toward new outdoor activities, but you can choose anything you like.

Once you’ve selected your goal, you need to determine how much time you will devote to it.

At the end of 2023, I decided to try a fitness challenge every month in 2024. Each month, I pick a new challenge and work toward it in some way every day. Doing something every day keeps me on track. Publishing my progress on social media holds me accountable. 

Whatever time you choose, make sure it’s sustainable for you.

Then, pick an event to train for. Or, make up your own like I did with my DIY adventure race. Having a goal that you can work towards will give you a reason to show up every day. 

If you enjoyed this article you will also love these!

I Did a Sandbag Workout Everyday for 30 Days (+Exercises)

I Did a Kettlebell Workout Everyday for 15 Days

I Added Five Minutes to My Run Time Every Day for 30 Days

Remember to subscribe to the Outdoor Muscle Newsletter and YouTube Channel for strength training tips to apply to your next adventure!