Ultra-marathon runner. (Von .shock - Adobe Stock)
In the dark hours of a Sunday morning, I stepped off the edge of an iron bridge 40 meters above the Nervion River in Bilbao, Spain. Rappelling down to the shoreline was a welcome relief. After attempting to race 300 kilometers across the Basque country, blisters were forming on my blisters, and I needed a shower and some sleep.
By this time, my team of four had kayaked in the sea, trekked overland, navigated in cold dark forests, lugged bags, found checkpoints, mountain biked in the nighttime rain, napped at a bus stop, trapsed through a cave, rappelled down multiple cliffs and waterfalls, ate little and slept less for the previous three days. We didn’t require all 72 hours to complete the 10 stages of the 300km course, but we also didn’t hit every checkpoint. Happily, we earned a completion.
The Basque Expedition Race my team finished was part of the European Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) European Circuit. Sometimes called an expedition race or raid, these multi-day events don’t just test endurance in multiple sports, but also a team’s ability to navigate without electronic devices through an unmarked course in the wilderness to find checkpoints along the way.
Sound like grueling fun? Visit www.arworldseries.com with your team.
Adventure Racing. (Von DZiegler - Adobe Stock)
If an adventure race is too much, you can always try a one-day obstacle race. Common in the U.S., these have become hugely popular across Europe. Some are muddy, others are urban, and all of them seem to be competing for bragging rights on THE MOST intensity, difficulty and rigor.
Toughest | toughest.se | Touted as the best obstacle races in Europe, these Scandinavian-based events take in the local scenery.
Mud Masters | mudmasters.com | If getting filthy is the goal, this is your obstacle course with events in Germany and the Netherlands.
Inferno | www.infernorun.it | With beach and mud editions, this Italian obstacle series also has training camps across Italy.
Tough Mudder | www.toughmudder.de | This worldwide obstacle race staple has competitions in Germany, France and the U.K.
Spartan Races | uk.spartan.com | Parent company to the Tough Mudder series, the Spartan Races offer more variety in obstacle types, race lengths and occur across Europe.
Wolf Runs | thewolfrun.com | With races in spring, summer and autumn, the Wolf Run trilogy of events are held in England.
Heading to the U.K? At www.timeoutdoors.com you can find sporting events of all kinds across the country.
Cycling. (Maksym Protsenko - Adobe Stock)
Whether you are a roadie, ride BMX, crush the mountain bike trails or have another cycling, sport there are events for you. Cycling is huge in Europe, so expect fanatics from clubs alongside casual riders.
For serious racers in Germany, look into the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V. (BDR) – the German Cycling Federation. The BDR overseas all official races and championship series for road cycling, track racing, cyclocross, mountain biking, BMX, indoor cycling and trials riding. To race you must have a BDR membership (Mitgliedshaft), obtained by either joining the local club (Vereine) or becoming an individual member via your regional BDR office (Landesverbände).
BDR | www.rad-net.de | Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V. (BDR) – the German Cycling Federation - official races and championship series.
There are also plenty of independent local races and events open to the public. Try these two websites to find one near you.
Radsport Events | radsport-events.de | In Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium Austria, Switzerland, and adjacent alpine regions. The website is in German, click “Umkreissuche” for a handy map search.
Battistrada | battistrada.com | For larger events across Europe, in English and with easy sorting by biking type or location.
Ultra-marathon runner (Michelangelo Oprandi - Adobe Stock)
Much like in the States, there are running events like 5Ks and fun runs across Europe all year. Local events are still very much advertised via the free local newspaper or your community’s website. A simple Google search for a location and run distance is also quite effective since 5K, 10K and marathon are effective keywords everywhere. However, there are also a few great resources for larger, regional runs.
Park Run | www.parkrun.com | Non-competitive 5K runs every Saturday across Europe.
Ahotu | www.ahotu.com | Across Europe and not just running events.
Trail Running | www.trailrunning.de/termine | In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.
Marathon.de | www.marathon.de | Marathons and smaller runs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland
My first segway into racing was via a triathlon. This sport is great for having variety in your training and cool scenery during the race. They come in shorter spring distances, intermediate and Olympic distances, and the long well-known Ironman. In Europe, small local triathlons are hard to find; instead it is popular to find series put out by triathlon organizations.
Deutsch Triathlon Union (DTU) | www.triathlondeutschland.de | List of triathlons across Germany.
World Triathlon | triathlon.org | International organization with a European series.
Ahotu | www.ahotu.com | Multi-sport events across Europe.
Mountain biking. (Von Artur Didyk - Adobe Stock)
Here are a selection of big once-in-a-lifetime sporting events in Europe to cross off your bucket list.
Dolomiti Superbike | www.dolomitisuperbike.com/en | Legendary mountain bike ride in the Italian Alps.
Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc | montblanc.utmb.world | Ultramarathon in the French Alps.
Three Peaks Challenge | www.threepeakschallenge.uk | Climb the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales.
Athens Marathon | athensauthenticmarathon.gr | Run on the Greek route that started it all.
Norseman | nxtri.com | Race across Norway on the toughest triathlon on the planet.
