Germany and Austrian Alps
When?
- 2006 and 2007
What?
- Adventure Races
- Teams
- Multi-discipline – Trail Running, Canyoning, Rafting, etc.
Why?
- Trend sport at the time
- Great outdoor adventure
- Fun & challenging at the same time
- Each event was unique
Multisport, endurance, navigation, teamwork, nature …
The early 2000s were the golden years of Adventure Racing – at least for me, and for a growing international community …
The Raid Gauloise had been around since 1989, and slowly but surely more events began to emerge. I was initially involved in founding and “managing” Germany’s most successful Adventure Racing team – a group of incredible endurance athletes who competed and performed exceptionally well on the international stage. To be clear, I wasn’t one of them. I mainly helped secure sponsors and handled some of the marketing.
After taking part in a few smaller events myself, I moved into organizing Adventure Races. Not many people may know this, but at the time Salomon had become a major sponsor of the sport – before „Trail Running“ became a thing.
With support from adidas and outdoor adventure companies like faszinatour and TirolAlpin, I was able to organize a fantastic first race in 2006 across a beautiful area in Bavaria and Tyrol. In 2007, we added another event in the Tyrolean Oberland.
In 2008 and 2009, we secured a new title sponsor and were able to expand the series – see separate project (R’ADYS Trophy).
