What started as a typical adventure race production has developed into a testament of one of the last truly unspoiled corners of the world. On the first trip to Belize in February 2012, the organisers were introduced to the beauty of the Maya Mountains and its people. When they returned in November of 2012, Friends of Conservation and Development (FCD) director, Rafael Manzanero, unlocked the secrets of the Chiquibul and the Mountain Pine Ridge and, with them, the possibilities they contained for epic adventure races highlighting the great Maya Mountains and Central America. The 2016 course takes participants in uncharted and unseen territory as part of the North American Adventure Racing Series.
The 2016 course will traverse over 300 miles of pristine wilderness – epic sink holes, mammoth caves, majestic waterfalls, captivating flora/fauna, and vistas of endless natural beauty. Participants will mountain bike across pine ridges and through tropical jungle, trek passed ancient Mayan ruins on their way to mystical waterfalls, rappel into some of the world’s largest cave systems, and paddle ancient waterways that once served as main arteries for trade and communication known as “la ruta Maya”.
The race is the premiere event for the 2016 Adventure Racing (AR) World Series circuit. The AR World Series unites in competition the world’s best endurance athletes at premiere qualifier events around the globe. The top two teams at the Maya Mountain Adventure Challenge, as at each of the other series races, will gain a coveted position on the start line of the annual AR World Championship.
Each of the teams will be carrying the YB3 tracking device along the race course to provide race officials with the ability to monitor team location and progress. It also ensures the safety of competitors by tracking their location along the course, and allows near real-time updates, which can be followed on our integrated race viewer and leaderboard, providing friends and family members a first-hand view of the race as they follow the teams across the jungle.