On June 12, the awards ceremony of the Red Fox Adventure Race XVIII powered by Polartec® was held. It was a great celebration of a great adventure sport holiday, now completed.

Photo by Sergey Alexandrov

436 athletes from 13 countries met in one of the most picturesque corners of Russia ― beautiful Karelia, in the neighborhood of Kilpola island.

It was an incredibly fun, exhaustively long five days! There was lots of energy, exhilaration, nature’s iconic beauty, and many stages built on the intrigue of what would come next. The 48-hour long course had 31 teams of four racers and 73 teams of two racers, while 14 teams of four racers and 55 teams of two racers challenged each other in the 24-hour Short course. Our course designer, the legendary Vitaly Chegarovsky, linked several worthy obstacles. A difficult kayak stage, a comedic yet challenging ride on inflatable mattresses, coastering, orienteering, bungee jumping, trolley ― and these are only a portion of all the skills tested.

Photo by Roman Barabonov

Photo by Sergey Alexandrov

Photo by Leonid Zhukov

Photo by Roman Barabonov

Photo by Leonid Zhukov

It is difficult to describe all that participants had to pass through. The race completely justifies the motto: "Test your limits!" It’s overwhelming. Despite the difficulties, athletes, were disappointed when everything ended and it was time to go home. They anticipated this adventure for a whole year. Now the next race is a year away.

Photo by Andrey Chepakin

When asked, "Why did you come to the finish so early?" the first-place team in the Long class ― TRITON-POWERUP Adventure Team said, "There was a wish to be done before evening,” the added with a laugh, “in time for a bath". The reality is there is a lot of team work requiring the full dedication of each athlete. It was very hard: two members of team got sick before the start, plus they didn’t take enough food and clothing.

According to the words of captain Ilya Strogonov, “everything was good, very beautiful, and in style of Vitaly Chegarovsky.”

Photo by Andrey Chepakin

Muhammad from Red Fox Asia Team also shared his impressions of the race. In spite of the fact that they had to withdraw because of Muhammad injured his knee during one of stages, racers were very glad to compete in the Red Fox Adventure Race.

"Thanks to organizers for such an exciting event! It encourages the sports spirit in every participant. The place of the competition is ideal. In Kyrgyzstan we got used to our mountains, always the same landscape. But here the forests, rocks, all are green ― very different. We rowed on the kayak and examined everything around. Very beautiful! I am glad to join in the Red Fox Adventure Race, it is a big step in my sports life".

Photo by Leonid Zhukov

Karsu team from Finland pointed out the excellent work of volunteers who hospitable and treated participants in the transition areas like family. In general athletes were very happy to be in the race.

This year the obligatory route of the Short course was 130 km, but for those who arrived behind the winners they were only limited from completing the course by the overall time limit.

Photo by Andrey Chepakin

Maximum route of the Long course was 231 km: 70 km on kayaks, 145 km by bicycles plus trekking and rowing on mattresses. The real adventure resulted from 48 hours of "non-stop" moving!

Gazar Gazaryants of the “From the Screw” team competing in the Long class shared his perspective after the finish:

"You really struggle with yourself, trying to squeeze everything out of yourself that is possible, down to the last drop. A lot of things depend on your friends, your team. If the team is well knit and thinks only of how to break forward and to take one more check point because there are still three more minutes but it is possible to be in time, that’s great, that’s real happiness. And I’m crazy about this social component, the spirit of team collaboration."

We are sure that participants got the biggest thrill of the year and will remember the 2019 Red Fox Adventure Race as the most adventurous adventure of year!

Photo by Sergey Alexandrov

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the organization and execution of the 2019 Red Fox Adventure Race. It isn’t every year that everything is done to create the most extreme adventure race ever held in Russia.

A special thanks to first-time participants and the “regulars” who prepare for this holiday called the Red Fox Adventure Race from year to year! It’s an event that becomes a part of you, for people who can’t stay at home and believe life should be spent on adventure, not a couch.

Let's meet again next year!

Photo by Leonid Zhukov

Results:

Long 4 class
1. TRITON - POWERUP Adventure Team (St. Petersburg, Kaluga) ― Stroganov Ilya, Limonova Olga, Hromushkin Evgeny, Manzhay Igor ― 34:09:49, 163 points
1. Seiklushunt (Tartu, Viljandi, Varska, Tallinn) ― Anton Arvi, Tammemae Joosep, Linnus Sander, Tammemae Piibe ― 34:09:49, 163 points
3. Blizzard (Moscow, Vladimir, Zelenograd, Moscow) ― Yakimov Semyon, Yefimov Andrey, Dyuldin Ruslan, Zimina Natalya ― 35:44:45, 163 points

Long МW class
1. Gold Route (Moscow, Vladimir) ― Lavrinovich Artem, Sipina Anastasia ― 40:37:29, 163 points
2. I love Ladoga (St. Petersburg) ― Eduardov Alexander, Bessonova Yulia ― 42:00:11, 163 points
3. SN (Velikiye Luki) ― Orlova Natalya, Pavlov Alexander ― 44:41:12, 163 points

Long ММ class
1. SURR (Podolsk, Moscow) ― Batuyev Evgeny, Kurchakov Vyacheslav ― 34:46:33, 163 points
2. Zlatotsvetnik (Yaroslavl) ― Chepik Mikhail, Yakovlev Anton ― 35:37:24, 163 points
3. Ski bludn (St. Petersburg) ― Petrov Alexander, Ryabev Evgeny ― 36:06:51, 163 points

Short 4 class
1. Red Fox Adventure Team (St. Petersburg) ― Ivanov Evgeny, Levchenko Vladimir, Zarina Victoria, Bogdanov Dmitry ― 11:13:37, 120 points
2. Crowd (St. Petersburg) ― Ivanov Dmitry, Ivanova Ekaterina, Makov Alexey, Vishnyakov Sergey ― 24:00:27, 82 points
3. extreme-udm-ru (Izhevsk, Naberezhnye Chelny) ― 11:17:43, 48 points

Short МW class
1. Red Fox sprint (Pskov, St. Petersburg) ― Klepcha Igor, Galitarova Anastasia ― 11:25:31, 125 points
2. Red Fox Spb Team (St. Petersburg) ― Batulov Alexander, Batulova Evgenia ― 11:39:59, 113 points
3. Sabris (Moscow, Troitsk) ― Kolganov Evgeny, Abramova Natalya ― 11:50:18, 107 points

Short ММ class
1. Mipt-o-team (St. Petersburg) ― Ramazanov Alexander, Sokolov Denis ― 11:34:40, 110 points
2. Barrier (Dolgoprudny, Vilnius) ― Badanin Maxim, Kazeev Alexander ― 11:16:29, 105 points
3. ALPHA BITTSA (Kaluga, Moscow) ― Kuznetsov Ilya, Popov Pavel ― 11:11:37, 100 points