Choosing One's Team and Teammates

So you want to become an adventure racer? Choose your teammates for their athletic ability -- the more diverse and polished their skills, the better -- but also for the intangibles. Most adventure races include kayaking, trekking, orienteering, mountain biking, rock climbing and trail running, but others include horseback riding, sky diving, snowshoeing and even skiing.

"There's no sense in being the fittest guy in the world if you can't read a map and you go the wrong way," says Howard, arguably the world's top adventure athlete. "You've got to have skills. You've got to be able to paddle without falling out of the boat. You've got to be able to mountain bike over rocks at high speeds, regardless of how strong or fit you are."

But also look for mental endurance and emotional stability under pressure and athletes who are good leaders - those who will constructively encourage teammates to forge ahead even when they are taxed well beyond their mental and physical limits. "At some point during an adventure race, each and every team member will be the strongest link and the weakest link of that team," said Australian Ian Adamson, 33, a world-record kayaker who has become one of the world's top adventure racers. "Keeping the team going depends on how well you can manage that, and a lot of that has to do with what kind of chemistry the team has in the first place."

Chemistry is that elusive trait you can't buy or artificially create. You've either got it or you don't. As athletes train together, they begin to understand each other's strengths, weaknesses and tendencies, Smith says. Learning and adapting from that knowledge can help nurture a team's chemistry and strengthen the bond between team members.

Suggested Selection Process

Teams should train for at least 2 days together in an isolated and difficult environment, avoiding all contact with the outside world. Leave the team alone with a minimum level of comfort.

After this first contact as a group:

• Have an individual debriefing session to judge if there were any personality conflicts or problems.
• Make everyone aware that no cliques will be formed within the team. This is one endeavor that is truly "all for one and one for all."
• Hold a team debriefing session
• Even one that is somewhat provocative that tries to establish if team spirit is really cemented among everyone and to make sure there are no dominating personalities.

Interestingly enough, a dominating personality in one group can be a team player in another. It isn't how the individual acts - it is all about how the group interacts as a unit.

Once the event starts it will be too late.

• The participants should be humble, rugged, at ease with themselves both physically and mentally:
• Do the best for themselves and for others
• Accept the weakness of others so as not to lose sight of the final goal--to finish together.

The final result should not be the priority.

From Kyle Petri, the author: Also I have attached an article that I put together for people to read about team selection. It is part mine, part others. I would give credit to the RAID Gauloises and the rest is a combination of stuff I have learned and what I have read. One of my primary resources and the best book on adventure racing in general is: Adventure Racing -- Guide To Survival by Derek Paterson.