Over his nearly 20-year-long adventure racing career, Mr. Freedland has participated in around 130 races in many places, ranging from rural Asia to the hot African desert to the Alaskan backcountry.
Adventure races are wilderness-based triathlons in which teams of competitors run, bike and paddle for hundreds of miles in the wilderness. The amount of time a race takes can fluctuate drastically, with some lasting days.
“Most of the races I compete in are 24 hours or longer, and some of them are multiple days in length,” Mr. Freedland said.
In addition to the intense exercise taking place over a long period, participants must navigate the entire course using only a map and compass. This requires a high level of orienteering skill, as those who need help navigating themselves will struggle to finish the race.
To make the races even more challenging, participants often only sleep if the race surpasses a certain time length.
“We do not sleep unless the race is about three days or longer,” Mr. Freedland said.
Adventure races are about 100 miles long on average, but the distance doesn’t have as much effect as the terrain. A race done primarily on trails will be easier and take less time than a more difficult course with a more technical and challenging landscape.
Mr. Freedland’s races have taken place all over the globe, from a seven-day race in Alaska, where he and his team crossed a glacier, to spending six days in the Namibian desert.
“Spending six days racing in the desert was a unique challenge, but a beautiful one and a rewarding one,” Mr. Freedland said. “It was a pretty amazing experience.”
He has also raced through very isolated places, such as villages in the Indian Himalayas that are only accessible by foot. Some people who live in places he has visited do not even know about the United States or the Western world. This life away from modern society and electronics is also something he believes is beneficial to maintaining a healthy balance of priorities.
“You spend a lot of time kind of out in the natural world, unplugged from technology, and being able to spend that time reflecting on your life and your relationships helps keep a healthier perspective on life,” Mr. Freedland said.
Considering how difficult adventure racing is, teams must work together and have strong communication to not only complete the race but do it faster than other teams. Doing multiple races together can help the group to become mentally tougher, and the struggle of the race can be shared among the different members.
“I’ve learned a lot about resilience. I’ve learned a lot about problem-solving and being flexible and adaptable,” Mr. Freedland said. “It hurts quite a bit, but really it’s more of a mental game, and that’s the real challenge, is working within your own mind, but then also with three or four other teammates.”
With many different adventure races happening worldwide, there are numerous opportunities for people to get involved. For adventure racers, this means more opportunities to challenge themselves and compete with others.
“We’re one of the more experienced competitive teams in the US, so we compete at a pretty high level,” Mr. Freedland said. “And as long as I can continue to compete, it will remain a big part of my life.”