Episode 146 - Into the Spine of Mexico — La Ruta Madre with Joel, Una and Zach

This is a special Course Reveal episode of The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast, recorded the week before the 2026 USARA Adventure Racing National Championships in Oregon. Race directors Jason Magness and Darren Steinbach of Bend Racing walk us through the 32-hour course they built in beautiful mountains of Oregon. Teams start high near Diamond Lake and drop fast through the North Umpqua River country, riding past a clifftop hot spring and trekking to waterfalls where the checkpoints can’t be reached without getting wet. Then the course turns uphill, into volcanic ridgelines, an old fire lookout, and a night climb of Mount Bailey, before a final paddle across Diamond Lake to the lodge. In this conversation, we explore: How a missing bus turned into a long, downhill opening ride The North Umpqua whitewater, and the first Nationals to require packrafts for four-person teams A points system that turns route choice into strategy Garwood and Mount Bailey, where the navigation gets serious and the race slows down Side challenges along the way, including a Mount Bailey FKT and a rope swing over a remote mountain lake

This is a special Course Reveal episode of The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast, released just as the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championships get underway in Corsica. Nancy Bahuaud of Raid in France joins us to walk through the course she and her husband Pascal built: 505 kilometers and twelve stages across an island often called the mountain in the sea. From the start in Corte to the finish on the northwest coast, teams will face nearly every discipline the sport has to offer, and terrain that will test the best in the world. In this conversation, we explore: How Raid in France thinks about building a race as a journey The river and sea sections, and why this dry year has everyone watching water levels The stage Nancy expects to be the hardest, and how long it may take even the fastest teams Why compulsory rest remains non-negotiable A prologue that brings the town of Corte into the race

Racing as Black Diamond NZ, Luke Jansen and Silas Jones of New Zealand traveled to Canada and became the first Junior Adventure Racing World Champions. In this episode, they recount a childhood of hut trips, orienteering before their teens, and cycling the vertical height of Everest for the fun of it. All of it compounded, quietly, into a team that could go around the world and come home champions. What comes through most is how much fun they're having. These are two friends who race hard and laugh the whole way through it, still finishing high school and already eyeing the next mission, the next film, the next start line. Youth is definitely not wasted on these young people, and as we like to say, the kids are alright. Shownotes: Instagram: Team: @Turbo.platypus.squadron.ss Luke: @luke_jansen101 Silas: @prodbysilas Chasing Seconds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW8fmwFFxnY Black Diamond - https://blackdiamondequipment.com/ Inspire Foundation - @inspire_foundation_nz AXICO Financial Advisers - @axicoadvisers Pure Sports Nutrition - https://www.puresportsnutrition.com/ Canterbury Sports Foundation - https://www.sportcanterbury.org.nz/funding/canterbury-sports-foundation-1

Rachel Nolan is back on the show FOUR YEARS (We can't believe it either!) after her first visit on Episode #35, and it's great to have her join us. In July 2026 she won PC12 in Colombia with Vidaraid, her first race with the team. Rachel and Brian also get into how she got there: solo bikepacking across the Atlas Mountains and the Pan Celtic, a training week built on hill repeats and packrafting off the west coast of Ireland, and a racing style she calls steady rather than fast. They also talk meat-free fueling in a meat-heavy country, sleeping (or not sleeping) through a five-day race, running her own tour company, and why she thinks waiting to feel ready is a mistake. Next stop for her is the world championship in Corsica. Shownotes: Rachel on TDZ #35 - https://ardarkzone.com/2022/06/27/the-dark-zone-35-rachel-nolan-irish-adventure-racer-bikepacking-champion-and-african-donkey-whisperer/ Jen Segger - https://jensegger.com/ Jill Mooney - https://barrultra.com/about-us/jill/ Northwave - https://www.northwave.com/en/bike/shoes Infinity Bike Seat - https://infinitybikeseat.com/ Albion Cycling - https://www.albioncycling.com/ Orbea Bikes - https://www.orbea.com/es-es Columbia Sportswear - https://www.columbia.com/ TransAtlanticWay - https://www.transatlanticway.com/ Montenegro Mountain Madness - https://www.montenegromountainmadness.com/ Super Jay - https://www.instagram.com/jay_jantaraboon/

Just days before the ARWS European Championship Montane Adventure Race, race director Lars Bukkehave sits down with TDZ to explain the 48-hour course that he built. Showcasing the beauty and challenge of Denmark, the race runs 19 stages including a sea cliff where you can still see the black clay layer left by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, underwater checkpoints, a Cold War nuclear bunker turned checkpoint, a vertical orienteering stage that sends racers climbing into the trees, and a maze set in a public park so spectators can watch. Lars also gets into what holds it all together: 70+ volunteers, and the bonfires, stick bread, and shared meals that turn 50 teams from 17 countries into a reunion before the gun even goes off. His 22-year career as an adventure racer, race director, and championship-winning teammate has led to this moment, and he looks forward to sharing it with the world. Shownotes: Race Social Media - https://www.facebook.com/MontaneAdventureRace Atlas Explorers Expeditions - https://www.atlas-explorers.com/