Updates
Team Captains Updates
We will post here any organiser updates and answers to questions submitted to us by Team Captains that we think need to be shared by all. Please: only Team Captains should submit questions (by email).
2026 Updates
28/5/2026
Digital Camera
There will be some CPs that are designed in the routebook as ‘photo CP’. There will not be a SI Dibber Box in these locations. Instead we will need you to take a photo of the specified feature – three (quads) or one (pairs) of your team need to also be in the photo, with obviously the remaining person being the photographer.
At the end of the stage you’ll be asked to show your photos to the Transition Marshals to prove you’ve visited these Photo CPs.
We suggest, if possible you carry a back-up option in case of malfunction. This does happen – see the recent AWRS race in Brazil for an example!.
Bike Hire
Bike Hire will be available It’s being managed by Cycle Experience. Please book direct from here: https://www.cyclex.co.uk/events
Race Bibs
You will pick up your Bib Set at registration as normal. We will require a deposit – please bring £10 per bib in cash to registration (i.e. £50 for Quads or £30 for Pairs – don’t forget the Captain gets both a black and white bib at ITERA). We will refund this at the Finish Line when you hand back the complete bib set.
Rights of Way + Maps
The are loads of Rights of Way in England, but the rules about them are complex. Some can be used on foot only, some can be used on both foot and bike. ITERA will generally not have special permissions (and where they do exist we will make it clear on the event maps), and therefore you can only use the Rights of Way as they are described.
For reference (and particularly for international teams), we will be mostly using the excellent UK Ordnance Survey mapping.
Map Legend 1:50000: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/documents/product-support/support/50k-raster-legend.pdf
Map Legend 1:25000: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/assets/doc/Explorer-25k-Legend-en.pdf
13/3/2026
Kit Lists
We currently intend to only require the equipment on the standard ARWS equipment list (v1.8 Jan 2025). If this changes we will let you know as quickly as we can.
We do NOT currently need you to bring ropework kit (helmet, harness etc.), but this may change as course planning develops. Please keep your eyes on the ‘Updates’ tab of the website, and we will let you know as early as possible if this does change.
In general – lots of outdoor equipment has a manufacturer defined and specific obsolescence. This varies across equipment type and manufacturer, and is for a variety of reasons (e.g. PFD’s lose their flotation over time). Here’s a resource that gives guidance (but please note it’s nearly 10 years old and things may have changed – check with your specific manufacturer/product).
Skills
Please do come with some skills – in particular in relation to kayaking. We noticed at ITERA last year that not everyone had the required skills, and this did cause issues. Do not just assume ‘it will be OK’. Seriously: go and get some sessions in, and do a qualification. You will be safer, will have a better time, and we can push the adventure a bit more. Please.
These will not be token short paddle stages – expect extended time in the boat. You should expect to encounter exposed and open sea (in up to Force 4/Force 5 wind and waves, and mild-medium tidal conditions), freshwater lakes and rivers (potentially up to Class 2 for short sections).
We require at least one person in each boat to have a suitable qualification – most likely around the old BCU 3* or current ‘Explore’ level or international equivalent. This is a MUST HAVE. Exceptionally we may consider significant experience as an alternative (at our discretion). We reserve the right to conduct a skills test before the race start if we deem it necessary.
Stuff below this point was written for previous ITERA races, but may still have some relevance…
Update 4th August 2025
A few Q & A’s that came up from the release of the schematic at the end of last week are below.
a) Do we have to carry our paddle bag ever while paddling, or will you transport that between TAs while we’re paddling?
You will be required to carry your paddle bag and wet bag on kayaking sections unless you are instructed otherwise.
b) Will there be cut-offs to arrive at TAs and when will we find out what those are?
Yes, there will be cut offs. All will be revealed at the Briefing!.
Update 1st July 2025
- Buoyancy Aids, Paddles, Backrests: you need to supply these (we will not be supplying anything other than the kayaks). BA’s will be spot checked at registration for buoyancy – we had a surprising amount of failures at a previous event. Old BA’s lose their buoyancy over time.
- Maps: we will supply each team with two map sets. These are printed on waterproof paper, though you may want to provide additional protection for them (e.g. map bags).
- Bike Lights: Bike Lights must be a minimum of 50 Lumens Front (white) and Rear (red) (though seriously: you need more than this at the front).
- Skills: Kayaking: Please see the FAQ tab on the ITERA website;.
Please do not come to the event with little or no paddling experience. You won’t be safe, and you won’t have a good time.
MTB: we’re not using super-gnarly trails for the race. It will be a mix of quiet roads, land-rover tracks, quad tracks, and singletrack. If you’re capable of riding ‘red’ grade trail centre stuff, you’ll be fine.
ITERA2024 Updates (also apply to ITERA-LITE 2026)
Text below related to the ITERA2024 race, however it may have some relevance for ITERA2026 as background info, or give a feel for how we are likely to approach the event in 2026.
Cut Offs and Optional/Mandatory CPs
There will be cut off times at various parts of the course. These will be detailed in the Race Book you receive alongside the race maps at the briefing. We do not expect all teams to complete the full course within the cut off times (typically, this is less than 50%, and we refer to these teams as ‘Long Course’). ITERA is a bit unusual – most CPs are optional (though teams wishing to be ranked as Long Course must visit them all). As a team you can choose your own course to a great degree in order to (a) avoid the cut offs, (b) customise your experience) by missing as many of the optional CPs as you want. Missing optional CPs’ will carry a time penalty (detailed in the Trace Book) which will be added to your finish time for the results.
As a team you will need to make some early decisions about whether you are a Long Course or Short Course team.
Teams will be ranked in the following order;
- Full Course Teams (all CPs) by finish time order
- Short Course Teams (some CP’s missed) by time calculated as finish time + penalties
- Unranked teams
The equipment on this list is mandatory for ITERA, along with the additional local requirements (minimum standards for bike lights) – the additional requirement for a group shelter/bothy bag is now a requirement of the standard kit list.
There are a few important event-specific notes/exceptions to this;
a) Bike Lights must be a minimum of 50 Lumens Front (white) and Rear (red)
b) The event is NOT providing bags or boxes – you must bring all of these (Bag A, Bag B, Team Bag, Paddle Bag, Wet Bag, Bike Boxes) yourself. These must be under the specified weights (these will be checked and bags will be rejected if overweight). Bags and Bike Boxes MUST NOT have bungy cords or similar.
c) The event rules for bags/boxes take precedence (as is allowed for on the ARWS equipment list) – these are clearly described on the website and have not changed – please see the ‘Bags and Boxes’ sub-menu on the ‘Updates’ page.
A few good questions came up at the online Q&A session on 14/12/23. A summary of the answers is below.
Q – Are there any restrictions on packing bicycles, such as size and material?
A – There is a standard max size of box that bikes must fit in. Details are elsewhere on the website (see ‘Bags and Boxes’ section of the ‘Updates’ page).
Q – What kayaking gear do you provide or available to rent?
A – We are only providing kayaks (2-person Sit On Top type). Teams will need to bring paddles, PFD’s, backrests etc.
Q – Can you recommend what level of experience we need for the kayak?
A – see the ‘FAQ’s’ page of the website
Q – Is a split paddle necessary?
A – No, fixed shaft paddles are OK, but see the notes around kit being in bags etc.
Q – Has it got to be a mixed team of 4?. What navigation skills are required?
A – You could race as a same gender team but will not be ranked in the Adventure Race World Series ranking system. Nav – can you navigate on the mountain in the dark using paper maps and compass?
Q – Food & water – how does this work in practice? I presume we carry sufficient food & water for a stage(s) and resupply at a transition?
A – Correct. You can pack food into your transition bags for restocking yourself. Don’t rely on passing shops, cafe’s etc.
Q – is sleeping at a TA allowed?
A – Generally yes, we will allocate space outside the TA for this where possible. You will not be allowed to sleep inside the physical TA building though,
Questions that came up in previous editions, but still relevant in 2024/2025;
Do we really need to take a digital camera. Can’t we just use a smartphone?
You need to have a ‘dumb’ camera. This is to prove location in the event of a CP being missing, or you think it is missing. Take a picture. Your smartphone will have GPS/mapping/navigational ability and is therefore not allowed to be used during the race. You are required to carry a phone for emergency purposes, but this will be sealed into a bag at registration and not accessible to you unless in an emergency.
Schematic: We plan to send you a course schematic around 1 week before the race start. This is intended to help you plan your logistics and bag/box packing.
Maps: we plan to print these on waterproof paper. These will generally be A3. We strongly advise you still think about providing a second waterproof/protective layer (e.g. Fablon, Map Bags etc.) as your maps will get some abuse and are critical to your safety and success. The map sets (2 per team) will be issued at the course reveal. Race maps will be mainly UK Ordnance Survey based and will be at 1:50000 and 1:25000 scales.
PFDs for kayaking sections are not supplied by the organisers – you need to bring your own. These must have a buoyancy of 50kN as a minimum. We may test these at sign-on. The foam inside PFDs degrades over time – you’d be amazed at how many fail the test.
Paddles for kayaking sections are not supplied by the organisers – you need to bring your own, and they must be transported in the team Paddle Bag.
Backrests for kayaks are not supplied by the organisers. Please feel free to bring your own, but fitting/removing at each TA will be your responsibility, and will be in race time.
We strongly recommend you bring a tent big enough to accommodate all team members, and sleeping bags. At the very least you are going to need this to sleep somewhere on the course/at a TA, and you might take these with you on some stages.
Updated 13th March 2026
ITERA and ITERA-lite are ‘unsupported’ races – i.e. teams do not have their own support vehicle/person. Instead, the race organisers move racers’ kit around the course. Each team is entitled to the following;
Individual Bags: Max weight 25kg. These should be robust and waterproof enough to be safely left outside even if it’s raining.
‘A’ and ‘B’ Personal Bags
Teams of 4 (Quads): Instead of all 4 x Individual Bags (+ Team Bag), we require teams to have 2 x Bag A and 2 x Bag B (+Team Bag).
Teams of 2 (Pairs): Instead of all 2 x Individual Bags (+ Team Bag), we require teams to have 1 x Bag A and 1 x Bag B (+Team Bag).
You really shouldn’t need anything like this amount of capacity for a 2-day race – please try and pack what you need, not everything you own.
Not all bags will go to all TA’s. There will be TA’s that are designated as ‘A Bags’ and some that are designated ‘B Bags’. Similarly Team Bags will go to selected TA’s. This will be identified on the Schematic (released c. 10 days pre-race). It is critical that you build this into your planning. In effect this is likely to mean that you share space in bags rather than them being strictly individual.
1 x Team Bag per team. Max weight 25kg. These should be robust and waterproof enough to be safely left outside even if it’s raining. These are generally used by teams for stuff like tents, sleeping bags, spare kit etc.
1 x Wet Bag per team. Max weight 25kg. This is used for stuff like PFD’s, paddles, back-rests and any other kit you might want on paddling sections. All Items should be inside the bag. Protruding items make them difficult to handle and load.
1 x Paddle Bag per team. Only paddles allowed in here. No loose paddles will be moved by event logistics team.
1 x Bike Box per person. Max weight 28kg. Max. dimensions 140cm long x 30cm wide x 80cm high. Many teams will make their boxes from Correx or similar – there are instructions and templates online.
We will also have a stock of cardboard bike boxes we can bring to the race for you if you need them – these will be £20each, must be booked in advance (Team Captains email us – [email protected]) and will arrive flat-pack at Race HQ. You’ll need tape (e.g. gaffa tape) and any waterproof covering you might need to complete them. Please avoid “shrinkwrap” . Great for pallets, lousy for bike boxes. You will also need CAM type straps to close them.
We will check weights. Yes, we are the Ryan Air of the AR world 😉 (this is to ensure we’re not asking our volunteers to lift anything stupidly heavy – it’s a H&S thing). As a general rule everything must be inside any bag or box, nothing should be on the outside.
NO BUNGY CORDS or similar on any bags or boxes – these are a nasty hazard to our volunteers.
Updated 14th December 2023
Kayaking: Please see the FAQ tab.
Please do not come to the event with little or no paddling experience. You won’t be safe, and you won’t have a good time.
MTB: we’re not using super-gnarly trails for the race. It will be a mix of quiet roads, land-rover tracks, quad tracks, and singletrack. If you’re capable of riding ‘red’ grade trail centre stuff, you’ll be fine.
Ropes: we are planning a couple of trouser filler special stages. These may involve ropes. You should be able to put a climbing harness on properly, and know how to use a belay and abseil device. These skills are easy to acquire – we suggest you spend a day or two at a local climbing wall, or look for a local climbing group/club.
The Event HQ is: Slapton Ley Field Studies Centre, nr. Kingsbridge, South Devon, TQ7 2QP
If there are further questions or clarifications needed, Team Captains (and only Captains please or we will get overwhelmed), please fire them into us at [email protected].
We will probably do a round-up of these Q &A’s and send them back out to Team Captains so that everyone has the information and visibility.