THE ACT-BELONG-COMMIT AUGUSTA ADVENTURE FEST
SECTION HEADING
PASSING ON
THE ADVENTURE
11 YEARS OF MEMORIES AND COUNTING
THE ACT-BELONG-COMMIT AUGUSTA ADVENTURE FEST
BY ALI DEANE
When you think anniversary editions , it ’ s pretty hard to imagine the sheer number of experiences and stories that have occurred over the years , especially when you ’ re talking about the biggest adventure race in the world .
Over 3,000 racers were part of the 11th Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest ( formerly the Anaconda Adventure Race ) on the first weekend in November . Every single person who raced over those three challenging courses out of Hardy Inlet on WA ’ s southwestern coast , would have experienced the grit , the determination , and the pure fun of getting to the next leg , and the finish line , in a respectable time . The draining tide , the hill climbs , the unfamiliar terrain and the unknown - that ’ s what makes it an adventure .
Adventure racing in its early days encompassed days of navigation and exploration , putting your body and mind to the test , all while journeying across extremely challenging , long and isolated courses .
The Augusta Adventure Fest was the brainchild of well-known world champion adventure racer John Jacoby , who after years dominating the circuit , found himself at the helm of Adventure Event Management group Rapid Ascent , alongside Andrew Connolly and Brendon Grail .
The year was 2005 and Jacoby , Grail and Connolly were planning a large five day staged navigational based Adventure Race in the
Great Ocean Road region in Victoria . They had grand plans that this race would be BIG .
" We thought we ’ d put on a “ small ” race and that was how the Anaconda Race idea was born . We came up with a course in and around Lorne , and 900 people showed up to that first event .
“ We had no idea what we were doing , but it was a great course and an amazing environment and the competitors recognised this immediately ,” said John Jacoby , race director , Augusta Adventure Fest , Rapid Ascent .
Not long after the first race , an event on the Gold Coast was held and the following year at Dunsborough ( 2006 ). With South West Western Australia being such a magical place for an off-road experience , combined with its isolation and lack of events at the time , meant it was another instant success .
Jacoby obviously loves a challenge , and bemoans boring . You can ’ t keep this guy sitting in the office too long ! He recalls his passion to design and show off a quality course that is both hard , tough , technical and challenging without it being boring or too hard just for the sake of it .
“ I ’ ve always been a firm believer that good courses need an element of toughness and hardness but that can also include beauty , scenery and a feeling of really being immersed in the environment that surrounds you .
16 | MULTISPORT MAGAZINE