Professional Adventure Racing Backgrounds
Anna and Pasi spent years at the top of world adventure racing - the ultimate team sport across kayaking, running, biking and orienteering.
Adventure racing pits teams, generally three boys and one girl, against vast distances using only human power. The clock runs from start to finish, and failure for one is failure for all. Kayaking, running, biking and orienteering are the core disciplines, though a race may add horses or camels, abseils down cliffs and water-courses, hours of rope ascents or a jungle river in a native craft.
- Anna recognised among the top 10 female adventure racing athletes in the world (2002)
- Pasi: 5 X-Adventure World Cup stage wins as captain of Team Nokia Adventure
- Pasi won the 900km Raid Gauloises Himalayas in around 5 days
- Anna finished 10th of 80+ teams to complete Eco Challenge Fiji
The scale of the races
Some races run to around 1000km non-stop. Others cover just 300km of jungle terrain yet last even longer. Pasi's longest race was the Raid Gauloises Himalayas, which he won in around 5 days, while his longest time on a course was around 7 days, finishing the Raid Gauloises Vietnam with Anna. Anna's longest was Eco Challenge Fiji, a full 10 days on the course.
Anna's racing
Anna raced professionally for around 5 years after bursting onto the scene at the Raid Gauloises Himalayas in 2000.
- Major races: the Southern Traverse (with Ran Fiennes), Primal Quest, the X-Adventure series, Baja Traversia, the Bull of Africa and Raid Gauloises Vietnam
- Wins: first at the Red Bull Northern Exposure and first at the Adrenalin Rush, a European World Champs qualifier
- Eco Challenge Fiji: 10th, racing with The North Face
- Team Buff Endure: ran this all-female UK developmental squad, which often matched the mixed-sex teams
- Recognition: named among the top 10 female adventure racing athletes in the world in 2002
Pasi's racing
Pasi came to adventure racing after more than 40 scouting and wilderness skills championship races testing orienteering, navigation, first aid, rescue and practical wilderness skills. Between 1998 and 2004 he raced 13 X-Adventure Raid Series World Cup stages, winning five as captain of Team Nokia Adventure, one of the world's foremost teams, and captained the team to victory in the 900km Trans-Himalayan Raid Gauloises Himalayas in 2000.