2015 Expedition Africa Adventure Race Begins This Weekend!

One of the toughest adventure races in the world will get underway this weekend when 23 coed teams of four take to the starting line on Sunday to begin the 2015 edition of Expedition Africa. The race is the premiere AR event on the African continent, and a qualifier for the Adventure Racing World Championships to be held in Brazil this November.

As usual, Expedition Africa will be held in the remote and wild regions of Swaziland, a sovereign state found inside South Africa. This year's course will cover 450 km (280 miles) as the competitors run, ride, and paddle their way across the harsh, and unforgiving landscape. It is estimated that it will take the winning team approximately 72 hours of non-stop racing to reach the finish line, with the final teams taking as much as six days to complete the course.

There are 11 countries represented in this year's race, including teams from Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Israel, New Caledonia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. They'll be competing in a wide variety of disciplines that range from trekking and mountain biking, to climbing and white water rafting. As usual, navigation will play a key role as well. This year, the race has unfettered access to all regions within Swaziland, which means the racers can choose any route that they can find in order to reach Checkpoints and Transition Areas.

This year's field is a deep one, with talented teams from all over the world. Early favorites include Team Peak Performance from Sweden and home-town favorites Team Cyanosis and Merrell Adventure Addicts. Last year's winner – and eventual world champs – Team Seagate, aren't competing in Expedition Africa this year.

Once the race begins on Sunday you'll be ale to follow all the action at the Expedition Africa website, with news, race reports, and updates being posted regularly to ar.co.za as well.

Good luck to all the teams!