An Appointment With šARm (The Šebrelje Adventure Race on Mute)

Press Release / 23.07.2020

Italian racer Marco Ponteri reports from a training event in Slovenia last month where he found small race camaraderie and a big race organisation.

... in March and April 2020 there was just indoor training and a lot of Kung fu on the terrace; the first of May at 00:00 I started again with a night run to celebrate the re-opening of outdoor training; and in June sport is again allowed out of our region... but I'd never expected to be able to race a real AR in another country in June 2020!

But it happened in Slovenia, with great satisfaction, thanks to The Pustolovec Rajd, and to Meta Dagarin and Robert Pobezin, with their šARm event.

Everything started in December 2019, meeting new friends on the final event of the TREK series (a mountain orienteering marathon series in Istria – Croatia). That’s where I met Barbara and Jure and they said;

“as the Pustolovec Rajd we organized an AR training in 2019 and we're going to repeat it next year.. “.

Those words came back to my mind at the end of the lockdown, so I asked them for information and incredibly ... yeah!  Race training was confirmed for June 22-23!!!

With my friends Alessio and Federico the Italian team is soon sorted out, and we immediately reserve a place.

Racing since 1997, I thought I'd seen everything in the AR world, but with šARm I discovered something new and unique: everything you'd expect from an official high-level Adventure Race, but with the friendliness and easy-going spirit of a group of old friends (even if you just met them!).

It was a well-planned course, that went through spectacular and unusual landscapes, enriched with local culture, history and untouched wilderness. There was 60 km of trek/trail running, 115km of mountain biking, a wonderful and refreshing canyoning section with fixed rope descents, and a section of ‘roller’: your pick between skate, inline skating or scooter for a total course of 180km.

The start was at 18.00 on Friday with two nights racing and a time limit of 40 hours. The maps (1:25.000) were precise and there was a GPS live tracking system, all checkpoints were photographic and the object to shoot was well described on the photographic road book.

A fun detail in particular was very original: a game between the teams, that had to exchange special "team cards", prepared by the organizers, every time they met others while racing.

At the base camp it was a non-stop party, and the teams that arrived earlier helped prepare the food for the next ones. And the entry fee for all this: food and wine from your own country!

The only critical point: for frying chicken do not use pure extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany! :-)

Now I am waiting for the next edition in 2021, or, after the demise of the AR Slovenia race in Velenje, for a new official AR in Slovenia

Thanks to the main organizers Meta Dagarin and Robert Probezin, and thanks and a big hug to everyone on the course. Pustolovec Rajd: an extraordinary adventure and great people!