The Two Rivers Adventure Race
Exploring the Pennsylvania Wilds in The Two Rivers Adventure Race
Press Release / 29.05.2021
The Two Rivers race is an event more than two years in the making. Abby Perkiss and Brent Freedland of Rootstock Racing originally conceived of the event as a celebration of Rootstock's fifth anniversary (in 2020). An additional year has passed since then, but this weekend, more than 200 racers will come together for a big adventure.
This year's event will take participants through a journey of Pennsylvania history - a mix of its industrial heritage and the vast green spaces that make up with PA Wilds. In north central Pennsylvania, the water courses are pristine, the trail networks are often developed out of a mix of indigenous communities' travel routes and old mining ghost towns, the ridges are rugged and technical, and the navigation is challenging. It's the perfect setting for an adventure race.
The field for the 2021 Two Rivers is deep, but perhaps less predictable than usual. There are a number of folks coming directly off Expedition Oregon, including members of GOALS ARA, No Complaints, Rootstock Racing, Strong Machine - Wicked Salty, the O-Stars, and WDQ - ExpecTeam. How they all stack up will likely depend on their recovery.
NYARA, Strong Machine, and Untamed New England are all positioned to do well in the mixed-3/4 division, and in the all-male category, an Peak Happiness, composed of Brian Mayer (from the 2011 USARA National Championship Team SOG) and Earl Blanchard, will be tough to beat. They were hoping to compete in the mixed division, but their third teammate ended up having to drop out.
This race also sees the overnight AR debut of the mixed-2 Virginia Endurance Racing Team, with professional triathlete and two-time FKT holder (Vermont's Long Trail and the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks) Alyssa Godesky and her top-level amateur Matt Cymanski. The two of them have been training hard and focusing on their navigation. We're excited to see where they fall in the mix.
These are all predictions for the 36-hour event. There is also a 15-hour race running alongside it, which will welcome many folks for whom this is their first adventure race.
Abby and Brent are also using the 2021 Two Rivers as an opportunity to hone our logistics with an eye towards our first multi-day event, the Endless Mountains Expedition Race, for which they are awaiting final permitting approval. If everything comes together, they hope to run that in the second half of June 2022.
SleepMonsters
