AROC has organised three 24 hour adventure races, starting in March 2005 with an event based in the heart of Canberra. In 24 hours you can cover some distance so the event was certainly not limited to just the city area with the course exploring the extensive network of surrounding bushland and urban parklands.

Canberra again hosted the 2006 AROC 24 hour event and this time explored the bushland and suburbs to the east and south of the city.

In 2007, AROC took the 24 hour event to Barlings Beach on the NSW South Coast and introduced some spectacular coasteering, trekking and paddling legs. This is also where the best single track in Australia was discovered, which later was formed into a race of it’s own: ‘The Angry Doctor Mountain Bike Enduro’.

The 24 hour races can be gruelling to say the least. They require a good level of fitness and navigational skill, but most importantly a high level of determination, because at some stage in the race, things won’t go to plan!  But perhaps the biggest challenge is how to deal with fatigue and tiredness, especially in the middle of the night when temperatures drop and enthusiasm wanes. These unique sporting challenges are best described in race reports written by the competitors, a few of which are presented below.

Race reports