Rainier Raid

Rainier Raid Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Rainier Raid, Sports Event, Packwood, WA.

Thank you to for the boat sponsorship and free giveaway of their two person packraft!
06/08/2026

Thank you to for the boat sponsorship and free giveaway of their two person packraft!

Deep Fields and Heavy Hitters: Celebrating the Rainier Raid Overall PodiumA traditional regional adventure race always d...
06/07/2026

Deep Fields and Heavy Hitters: Celebrating the Rainier Raid Overall Podium

A traditional regional adventure race always draws an elite crowd, but what went down at the front of the field at this year's Rainier Raid was on a completely different level. The sheer depth of talent on the overall podium wasn't just impressive—it was world-class.

Let’s celebrate the powerhouse athletes who absolutely lit up the top of the leaderboard:

🏆 1st Place Overall Team Members
Max King: 100km World Champion & World Mountain Running Champion.

Chelsey Magness: 2022 24-Hour Solo MTB World Champion & elite global ARWS racer.

Daniel Staudigel: Yukon 1000 World Record Holder (shattered course record by 14 hours).

Dusty Caseria: 2023 USARA National Champion.

🥈 2nd Place Overall Team Members
Russel & Graham Henry: Legendary expedition kayakers (completed a 4,500-mile Amazon-to-Florida paddle).

Max Seigal: Elite multi-day endurance racer known for crushing high-mileage disciplines.

🥉 3rd Place Overall Team Members
Melissa Coombes: Former USARA National Champion.

Jason Gockel: Champion of Mexico’s grueling La Ruta Madre wilderness race.

Matthias Arnert: 5th Place at the Adventure Racing World Championship this past year.

The Ultimate Testing Ground 🤝
That is what makes the adventure racing community so incredibly unique. Where else in sports do "normal" regional elite racers, weekend warriors, and absolute beginners get to stand on the exact same start line, map out the exact same wilderness, and challenge themselves directly against the same course as world champions and world record holders? All with choices to pick your own route and strategies.

There are no stadium walls or separate divisions separating the field. Whether you are trading blows at the front for 19 hours or navigating through the night to make the final cutoff in 36 hours, the community treats every single racer with the same respect.

To everyone who stepped up to the line this weekend to measure themselves against a legendary course and a legendary field: congratulations. You shared the wild with the best to ever do it.

The Daylight Dividend: Why the Fast Get Faster 🏃‍♂️💨💨In adventure racing, a 1-hour lead at 4:00 PM can easily turn into ...
06/07/2026

The Daylight Dividend: Why the Fast Get Faster 🏃‍♂️💨💨

In adventure racing, a 1-hour lead at 4:00 PM can easily turn into a 3-hour lead by midnight. It’s not necessarily because the lead team started running faster—it’s because they beat the sun.

When you are racing the light, speed compounds:

The Daylight Advantage: Moving faster during the day means you clear the most technical terrain, thickest bushwhacking, and trickiest navigation while you can still actually see.

The Nighttime Tax: The moment the sun goes down, everything slows down. Finding a control point in a dense featureless forest becomes twice as hard. Route choice becomes more conservative. Footing becomes treacherous. Cold seeps in.

The Gap Widens: If a team is just 45 minutes behind you but hits that brutal, technical section right after dusk, their pace will plummet. While they are bogged down navigating by headlamp, the lead team is already miles ahead on an easier trekking or biking leg.

In a 24-hour race, seconds in the afternoon are worth minutes at night. Speed isn't just about fitness—it's your best navigation strategy.

Stay ahead of the dark.

This picture says a lot. Take early in the race we see team Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel standing together, poised on the edg...
06/07/2026

This picture says a lot. Take early in the race we see team Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel standing together, poised on the edge of a challenge. This photo is of a river crossing, but it really tells the story of a race. 4 world class adventure athletes - each one of them holding at least one (or more) "world champion", "national champion" or "world record holder" title. But here they stand together - committed to blending their strengths and weaknesses into a unit - like the old Robotech anime series - where the individual parts join to make a fearsome foe.

And what a fearsome foe it was. Taking command before the first CP and never letting go. In a race where less than 25% of the teams will reach the finish line with all of the control points in under 36 hours, this foursome managed to do it in 19 hours.

Their experience, speed, focus, and ability to work together was on full display this weekend and we are excited to be sending this team (or some version of it) to the National Championships in Oct.

This picture says a lot. Take early in the race we see team Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel standing together, poised on the ed...
06/07/2026

This picture says a lot. Take early in the race we see team Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel standing together, poised on the edge of a challenge. This photo is of a river crossing, but it really tells the story of a race. 4 world class adventure athletes - each one of them holding at least one (or more) "world champion", "national champion" or "world record holder" title. But here they stand together - committed to blending their strengths and weaknesses into a unit - like the old Robotech anime series - where the individual parts join to make a fearsome foe.

And what a fearsome foe it was. Taking command before the first CP and never letting go. In a race where less than 25% of the teams will reach the finish line with all of the control points in under 36 hours, this foursome managed to do it in 19 hours.

Their experience, speed, focus, and ability to work together was on full display this weekend and we are excited to be sending this team (or some version of it) to the National Championships in Oct.

Solo at the Rainier Raid: A Different Kind of Beast. When we say the Rainier Raid is a 36-hour race, we aren’t just talk...
06/07/2026

Solo at the Rainier Raid: A Different Kind of Beast.

When we say the Rainier Raid is a 36-hour race, we aren’t just talking about a longer clock. We’re talking about 36 hours of survival, speed, and smarts in some the the more spectacular and unforgiving terrain in North America.

Most 24- to 30-hour races give you a safety net. We don't. (Well we do a little, bit it certainly does not feel that way out there!). The Rainier Raid is big, brutal, and deeply remote. We’re talking:

Punishing, technical terrain that tests your ankles, your sanity, and your resolve.

Hard, unforgiving navigation where one bad bearing sets you back hours.

Glacial whitewater and heavy river crossings that demand absolute respect.

Whitewater paddling, technical canyoneering, and steep terrain that never ends - it just changes from up to down - and the down is even harder off trail!

Going at this as a team is hard enough. Going solo? It takes a rare breed.

#9 Alex Springer is on the cusp of becoming our first (and maybe only) solo finisher this year. He spent all night alone on the most remote part of the course, and is so close to the finish now.

Because of the sheer intensity and isolation of this course, we strictly limit the number of solo racers we let on the start line. We have to. If you want a spot, you have to prove you have the backcountry resume, the navigation chops, and the mental armor to survive 36 hours alone in the Pacific Northwest wild.

Are you ready to rely entirely on yourself? Maybe we'll see you next year...

It's official (well almost!)...we have our top 3 teams across the finish line! Bend Racing takes the top spot. Boys Gon...
06/07/2026

It's official (well almost!)...we have our top 3 teams across the finish line! Bend Racing takes the top spot. Boys Gone Wild followed in 2nd and Team 4 Hour Fuel in 3rd. Still lots of racing happening out there, and many of the chase teams spent the night in some higher altitiude and steep terrain so we'll be expecting their speed to pick up a bit with light and warmth. 10 hours left to reach the finish!

What the heck!?!? Who gets to have a technical canyoneering section in the middle of their adventure race, WITH natural ...
06/07/2026

What the heck!?!? Who gets to have a technical canyoneering section in the middle of their adventure race, WITH natural slides?? Only a select few lucky events get to have such a cool highlight. Everyone who got the chance to experience this years canyon section will, no doubt, be talking about it for a while.

arworldseries
arwsnorthamerica
Adventure Racing World Series - North America Region
usadventureracing
bendracing Bend Racing

Just in case racers needed more of a warmup to get them in their maps before the big Packwood lake trek there were sever...
06/07/2026

Just in case racers needed more of a warmup to get them in their maps before the big Packwood lake trek there were several small treks sprinkled across the big mountain biking stage. It’s always nice to get out of the saddle and explore such beautiful and vibrant terrain.

arwsnorthamerica
Adventure Racing World Series - North America Region
usadventureracing
bendracing

06/07/2026

It has been a full day of racing! Hard to believe only 17 hours ago we were at the start line in Packwood, but here we are looking back on how far we’ve come and has far we have to go. The winners will finish in the middle of the night, but for the majority of the racers the sun will rise tomorrow as they traverse ridge lines and bike back down towards town.

packwoodbrewingco
arwsnorthamerica
ARWS - Adventure Racing World Series
Adventure Racing World Series - North America Region

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Packwood, WA
98361

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