Adventures in teamwork

At least that is the mission of American Adventure Sports, Crytzer's business, which is expanding its presence in Central Pennsylvania.

Whether you're a student whose idea of "roughing it" is forgetting your cell phone, an office worker who thinks "wildlife" means pigeons, or a veteran marathon runner looking for a different type of challenge, Crytzer has an adventure race or a training or educational program that will take you into the world of mud and bugs and push you beyond the limits that you perceive for yourself.

"We teach people to be independent in the wilderness," Crytzer said.

American Adventure Sports, based in Indiana County, has three basic offerings — adventure races, corporate training and environmental programs for youth. In partnership with Wildware Backcountry, a Harrisburg store for outdoor enthusiasts, American Adventure Sports is growing in the midstate.

Jay Eleuteri is manager at Wildware. On April 19, American Adventure Sports will offer two free seminars on adventure racing and adventure travel at Wildware.

"This looks like it's going to be a pretty great thing," Eleuteri said of his partnership with American Adventure. "Down the road, we're looking to boost the number of adventure races in Central Pennsylvania."

Right now, the major race of that type is the Capital City Adventure Challenge, held in September in Harrisburg.

One week after the April seminars in Harrisburg, American Adventure Sports will direct a race called the Yough Extreme in western Pennsylvania, and its stages give a good indication of what attracts adventure racers:

• More than 25 miles of mountain biking
• 20 miles of trekking/orienteering
• A 9-mile kayak on the Middle Youghiogheny River
• A 175-foot rappel off a railroad trestle and a river swim.

For adventure racer Bob Bergman of Lititz, that's a pleasant way to spend a Saturday. Bergman is a long-distance runner whose achievements include finishing the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run through the mountains of California. For a variety of reasons, he finds adventure races appealing.

"It's a whole different type of challenge," he said. "You have to work with somebody the whole time. You're always trying to help the weakest link."

Those statements highlight two distinct differences between events such as running races, even one as difficult as Western States, and adventure races. Running events are solo efforts. Adventure races are almost always team events, with teams normally ranging from two to five members. Adventure races also require more than one form of locomotion. Trail running, mountain biking and paddling are most common, but the sport places no restrictions on terrain, forms of locomotion or just about anything else.

The sport has a national governing organization, the United States Adventure Racing Association. A major sponsor of its championship series is Zanfel Laboratories, a company whose primary product is its Poison Ivy Wash.