Glossary of Adventure Racing

If you have any suggestions of words to add to this glossary leave me a comment;

General Terms

Checkpoint (CP) - In adventure racing you race from CP to CP, a location you must visit along the course.
Transition Area - An area where you switch from one discipline (run, bike trek, other) to another.
Rogaine - A style of adventure racing where you visit as many CP's as possible in a time limit.
Expedition Course - An adventure racing course that starts in one location and ends in another, typically a longer (2+ days) race.
Sprint Race - A shorter (usually less than 24 hours) race that starts and ends in the same location.
Crewed (vs. Uncrewed) Race - A race where a support crew on non-racers provides food and assistance in designated parts of the course.

The Team Members

Mule - A typically strong racer who has the job of carrying the passport and usually extra gear from other racers.
Navigator - Carries the maps and is in charge of navigating through the course. In some teams navigation is shared among more than one team member.
Mandy - A usually affectionate nickname for the female team member, it is short for (mandatory) female team member.
Machine - A nickname given to a team-mate that never seems to tire.
Anchor - An injured, fatigued, or otherwise slow team-mate who is slowing the team pace.

Navigation Terms

Bearing - A straight-line direction, usually given as a number of degrees.
Handrail - A linear feature that you can follow towards a CP location.
Backstop - A linear feature like a road or river that backs up the CP location and prevents you from grossly overshooting the CP.
Overshoot - To go too far past the checkpoint and have to double back.

Racing Terms

Going Dark - To turn off all lights during night racing to keep from being seen by other racers.
Dark Zone - A section of a course that cannot be completed at night.
Bonked - A term for exhaustion of one racer.