April 1, 1995 (1995-04-01) – April 11, 2002 (2002-04-11)
Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race is a multi-day expedition length
adventure race in which teams of four (five in the early years) competed. It originally aired on TV from April 1995 to April 2002. Based closely on the Raid Gauloises adventure race, the broadcast of Eco-Challenge led to the popularity of the adventure racing.[1]
adventure race in Costa Rica, Burnett formed a team and competed in two Raid Gauloises events. Although his teams did poorly, Burnett decided to create a similar race in North America. When the race went international, Burnett purchased the rights from Fusil and set out to make the Eco-Challenge the world's premier adventure race.
The teams raced non-stop, 24 hours a day, over a rugged 300-mile (500 km) course, participating in such disciplines as
trekking, whitewater canoeing, horseback riding, sea kayaking, scuba diving, mountaineering, camel-back riding, and mountain biking. Teams originally consisted of five members, but the team size was reduced to four members early in the event's history.[4] A feature of the race is the mandatory mix of men and women for all participating teams.[5]
The first Eco-Challenge was held on April 25, 1995, in the Utah desert and was held each year in a new locale until 2002. Burnett recently noted that he did not intend to hold another Eco-Challenge, but had considered selling the rights to it.[6] In contrast, other expedition-length races, including Primal Quest and the Patagonian Expedition Race continue to be held.[7][8]
Multiple winners (through 2002)[9] include Ian Adamson (AUS / USA: 3x 1st, 2x 2nd, 1x 3rd & 4th), Mike Kloser (USA: 3x 1st, 1x 2nd), John Howard (NZL: 3x 1st, 1x 3rd), Keith Murray (NZL: 3x 1st, 1x 3rd), Neil Jones (NZL: 2x 1st, 1x 2nd), Nathan Faave (NZL: 2x 1st, 1x 2nd), Robert Nagle (IRL / USA: 2x 1st, 1x 3rd), Andrea Murray (NZL / USA: 2x 1st).
Television history
Each Eco-Challenge was broadcast on cable television. The 1995 Utah race was shown as a 45-minute feature, produced by and broadcast on