Patagonia Adventure Race Starts March 8
Elite adventure racing teams are preparing to compete in Patagonia's Tierra Indómita Vulcania running March 8-13. The multi-day, multi-discipline challenge features a "Ring of Fire" course across volcanic landscapes with international athletes competing in dramatic terrain.
This year's Tierra Indómita is the second qualifier of the 2026 Adventure Racing World Series season. The winning mixed team of four will secure a guaranteed spot at the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship in Corsica, France. The race is a grueling, unsupported expedition covering between 450 and 500 kilometers. Competitors must carry their own equipment and manage their own nutrition and sleep over several days of continuous racing through the demanding Patagonian wilderness. The course is broken down into approximately 320 km of mountain biking, 110 km of trekking, and 75 km of kayaking. Teams will navigate through ancient araucaria forests, paddle across clear rivers, and traverse vast volcanic ash fields, with potential glacier and alpine terrain sections. The event takes place in the Geoparque Kutralkura, a region dominated by the volcanic peaks of Lonquimay, Llaima, Sierra Nevada, and Sollipulli. Race Director Nelson Yañez Cortes, a veteran of over 120 races, has promised that teams will conquer the summit of one volcano during the race. Contending teams include Blizzard, Propanel Patagonia, and Remanso Valerio, alongside strong Chilean squads like Izan Invictus and Aysen. The race's history in the region dates back to 2022, when it hosted the South American adventure racing final. The "Ring of Fire" is a nearly 40,000-kilometer, horseshoe-shaped belt around the Pacific Ocean containing about 75% of the world's volcanoes and accounting for about 90% of its earthquakes. The section in the Chilean Andes is a highly active part of this geological feature.
