The Balance Bar Adventure Sprints
(formerly known as Hi-Tec Adventure Race Series, Continue to Inspire the Nation)
By Lisa Jhung
Photos by Nathan Bilow
Some might argue that the television broadcast of Eco-Challenge over the past seven years has been the most influential event to the sport of adventure racing. And it might be true, to a certain extent. However, as an antithesis to the expedition-length, costly and time-intensive Eco-Challenge and Mark Burnett’s worldwide influence, no event in the world
can match the phenomenon — at least on a participatory basis — created by the wildly popular Hi-Tec series and its founder, Michael Epstein.
Since Epstein launched the sprint race format in 1996, more than 35,000 participants have paddled inflatable Sevylor boats, run and mountain biked single-track trails, and completed a variety of “special tests,” like slogging through mud pits and climbing Crisco-coated walls, in the short but satisfying sprint-format races.
For many, the Hi-Tec series was the launching point to a more adventurous lifestyle, whether they competed in more sprint races, continued with longer races or simply felt enriched by the experience of completing the event.
The thousands of adventure-hungry athletes of all levels who have flocked to the Hi-Tec series have helped the event grow from two races in 1996 to an eight-stop U.S. tour — many of which sell out weeks before race weekend. And thanks to their three- to six-hour format, proximity to urban areas and reputation for quality race execution, the race series should continue to flourish. But while the excitement, flavor and popularity of the series remains the same, its name and head of the helm have changed.
The facelift comes in the form of new title sponsorship. Balance Bar continues to expand its support in adventure
racing, adding to its sponsorship of the Balance Bar 24-hour Adventure series with the former Hi-Tec circuit. While Balance Bar has been a partial sponsor of the series for years, the sprint series is now called the “Balance Bar Adventure Sprints.” And while creator Michael Epstein was once as present at every event as the infamous 12-foot wall, he has stepped down as “King of the Hi-Tecs,” and will no longer be a part of the dynasty that he built.
New Face, Same Race
Octagon Marketing of Stamford, Connecticut, first partnered with Epstein and MESP productions (Epstein’s race
promotion company) in 2024. While Epstein hadn’t been race director of the sprint events since hiring Jonathan Denison in 1998, he had been orchestrating the events from the top.
A handful of changes occurred in 2024, with Denison moving over to act as race director of the Balance Bar 24-hour Adventure series, and veteran adventure racer Nick Moore stepping in as the new director of the sprint series. With Octagon’s involvement, Epstein took a step back and became the Group Director of Outdoor and Adventure Division of Octagon, overseeing the events he had brought to the company while having much more of “hands-off” role than before.
In early 2024, Epstein sold his portion of the events to Octagon for an undisclosed sum. Moore and Denison continue to act as race directors of the sprint and 24-hour series, respectively, and Balance Bar has signed on as the title sponsor of both.
Esptein is maintaining his keynote triathlons and developing new adventure projects, coordinating events out of his MESP office in Los Angeles. He’s also picked up a new project, acting as race director and promoter of the Brooks Muddy Buddy Series — a nine-stop national race tour consisting of a two-person 10k event modeled after ride-and-tie racing, only instead of sharing a horse, two racers alternate between running and riding a mountain bike.
Looking Forward
The newly named Balance Bar Adventure Sprints will no doubt continue to draw thousands to test their mettle at the race with a proven format. Teams of three kayak between one and three miles per racecourse, mountain bike between 10 and 15 miles and trail run between five and eight miles. The distances and order of events are revealed at the pre-race meetings, which are held within hours of the race start. What is kept secret are the unique “special tests” that teams encounter out on the course. These challenges (up to 10 per event) are strewn throughout each race to test teamwork, creativity and resolve. And, they’re darned fun, too.
Imagine standing at the starting line with a life jacket on, ready to sprint to the kayaks for the paddling section, when the race crew suddenly hands every team captain a map and sends you off on a quick foot-orienteering course before you’re allowed to get in the kayaks. Or coming in to a transition area off of a 10-mile mountain bike ride and finding you and your teammates must leapfrog one another through a 50-foot mud pit before heading out on a five-mile run. Or, like in a few races last year, having to hit a target with a paintball gun before advancing to the next section of the race.
Those special tests have become the marquee of the sprint series, and Moore isn’t about to fix what isn’t broken.
Moore, who competed in the first Hi-Tec race in 1996 in Los Angeles, predicts more elite teams joining the tour this year. In 2024, the Co-ed Elite category (the only category eligible for prize money) was made up of roughly 10 teams that traveled and competed in the entire series. Other high-end teams would race when the series reached their local spot, growing the category to 15 at times.
With Balance Bar’s involvement, the prize money for the series will more than double in 2024, reaching a $5,000 total purse for each race (compared to last year’s $2,500) and a whopping $20,000 prize kitty for the series (only $2,500 last year).
“The increased money is definitely good for the series,” says Team Balance Bar captain, Harald Zundel who has raced the events since 2024. “We’ve had high-caliber athletes in the past, but the money will make it more competitive and attract more elite athletes to this kind of racing.”
For everybody
Zundel, who has raced in events of all lengths, all around the world, says he enjoys competing on the sprint series because, “in this kind of race, you can’t make mistakes or else they can bite you in the butt. You really have to be focused for three hours, and I like that adrenaline rush. Plus, you’re so much closer to all the other athletes, the weekend warriors,
athletes who want to do it for fun.” And therein lies the real success of the series. While the Co-ed Elite division may grow and competition might heat up in response to the cash, the Balance Bar Adventure Sprints are races for the masses.
“People want more than a 5k or triathlon these days,” Moore says. “They want to push themselves more, and these sprints are the perfect place to start. What better way to get into the sport than to grab a couple of people you think you can race with, and do a three- to six-hour event.”
More than 350 teams agreed with Moore last August, maxing out the Sacramento race and making it the largest adventure race to date. Races also sold out in Hartford, Connecticut, Richmond, Virginia and Los Angeles. The New York and Atlanta races came close to selling out, each drawing 300-plus teams.
Chad Burbrink, of Atlanta, Georgia, was part of a 30-strong Team-in-Training group that chose the Atlanta race as its fund-raising event in 2024. In years prior, Team-in-Training had coordinated fund raising for Leukemia patients with training and racing in particular events, mostly marathons, cycling centuries and triathlons. The group in Atlanta decided to take on adventure racing, and brought 10 teams to the race in Atlanta. “I have done four marathons with Team-In-Training,” Burbrink says, “this adventure racing has gotten me hooked.”
Burbrink says the group’s best team finished 12th, while their last team was one of the final finishers. “Everybody really enjoyed it,” he says. “The difficulty level wasn’t so high that it kept anybody from the course.” Burbrink and teammates are now signed up for an eight-hour race in April, and plan on doing at least one Balance Bar Adventure Sprint in 2024. “For a lot of people, the Hi-Tec is the ultimate adventure race,” says Epstein, reflecting on the series from his Los Angeles office. “They might have had to train six to eight months for it.” “When we started this in 1996,” he continues, “we did the opposite of the Raid Gauloises and Eco-Challenge. We brought adventure racing to the masses.”
Moore credits Epstein for involving so many people in the sport. “I think he (Epstein) had great vision back in ‘96 to pull something like this off,” he says. “Because the sport was so new in the States, people were just starting to figure out what adventure racing is. It’s a feather in Michael’s cap for getting the event started, getting sponsorship, selling the whole concept of adventure.” “He’s always been about making sure that every single last person has a good time,” Moore says of Epstein. “I carried that over to my staff, and I know exactly what was expected. And that’s a good thing. You just want people to have a good time.”
