Raid

The raid—also known as a multisport raid or adventure race—doesn’t just test your legs: it demands your mind, your sense of direction, and a teammate you can trust. Fun fact: The discipline is a 100% French invention. In 1987, journalist Gérard Fusil came up with a major outdoor event; two years later, the first Raid Gauloises was born, launched in New Zealand in 1989 🇳🇿. No easy, laid-back solo bib on the agenda: you move forward as a team, often self-sufficient, map in hand. Trail, run & bike, kayak, shooting, or zip line—each organizer builds their own menu, and that’s exactly what keeps two raids from ever looking the same 👀.

In a raid, not a single kilometer looks like the one before. You put down the canoe 🛶, jump on the bike, decipher a checkpoint hidden behind an embankment, then head back out on foot through the mud. The real challenge isn’t speed but versatility—managing your effort without knowing what the next stage will throw at you. As for your pack, there’s no messing around either: a headlamp 🔦, survival blanket, whistle, and water reserve are almost always on the mandatory gear list. The weather joins the equation too: Breton drizzle ☔️, desert heat, or undergrowth mud 🪵. Another hallmark of the discipline: gender mix. In the first major raids, five-person teams had to include at least one woman 👩—a principle that still runs through adventure racing. Don’t worry: most raids now offer both an introductory format and a sporty format 😊.

Want to take it on in France? In the Forest of Compiègne, the Aventuraid EDHEC is France’s first student multisport raid. It’s raced in pairs, mixing trail, mountain biking, kayak, and night orienteering—from the 60 km discovery course to the 120 km sporty format. Next, head to Cergy, where the Raid Essec EY lays out around a hundred kilometers over two days in the forests of Val-d'Oise. Brittany remains raid country: in Mené, the Fan Raid focuses on friendliness in mid-June, while the Raid des 2 Rivières charts its 28.5 km or 54.5 km between the lakes, ponds, and waterways of the Côtes-d'Armor 🚵. Internationally, set your sights on the sand! The Raid Courrier Sud takes you on a six-day journey starting from Marrakech, mixing running, mountain biking, and orienteering, with bivouacs under the stars.

So, ready to swap your Sunday asphalt for map and compass? 🧭 Choose your raid, find the pair partner who’ll go the distance, and go for it. And if running several days in a row whets your appetite, extend the adventure with multi-day races or team races 🥾.