Crimean weaving vs. X-Crimea 2008

Next weekend (from October 3 to October 5, 2008) two adventure races (extreme marathons, if you like) will take place in Crimea. These are “Crimean Sotka” and “X-Crimea”. Hundreds of tourists will gather in the vicinity of the Angarsk Pass to run, walk, crawl a hundred or two kilometers in less than 3 days.

I don’t know for what reasons, but these two races are happening at the same time and many tourism fans are faced with a difficult choice - Where to go?

Let's try to compare these two events.

"X-Crimea" - claims to be the main Crimean extreme marathon. The competition is held in three classes (one more difficult than the other), the race is replete with technical stages. Participants move not only on foot, but also on bicycles, improvised watercraft, along ropes and steep rocks. Compliance with the rules is monitored by a small army of field judges on duty at control points and technical stages. Caring sponsors provide advertising products (for everyone) and prizes (only for the winners). The Control and Rescue Service of Crimea, as always, controls and rescues numerous participants (more than 500 people are expected). In general, the scale of what is happening is impressive.

"Crimean Sotka" is an event of a slightly different format. There are no prizes or sponsors. There are no composters at the control point and no field judges. There are no teeth-crushing technical obstacles. Groups simply follow the route and take photographs against the background of given objects as evidence. In general, everything looks more like a hike rather than orienteering. In particular, participants are required to sleep at night (and not run), carry a tent, sleeping bags and other bivouac equipment. In other marathons, many participants give up sleep, nutritious food and comfort in order to complete the distance as quickly as possible. As you can see, “Crimean Sotka” has other priorities.

This is what they are - Crimean marathons. If you feel ready for such tests, don’t hesitate, apply. Team registration ends in a few days. Read more about the conditions of participation on the racing websites: www.x-сrimea.com and crimea100.narod.ru