Happy Mutant St. George Adventure Race Begins Friday in Utah

GEORGE, UTAH — The first round of the Happy Mutant Adventure Race Series kicks off Friday, Jan. 15 with a 72-hour event that will take participating teams across the high desert plains and red mesas of southern Utah.

Part of the course at the 72-hour Happy Mutant St. George, which starts Friday, Jan 15 at 7 p.m. and runs through Monday, Jan. 18.

Starting Friday evening at 7 p.m. (Mountain Time) and continuing through the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 18, teams will travel non-stop more than 260 miles on foot and bike, exploring unique terrain found at the convergence of the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau and Great Basin. Racers who complete the full course will traverse the a section of the southern route of the Old Spanish Trail, pass by several battlefields from the Black Hawk War of the 1860s, walk by fossilized dinosaur footprints and ancient petroglyphs, navigate through the stunning mountains and valleys surrounding Zion National Park and ride the world-class singletrack of Gooseberry Mesa.

Happy Mutant Race Series Director Toby Evans said he was excited to bring adventure racing back to Utah, host of legendary races in the sport’s history, including the Eco-Challenge and Primal Quest.

Happy Mutant Race Series Director Toby Evans greets racers at check-in Friday morning in St. George, Utah.

“The vistas the racers will see throughout the race are mind-blowing and the course will demonstrate to our racers just how perfect this area is for adventure racing,” Evans said. “After seven years of planning this race series and getting it off the ground, we can’t wait to get it started here in beautiful southern Utah. To have this series actually live and breathe is a dream come true.”

While a flurry of snow greeted the racers as they completed race check-in Friday morning, forecasts call for sunny skies and temperatures between 50-60°F during the day and dipping into the high-30°F range at night.

Eight teams entered this year’s St. George race: NYARA, Journey, Unplugged Adventures, Off-Course Navigation, Desert Rats, Epic Adventure, 361° Adventure and Sasquatch and the Dude. Co-ed four-person teams will compete for $6,000.00 in cash, all other divisions will be eligible for product-based awards. All competing teams will be eligible to compete in the $10,000.00 HMARS Final in November 2016.

Follow the race at www.thehappymutant.com, at the The Happy Mutant Adventure Race Series page on Facebook, on Instagram at HMARSeries and on Twitter at @HMARSeries.