One of the most interesting aspects of Adventure Racing, is the "adventure" part. Most of the details of a race course are a secret until immediately before the race begins. Racers will be provided basic information about the race prior to the race with rough estimates of the length of each race discipline, gear requirements, and general outline of the race duration. Beyond that, the order of the events, exact durations, course the racers will be travelling, and any special elements to the race will be secret.

There are two main elements to a race that will determine it's makeup: