TECHNICAL INFORMATION

CategorIEs

ARWS: Mixed teams made up of four athletes, meaning there must be at least one boy and one girl on each team. No independent support is required, as the organizers will be responsible for transporting team equipment between transitions. Participating teams will have the opportunity to complete the full EG2026 course and will be eligible for official prizes.

If a team fails to make any of the cut-off times during the race, they will be moved to the Short Race. All teams will score points for the ARWS ranking.

*In the ARWS category, participation is also possible, outside of the ranking, for all-female teams of 4 or teams of 2.

AVENTURA (300k): Teams of 2 or 4 athletes, regardless of gender. No independent support is allowed, as the organizers will transport team equipment between transitions. Participating teams will have the option to run the EG2026 short course and will be eligible for the official prizes in this category. There will also be cut-off times to ensure all teams have the opportunity to reach the finish line. All mixed teams of 4 people in this category will score points for the ARWS ranking, behind the teams in the ARWS category.

LITE (100k): Teams of 2 or 4 athletes, regardless of gender. No independent support is allowed, as the organizers will transport team equipment between transitions. Participating teams will have the option to run the EG2026 short course and will be eligible for the prizes in this category.

DISCIPLINES

Expedición Guaraní is an adventure race that combines different sporting disciplines. Mountain biking, trekking, kayaking, and orienteering will be the main ones, and the teams will have to demonstrate their skills in all of them.

Orienteering

Orientation can be considered the main discipline of the race, as in all sections, teams will have to advance with the sole aid of a map and compass. Having at least one good navigator on the team can be key to achieving a good final result. Updated topographic maps at scales of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 will be used in the race, although other types of maps and/or scales may also be used in some sections or parts of the race.

Trekking
The trekking sections will be challenging. Teams will have to walk along trails, cross or navigate rivers, climb waterfalls, and even make their way through the forest.

Mountain Biking

Racers will encounter several mountain bike sections. The course will cover all types of terrain, and navigation will also be crucial in this discipline. Teams must carry certain spare equipment and must be able to use it properly in case of a breakdown.

Packrafting

There will be several packrafting sections, mainly on rivers and streams. This discipline will be a major focus this year. Athletes will need to be prepared to spend several hours in their packrafts.

Ropes

During the race, there will be a rope activity, such as abseiling, jumaring, zip-lining, or Tibetan bridges.

APPROXIMATE DISTANCES

arws

MTB: +-220km

TREKKING: +-105km

PACKRAFT: +-135km

aVENTURA

MTB: +-250km

TREKKING: +-35km

KAYAK: +-15km

LITE

MTB: +-70km

TREKKING: +-17km

KAYAK: +-12km

COURSE SKETCHES

ARWS

LITE

RULES

EXPEDICIÓN GUARANÍ 2026 is governed by ARWS rules.

MANDATORY EQUIPMENT

You can see the list of mandatory equipment that will be needed for EG2026.

Some items may be added once the route and disciplines of the race have been defined.

In this edition, teams in the ARWS category will need their own packrafts, and teams in the AVENTURA and LITE categories will need their own kayaks. These can be rented or purchased through Expedición Guaraní.

ARWS: Packrafts

AVENTURA: Kayaks

LITE: Kayaks

CARTOGRAphy

Maps and orthophotomaps will be used in EG2026.

Maps will be used at a scale of 1:25,000 (especially for trekking) and 1:50,000 (especially for mountain biking and kayaking), primarily in A3 and A4 sizes.

For the trekking stage, and to facilitate map reading, we will use orthophotomaps, as we did in previous years in EG and RG. These maps will be printed on high-quality, waterproof paper.

The maps will already have the location of the checkpoints (CPs) printed on them, indicated by a red circle. The exact location of the checkpoint will be defined by the center of the circle. Mandatory sections and prohibited areas or routes will also be shown.

The route book contains everything necessary to follow the route correctly. It will include information on mandatory rules and prohibitions during the race, which must be strictly followed. It will also contain additional information that can be very helpful for making progress.

Like the maps, the roadbook will be waterproof.

All teams will receive a set of maps and a roadbook.

RAce format

All checkpoints (CPs) and all transition zones (Ts) are mandatory. It is not possible to change activities or mark checkpoints in other sections without having passed through the corresponding T.

There will be several cut-off times along the course (defined in the RaceBook).

To complete the entire course, all Ts and CPs must be visited within the established timeframe.

Teams that skip a CP, either by choice or because they fail to make a cut-off, will remain in the race, although they will always be ranked behind the teams that have progressed furthest without any cut-offs or skipping any CPs and have reached the finish line. For ranking purposes, the CP or T number that the teams reached without interruption will be taken into account. Therefore, skipping a CP does not mean being eliminated from the race, but it will result in being ranked behind the teams that have progressed furthest along the established course and have also crossed the finish line.

Teams that fail to reach the finish line within the established timeframe will stop the race at their current location. They will have to return on their own or with the assistance of the organizers if necessary. Their position relative to the other teams that also failed to reach the finish line will be determined by the number of checkpoints (CPs) reached, or by reviewing the track if necessary. They will be ranked ahead of teams that interrupted the sequence of CPs or time checks (Ts) before them.

For a team to be included in the EG2026 ranking, they must have crossed the finish line or still be in the race at the closing time, regardless of whether they visited all the CPs. If a team decides to withdraw before the closing time, they will be considered not to have finished the race.

Therefore, the following criteria will be considered when compiling the ranking and determining team positions:

First, having crossed the finish line. In other words, everyone who crosses the finish line will be ranked higher than those who don't.
Second, the number of checkpoints visited consecutively from the start.
Third, the number of checkpoints visited consecutively from a single checkpoint that was not visited.
Fourth, race time. If the number of checkpoints reached consecutively is the same, the time taken to reach the finish line will be considered.
Fifth, still being in the race at the finish line cutoff time. Teams that haven't reached the finish line but are still in the race at the cutoff time will also be included in the ranking.

TIMING

All checkpoints (CPs) on the race route (except for any that may be virtual or staffed by race officials, in which case this will be indicated in the route book) will be validated using a camera. CPs must always be visited in ascending order, and the photograph must clearly show the exact location of the CP and the arrival of all team members. It is the responsibility of the teams to clearly demonstrate that all four members visited the correct location.

At some CPs, Expedición Guaraní signs with the corresponding CP number will be placed. These signs will have reflective stickers to make them easier to locate at night. At other CPs, participants will be asked to take a photo next to a characteristic feature of the location (building, sign, gate, etc.). To help participants identify the exact location to find and photograph, a book with images of these locations will be provided along with the maps. At each transition, teams must show race staff the photos of the checkpoints (CPs) visited in the previous stage. At the end of the race, they will be asked to bring their cameras to download all the photos.

The CPs will be checked by race volunteers at the end of each stage. This check is solely for the purpose of provisional classification and as a reference for the organizers. Race volunteers may warn each team of any errors in completing the CPs or of a lack of clarity in any photo*. However, the absence of a warning does not mean that the CPs were completed correctly.

At the end of the race, the technical director and/or race judges will review all the photos to validate the CP passes.

*After receiving a warning, teams may choose to revisit the CP that was missed or for which there is no evidence of having been visited (using the same means by which it should have been visited: on foot, by bike, or by kayak).

LOGiSTICs

Before the race, you will need to hand over some bags containing your race gear and food to the organizers, which you will see at the various transition areas.

In the next newsletter, we will inform you of the number of bags (not boxes) required.

Bike boxes will not