Nordic Adventure Challenge Silkeborg 2026

As tradition dictates, Silkeborg Orienteering Club welcomes you to an adventure race in the fantastic nature of the Søhøjlandet region.
The race has existed for over 20 years and is the largest in Denmark in terms of both participants and volunteers.

The race starts from Silkeborg Orienteering Club, right in the heart of lush green nature. Participants must find checkpoints and solve tasks on land, on water, and in the air, both in urban areas and forests.

Great care has been put into creating experiences and challenges. There are familiar elements and completely new ideas. Silkeborg will be buzzing with life and outdoor activities, as the same weekend also hosts the Danish Championship in gravel, a trail cup, and an MTB league race — a big outdoor celebration in our beautiful natural surroundings.

As in recent years, we aim to create a lively finish area by ensuring many participants finish within the same time frame. This creates a fantastic atmosphere where people chat with old friends and share stories from the day’s adventures.

The race offers three different distances:

Master for experienced adventure racers who want maximum time in the forest.
Challenge for those who have tried adventure racing before or want a physical challenge beyond the ordinary.
Fighter for beginners, lightly experienced participants, or those who just want a fun and active day. If you can run 5 km and cycle 20 km, you can easily participate in the Fighter distance.

All distances guarantee smiles, sweat, great nature experiences, adventure, teamwork — and, of course, delicious food at the finish.

Master and Challenge are designed so that everyone finishes at roughly the same time. Therefore, tactics and speed will determine how much of the course you complete. However, all teams will pass the most important challenges.

The Danish Armed Forces Championship runs alongside the regular competition on the Fighter and Challenge distances. Note that registration for the Armed Forces category is separate — please read the information on the website before signing up. www.nacs.dk

Read more about the different distances below:

Master

Team size: 3 people
Winning time: 10 hours
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Disciplines: Orienteering, MTB orienteering, team challenges, rope challenge, canoeing, and possibly a surprise
Start: 08:00 – Finish closes: 18:00

Challenge / U21

Team size: 3 people
Winning time: 7 hours
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Disciplines: Orienteering, MTB orienteering, team challenges, rope challenge, canoeing, and possibly a surprise
Start: 09:00 – Finish closes: 16:00

Fighter

Team size: 2–3 people
Winning time: 3.5–4 hours
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Disciplines: Orienteering, MTB orienteering, team challenges, rope challenge, water activity, and possibly a surprise
Start: 11:00 – Finish closes: 18:00

New to the sport?

If you’ve never tried adventure racing before, don’t be intimidated. Teams go at their own pace, and there is room for everyone in the Fighter category.

For Challenge, a solid fitness level is recommended, and navigation skills are important.
Master is for experienced adventure racers.

The race is part of the DARU Cup, which can be found at the Dansk Adventure Race Union.

DARU License

Personal license: Everyone participating in the Challenge category in a DARU Cup race must have a personal license.

The license is valid for one year and applies to all DARU Cup races. This means that once you have obtained a license, it is valid for the rest of the season.
You will automatically be assigned a license when you register.

The license fee goes toward developing the sport – see DARU's vision

Download: DARU vision