Endurance Quest Saimaa, live.

Five hundred kilometres around Lake Saimaa

Endurance Quest Saimaa is an expedition adventure race of 500 to 550 km for teams of four, based in Savonlinna on Lake Saimaa and held from 1 to 8 August 2027 as part of the Adventure Racing World Series.

Teams move by mountain bike, kayak and packraft, on foot and on ropes, with swimrun and coasteering sections along the lake shores, and navigate on orienteering maps. The organisers expect the winners to need 70 to 80 hours, and the course stays open for 106 hours. Endurance Quest has been organised since 2002, and in the organiser's words the race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series for the first time in 15 years.

The week has a clear rhythm. Registration opens in Savonlinna on Sunday 1 August and continues on Monday 2 August, which also brings the race briefing, the box hand-in, the flag parade and a prologue. Maps are handed out two hours before the start on the morning of Tuesday 3 August. The winning team is expected on Friday 6 August, and the course closes on Saturday 7 August.

Teams are four strong, and the field is limited to 30 teams. There are mixed teams with at least one woman and one man, men's teams and women's teams. The winners of the mixed category earn a free entry to the Adventure Racing World Series World Championship, and mixed teams also collect world series ranking points.

The entry fee covers the race bib, race merchandise, two sets of waterproof maps, race logistics and GPS tracking. A free bus leaves Helsinki Airport for the race headquarters at 13:00 on 1 August, and a return bus leaves Savonlinna at 09:00 on 8 August.

On Livebib, a participant can choose to share their own live position from the phone they carry, so people at home can follow along on the map. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from Endurance Quest.