Fifty teams from more than 30 countries will make their way to the Wyoming in 2017 when America hosts its first Adventure Racing World Championship.

For the past three years, Wyoming has been the only state in the U.S. for racers to qualify for the Adventure Racing World Championship through the Cameco Cowboy Tough. The 400-mile race is one of the contests that make up the Adventure Racing World Series.

The Cameco Cowboy Tough, in its current form, is a three and a half day competition, with canoeing, biking, hiking, repelling and more.  The race traces a route through Wyoming’s majestic Wind River mountain Range, as well as through 3 other National Forests; the Bighorn, Medicine Bow and Grand Teton.  The race finishes up in downtown Casper, WY.

“It’s a very big deal,” said Margo Harris, communications director for Rev3 Adventure, the race company tasked with organizing the event.  “Wyoming’s beautiful and unique landscape has challenged athletes competing in the Cowboy Tough race for the past three years,” said Gov. Matt Mead in a press release. “The 2017 Adventure Racing World Championship will allow us to showcase Wyoming and all it has to offer to a worldwide audience.”

The Adventure Racing World Series started in 2001, with this year’s world championship race being held in Australia.  In 2017, the Cowboy Tough race will be six days long and stretch out to over 500 miles.  “It means that a lot of people will learn a lot more about Wyoming than just Jackson Hole,” Harris said. “Wyoming’s amazing. We’ve been coming here for the past three years. Last year we started in Buffalo, and the racers hiked and navigated and boated and mountain biked all the way back using a map we provided.

“Sometimes they have to do little challenges. We usually like to throw in something historical about Wyoming. Last year, they had to pull a tag off of a calf at the rodeo. Wyoming has a lot of unique things you can’t find anywhere else, and we always want to highlight the history.”

“We will sort of do a highlight of all the places that the (Cowboy Tough) racers have been in the past.”

Harris said that the course for the 2017 world championship race is secret information. Planning for the new course is not yet completed, but Harris said the Tetons and the Wind River Canyon are possibilities.

If you’re going to the CCT in 2016, you should make your way to Wyoming this July 14th.  Registration for the race can be done at Active.com, and be sure to bring lots of stamina, grit, and a deep seated love for adventure.