New York -- Fun? An adventure race that calls itself fun? Adventure races aren't supposed to be fun. They’re "grueling" and "exhausting." They offer "a true test of human endurance" where it is often "a challenge just to finish." But the organizers of a major new race to be held in the British Virgin Islands in December 2001 aren't afraid to label their race fun. They even want it to be entertaining.

"We don't want to be the most dangerous, death-defying expedition race," says Expedition BVI producer Russ Antonacci. "Having only the top ten teams finish does not make it a good race. But fun doesn't have to mean easy. That's why we're so glad Ian agreed to design the course. He is really approaching this from a racer's point of view, and he's gained a reputation for putting on great races."

"Ian" is race co-producer and course designer Ian Adamson, the veteran adventure racer and winner of the Eco-Challenge and the Southern Traverse who has designed dozens of courses, including the annual Mild Seven Outdoor Quest in China.

"I don't want to bore people, but I don't want to kill them either," Adamson adds.

The maiden voyage of the Virgins race launches December 8th, 2001, on one of the thirty-six islands, which comprise the British territory. Expedition BVI will feature 50 co-ed teams of four, racing for four and a half days, with the winning team taking home the lucrative first prize of $60,000(US). But unlike most races, where the money stops at third place, Expedition BVI will award cash prizes to the top ten teams.

It's more attractive to more teams to see the prize money go deeper rather than higher," admits Adamson, whose team Salomon Eco-Internet has taken home its share of prize money. "Generally, three or four teams have a shot at the top prize, but if the purse goes deeper, teams in the middle of the pack will really start to fight it out.”

Adamson confesses to being something of a water baby, so while competitors will certainly spend some time trekking on dry land, they can expect to spend a lot of time in, on or under the turquoise waters that locals call sailor's paradise.

"They'll be swimming, sea kayaking, scuba diving, and maybe we'll even throw in a bit of sailing," says Antonacci. But this is an Ian Adamson-designed course, so racers can expect a healthy dose of navigation.

"We'll definitely have some coastal orienteering," he says. "And open water navigation is always a challenge, with tidal charts and wind velocity to consider."

"I want to design a course I would enjoy as a racer," says Adamson. "Almost every race I've ever done has included a painful, boring hike, a 'death march.' This race won't have a death march. It's the perfect setting to change disciplines every six hours or so, so that on any given day teams may paddle, trek, bike or scuba."

You also won't see teams strung out days apart on the course.

"I don't want the typical adventure race finish, where the lead teams cross the line days ahead of the rest of the pack," says Antonacci. "We want everyone to have a chance at finishing, and want them to finish within hours of each other. I want everyone finishing, everyone rested, and everyone enjoying our big closing party."

Besides Antonacci and Adamson, Expedition BVI organizers include race director and ex-Navy SEAL Don Mann, the man behind the Beast of the East and business executive Joe DeSena, a rookie adventure racer and CEO of Burlington USA, the Wall Street firm underwriting the $125,000 purse for the race. It was DeSena who first came up with the idea of an expedition race in the British Virgin Islands and is now seeing his idea come to fruition.

Adamson is unlikely to reveal even a kilometer of the course until the very last minute, but he will make one promise.

"No fleece, no hats, no gloves needed."

Open team registration for Expedition BVI will begin July 30^th 2001. For more information on Expedition BVI, team registration, volunteer applications, sponsorship opportunities and more, please go to: www.expeditionbvi.com