UNTAMED NEW ENGLAND

More an adventure than a race

You may not be ready for us, but we're ready for you

Nearly 20 years ago, we started organizing a certain type of adventure.

There's always a wilderness and adventure ethos . . .

Respect for the environment . . .

We've worked with niche private groups or produced open-to-the-public events . . .

Often resulting in self-discovery and lots of fun . . .



Some of our races become unforgettable life experiences, but like most things in life, you get out of it what you invest into it.

  • Abenaki Pursuit edition

    In 2018, we organized the Untamed New England Expedition Race known as the Abenaki Pursuit edition. This was the sixth Untamed New England Expedition Race. Previously we've set:

    June 18-22, 2014: "100 Mile Wilderness" edition based from The Forks, ME
    June 19-24, 2012: "Western Maine Mountains" edition based from The Forks, ME
    Auguest 11-15, 2010: "Indian Stream Territory" edition based from Dixville Notch, NH
    July 8-12, 2009: "Great North Woods" edition based from Dixville Notch, NH
    June 19-24, 2008: "White Mountains" edition based from Franconia, NH

  • The Abenaki Pursuit Course

    The 2018 course stretched the length of the border of New Hampshire and Maine, starting in the Mahoosuc Range at the Sunday River Resort with a dramatic finish on the Atlantic Ocean near Portsmouth, NH. There were 4 days of non-stop racing for the sold-out field of teams.

    The full course visual can be seen here or the outline of each race section is here.

    You can also view the full 2018 event media page for some videos and photos.

More an adventure than a race

100 Mile Wilderness edition

Held June 18-22, 2014, the Untamed New England "100 Mile Wilderness" edition was a qualifier for the Adventure Racing World Championships held in Ecuador later in the year. The race included 4 days of non-stop mountain biking, canoe paddling, trail running, off trail trekking, orienteering, fixed ropes, whitewater rafting and more. The race was based around Moosehead Lake and the town of Greenville, Maine; Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness figured prominently in the 250 mile race course.

For a taste of this memorable event, here's the map teams used for Checkpoints 32-34 on the Abenaki Lost World section of the race -- this was a trekking and packrafting leg of the event. The following excerpt from the racer booklet provides a quick course overview:

  • Prologue: Orienteering in The Birches Wilderness


  • Leg 1: Northern Moosehead Lake Traverse: Paddling, Trekking, & Ropes
    Transition Area with gear bin and paddle bin access at Mud Brook Camp; Good To-Go gourmet hot meal provided at this Transition Area.

  • Leg 2: Mountain biking through the Barren Range and the AMC’s 100 Mile Wilderness with the Ultimate Direction Orienteering Relay mid-way
    Pancake Paradise meal organized by the AMC charity ($10/person or $15 for 2) at the Orienteering Relay base
    Transition Area with gear bin and paddle bin access at Abenaki Camp

  • Leg 3: The Abenaki Lost World Trek & Packraft
    “Camp Kelty” Transition Area with gear bin and paddle bin access at Mud Brook Camp.


  • Leg 4: Southern Moosehead Lake Traverse: Paddling, Urban Orienteering, and Trekking through the Moose Mountains
    Squaw Mountain Transition Area with only access to team “remote” gear bin

  • Leg 5: The Whitewater Wilderness - mountain biking, whitewater rafting, packrafting, & trekking the Kennebec and Dead River Basins to the Finish Line
    Race finish at Northern Outdoors resort

About Us

The hard work of many many volunteers are the real engine behind Untamed New England; a non-stop wilderness event like this requires a committed team. Sponsors and numerous partners are also integral to the success of any race.


Grant Killian is the Chief Instigator behind Untamed New England.

Grant started organizing races in 2004; he has overseen adventure races in the Swiss Alps, the Atlantic Barrier Islands, the Virginia piedmont, and of course all over New England. Grant has also assisted events around the world -- from trans-oceanic sailing regattas to motorbike races through the Sahara Desert -- in various technical capacities, particularly live race coverage and satellite communications.

A journalist covering an Untamed New England race, many years ago, observed that Grant should probably be planning wars or missions to other planets. None of that work pays nearly as well as adventure racing, though, so Grant continues with the endurance sports.


Along the way of earning the title of America's Easiest Race, Untamed New England defined the "Bunny Scale" of course difficulty. The Bunny Scale is intuitively understood as follows:

  • 1 Bunny: Easy
  • 2 Bunnies: Very Easy
  • 3 Bunnies: Easiest


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    You may not be ready for us, but we're ready for you