Since many racers who did go in the caves did not contract Leptospirosis, there is speculation that the river swims were the culprits. The bottom line is that tropical races offer a wide range of nasty tropical reminders (racer David Kelly has been hosting sub-dermal crawly parasites, known as "cutaneous larva migrans," a.k.a "creeping nematodes," since his return from Borneo), and there is likely to be a move away from tropical and jungle races, both by race directors and the competitors themselves. After all, who wants a leech slithering up inside their urethra?

Which begs the question, Is adventure racing a dangerous sport? Well, compared to what? Alpine ski racers plummet down icy mountainsides in excess of 80 mph (remember the Herminator's classic launch in Nagano?). Gymnasts flip and turn and spin and invert themselves on a daily basis, sometimes landing on their heads. Hockey players slam into the boards and snap their necks. Rock climbers routinely flirt with disaster on big walls, relying on minute cams and nuts to save their lives in the event of a zinger. By comparison, adventure racers move pretty slowly over the earth, so that the endeavor isn't even considered a "gravity sport."

So, where do the dangers lurk?