Sports
Shubi Guimarães on Race Direction and Event Evolution
From the grueling Pantanal World Championship to Bota pra Correr, Shubi reflects on technical maturity and making events more accessible.
In a conversation with Sidney Togumi, race director Shubi Guimarães details her mindset shift in organizing adventure and trail running events. She reflects on the extreme logistics of the Pantanal World Championship and the transition toward more inclusive formats.
Experience and maturity completely reshape how race directors design outdoor courses. In a conversation on XTREMMA Sports with Sidney Togumi, Shubi Guimarães looked back at how her philosophy as an event organizer evolved over the years, shifting away from an intensely technical and punishing format toward more conscious and inclusive designs.
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The extreme challenge of the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Pantanal
Early in her race-organizing career, Shubi admitted she tended to overestimate the pack's overall capabilities. Her benchmark was her own performance as an elite athlete: if she could tackle a ridge or navigate difficult terrain, she assumed every participant could do the same. This approach culminated when she spearheaded the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Pantanal.
During that event, 70 four-person teams set off across one of the most wild and inhospitable regions on Earth. Without massive elevation changes, the brutal difficulty came from continuous flooded terrain, extreme isolation, and direct exposure to native wildlife. Sport legends like Nathan Fahey, Chris Forne, and Mikael Lindnord consider the Pantanal race one of the hardest in adventure racing history, rivaled only by the 2005 World Championship in New Zealand.
Operationally, the race required complex monitoring and rescue logistics in the middle of nowhere to ensure everyone returned safely. The intense pressure of managing the safety of nearly three hundred athletes took a severe physical and mental toll, serving as a defining turning point that led Shubi to recalibrate her standards for technical viability.
Adapting to an evolving market with Bota pra Correr
As the running community expanded and more road runners transitioned to trail and nature events, race formats had to reflect this cultural shift. Shubi's leadership across stages of Olympikus's Bota pra Correr circuit highlights this new direction.
The circuit centers on exploring diverse regions across Brazil through running, moving away from chasing personal records or navigating extreme terrain in favor of travel experiences and connecting with destinations. To accommodate runners transitioning from pavement to dirt, the courses feature enhanced hydration support, measured elevation gain, and solid safety infrastructure.
Real wildlife hazards on Brazilian trails
When discussing trail safety and fears surrounding wild animals in Brazil, Shubi emphasized that large native predators, such as jaguars and caimans, rarely attack humans unprovoked. The peaceful encounters of athletes who navigated the Pantanal and spotted predators without incident reflect this reality.
According to the race director, the most genuine and unpredictable threat on Brazilian trails comes from insects, particularly bee swarms. Given their coordinated aggression and tendency to actively pursue runners, bee attacks remain the top medical and logistical safety concern in outdoor endurance events.
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