A fearless nutter paraglides down a mountain face, hops into a canoe, frantically paddles an icy lake, throws down his oars, sprints across an icy expanse, assembles a mountain bike and then tears off into the sunset.

Just a taster of what you can expect from some of the world’s most wilfully deranged adventure races.

“Excuse me,” you ask, not unreasonably. “What’s an adventure race, then?” Well, basically, it’s a competition that combines two or more sporting disciplines, with the added arse-ache of extreme orienteering thrown in for good measure.

‘Sprint’ adventure-race events are fairly short (all things being relative): lasting for a few hours, they see participants running, cycling, climbing, leaping and paddling their way through a clearly marked but often treacherous course. They’re pretty hardcore.

Even hardcorer, however, are the more drawn-out adventure races, which can take days – or even weeks – to complete. These events often require bad-asses to team up in order to navigate their way across vast expanses, using only compasses, superhuman endurance, various modes of transport and old-fashioned bloody-mindedness.

The videos that follow showcase the world’s most awe-inspiring athletes taking on the most jaw-dropping landscapes on the planet. Prepare to doff your cap.

And if these videos get you all riled-up to take on one of these life-changing events for yourself – perhaps alongside a few mates – head to our Pick A Challenge section and have a look-see at what’s on offer…