In “Arthur the King,” released to the big screen by Lionsgate on March 15, Mark Wahlberg and an adventure racing team run, climb, zipline, mountain bike and kayak while navigating a jungle route with a map and compass . They run all night with headlamps, take short naps bundled on the ground in emergency blankets, and wade through seemingly unbearable mud for hours. The action is dramatic and compelling, but is it authentic, along with the equipment they use to achieve it?
On screen, Wahlberg and his team compete in a race based on a real-life event in 2014. World Adventure Racing Championship. In these grueling races (for which you now have to qualify, but that wasn't the case back then), competitors ranged from world-class athletes to ordinary people who didn't mind suffering while pursuing the adventure and the finish line. I was one of those people; I have competed in 40 adventure races of varying distances over eight years.
Due to logistics, extremism and costs, the sport is rather obscure. Adventure racing was heavily featured in the media when television producer Mark Burnett introduced the Eco-Challenge to ESPN in 1995. Subsequent races were broadcast on Discovery Channel and USA Network until 2002. Then a returning Eco-Challenge aired on Amazon Prime in 2019. After the first few years of producing these big ones, from 7 10 days of non-stop, multi-disciplinary endurance events around the world in a 4-hour miniseries, capturing human drama and hard-to-put-together physical feats, Burnett turned to Survivor; it is much easier to film a group of people on a small island than those traveling by various human-powered modes 400 to 500 miles, night and day.
But here, in “Arthur the King,” a film with which Burnett had nothing to do, adventure racing – and much of the outdoor gear that goes with it – is once again thrown into the mix. main stream. The film tells the true story of Mikael Lindnord, a Swedish adventure racer played by Walhberg, and a stray dog who followed him and his teammates for hundreds of miles during a race in Ecuador in 2014.
Because adventure racing and this film include many of the sporting disciplines and accompanying equipment that Outside readers are familiar with, I spoke with Lindnord (who has an adventure racing world championship under his belt). active) of his equipment choices and how it helped the film. the crew keeps it as realistic as possible. I also spoke with Michael Kloser, five-time adventure racing world champion whose backpack brand, Over thereis worn by Wahlberg and his team in the film.
Lindnord said the film crew created “mood boards” of adventure racing gear that he weighed in based on what was authentic in the sport. Production would then contact the brands to request equipment. “We tried to get as close to reality as possible,” says Lindnord.
Based on these interviews and my experience, I am confident that the equipment in the film is almost entirely authentic to what was used by Lindnord and his teammates in the 2014 race and others. Here's a look at specific pieces of gear and what the two had to say about it.
Adventure racing equipment in “Arthur the King”
Backpack
“I've used OutThere packs for the last five or six years of my career,” says Lindnord. “They work really well.” Kloser, who launched Over there by the time he retired from the sport in 2012, he provided Wahlberg and his teammates' various backpacks. These bags feature multiple easily accessible pockets and the ability to carry gear such as helmets and PFDs while still allowing mobility, which is crucial in adventure racing. OutThere's 15L pack is used in the MTB scenes of the race, and the 30L pack is used in the other scenes. To capitalize on the publicity generated by the film, OutThere renamed the packs “WC-15” And “WC-30» for “World Championship”, reflecting the race featured in the film.
Trail shoes
Each member of the adventure racing team wore a different Salomon trail running shoe, but Wahlberg, who plays Lindnord, wore the Salomon X-Alpine. Lindnord says the choice was “because you get the waterproofing.” (They're not technically waterproof, but he says they perform well in wet conditions.) Most importantly, the shoe excels in traction, superior protection, and day-to-day comfort, imperative qualities for a adventure racing or any other type of mountain. -running adventure.
Paddles
The crew and others in the film used carbon fiber, wings Epic paddles. This design is authentic to that used by many adventure racers. They are light and paddle efficiently if you have a good stroke; otherwise, the winged form can be unforgiving. Lindnord says he used a Swedish brand paddle but the production company opted for the American brand.
Kayaks
Paddlers might be surprised – or skeptical – to see plastic kayaks sitting on top in a world championship of any kind, but plastic boats from Ocean kayaking are the norm. They are durable, easier to transport for racing management and stable. Lindnord jokes, “You can paddle as much as you want and they go one speed.” » Yes, there are faster closed-deck boats, but sit-on-top kayaks have some advantages, as shown in the film. No spoilers here.
Mountain bike
Lindnord says that while his team raced on Specialized Epic bikes – “the best of the best” – the film used low-end bikes. Specialized cross-country mountain bikes. Specialized helmets are also appearing.
Headlights
“The lights weren't the ones we use,” says Lindnord, who explains that he and his team used either Silva or German made Lupine headlights. The large cases of those depicted in the film are not suitable for runners when running (too much bouncing) or when navigating overgrown jungles (they are likely to snag on branches, brush, and vines).
Climbing equipment
There's a section or two in the film's run where climbers may raise an eyebrow about equipment and strategy, but it's common to have a climbing harness, strap, pulley, and carry carabiners during an adventure race to navigate a climbing section. in the middle of a bicycle foot or leg.
Shortcuts
Not related to equipment, but to the question of authenticity, some racing decisions in the film leave the viewer wondering if a team would be disqualified for their choice. Could the scenario the team faces during the race actually happen? “Technically yes,” Kloser says. He and his team once jumped into a fast-flowing river – “with Class III+ or IV+ rapids” – to travel faster and less arduously than walking up a hill. “There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t do it,” he said. He also says he and his team once completely bypassed an hours-long ropes section and a swim in cold rivers by doing “just a gnarly bushwhack in the jungle, literally crawling on all fours,” which beat them to the punch. by several teams. “There was no checkpoint at the ropes,” he said, so the team was not disqualified. (It's a wild sport.)
In the film, there are some tweaks and embellishments for Hollywood, he admits, but generally speaking, the complicated rules (or lack of rules) of adventure racing are conveyed.
“Adventure racers or climbers or paddlers might look at parts of it and think, 'They wouldn't really do that kind of thing,'” says Kloser. “But they do the sport justice. And for 99 percent of people who see the film, it is realistic – incredibly realistic.”
