Kevin Tucker didn’t find adventure racing through a slick marketing campaign or a friend with a team slot. He found it because famed RD Grant Killian left the door open to Untamed New England. Now, fourteen years later, Tucker is doing the same thing for Pittsburgh — and his team is taking the philosophy further than most race organizations would dare.
“His Pay What You Want” six and twelve-hour race on May 16th isn’t just a pricing model. It’s a statement about who this sport is for and who gets left out when we make entry too hard, too expensive, or too intimidating. Tucker — a civil rights attorney by day — brings the same access-first thinking to adventure racing that he’s applied in federal court on behalf of athletes with disabilities.
In this conversation, we cover the mechanics of the pay what you want model, the joys and challenges of urban race permitting, what a first-time race director actually loses sleep over, and why Pittsburgh is having a moment that adventure racing should be part of. Plus: Kevin’s own racing history, from a wild expedition debut at Untamed New England to a two-person adventure through Endless Mountains 2025 — and one unexpected international adventure that no one saw coming.
Shownotes:
3 Rivers Outdoor Co. website: https://3riversoutdoor.com/
3ROC’s Pay What You Want Adventure Race registration website: https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Pittsburgh/3ROCAdventureRace
Sponsor Links:
Adventure Addicts Racing’s Brake The Habit AR – https://www.adventureaddictsracing.com/copy-of-brake-the-habit-1
Photographer Nic Wynia – https://www.storycityfilms.com/new-gallery-3
The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast 