GO Getter: Scott Davis

Find out why Scott Davis would totally beat you on Survivor.

You will probably never see Scott Davis downtown; it’s hard to find him in town at all. He sold his soul to adventure racing, where co-ed teams of four are dropped in the middle of nowhere with only gear, map and a compass. The team that can trek, bike, canoe, kayak, climb and run its way back to civilization first wins. Scott, 35, is the first to admit he doesn’t have much of a life outside extreme sports. But Scott also says he wouldn’t trade his life for yours, ever.

How did you get involved in adventure racing?
I’d been racing mountain bikes since 1992. Five or six years ago I got asked to do an adventure race, the Ozarks Challenge in Arkansas. I really didn’t know what I was in for. Usually people start with a short course, like seven hours. This was 24 hours, which is usually 100 miles. My first race we ended up finishing fourth. I just got hooked.

How long are most races?
The Ozark Greenways, which is a local race, we finished in seven hours. The most common race is 24-38 hours. The expedition races are becoming really popular, usually 250-450 miles. I’m doing one in the middle of May that is 300 miles, I believe. You never really know the length of the race until you get there.

How do you make this fit into your life?
You get up early in the morning and you either run or paddle. Every night when I get off work, I train. My bicycling is still my number one priority. I usually ride six days a week. And I own and operate two businesses, Absolute Lawn and Springfield Bicycle Company, which I got into because I was such a mountain biker. So that’s very hard.

So how far do you go?
You need to dedicate 20 to 25 hours [a week] minimum. And that doesn’t count if you go do an [adventure] race. One race can throw in 30 hours. So then all of a sudden you spent 55 hours racing. In one week.

How do people stick with it?
You just get addicted. I really enjoy just going out and seeing what you’re made of, what you body can do. If I was a millionaire, I would train and race every day.

So you say you have time to have a life. Tell me about your “life.”
To me, a life is going camping and going mountain biking. That’s what I do every weekend. I don’t have any kids, there’s no way. And I don’t go out. Most people go out to bars and hang out with their friends—that’s not me. Last night I went to bed at 8:40. Everyone I race with is the same. You pretty much live to train, and to race and to have fun. My favorite thing to is to go mountain biking, by myself, for like six to eight hours. That’s what I enjoy.

Tell me about Moab, where you raced for Primal Quest.
It’s just desert. It’s incredibly hot. There are natural sandstone arches. A lot of old Westerns have been shot there. It’s called high desert. It was probably 119 degrees some days.

So when you leave for a race you’re cut off from the outside world, right?
No phones, you’re cut off from everybody. But, when I’m out training or riding, I don’t carry my phone either. It’s my time away. I hate technology, I hate returning phone calls, I hate paperwork. I’d rather be doing something else.