Canadian Death Race 2012

Capt Jeff Daley, Team Capt

 

Since the inauguration of the Canadian Death Race, elite racers have come to the Canadian Rockies to cheat Death in one of the world's toughest adventure races. The 125 km course begins and ends on a 4200 foot plateau, passes over three mountain summits, includes 17,000 feet of elevation change, and if that isn’t enough, consists of a major river crossing at the spectacular Hell's Gate canyon at the confluence of the Smoky and Sulphur Rivers. During the August long weekend each year, extreme athletes, individually and as part of relay teams, push themselves to the limits of their endurance against the breathtaking background of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Each year, well-trained and totally committed, they battle heat, cold, altitude and themselves. There are no big prizes for winning: finishing is hard enough. And the bragging rights are priceless…

 

This year two Strathcona relay teams and two solo racers travelled to Grande Cache. The wilderness that surrounds Grande Cache provides the raw ingredients needed for one of the world’s toughest races:  steep, steep climbs combined with rugged terrain and great views. One of our relay teams, “STEELE YETI” placed an impressive 24 out of 256 teams. Our second relay team, “STEELE BEAR” placed a well earned 96 out of 256 other teams. The two soloists unfortunately did not complete the race; however, it should be noted that only 25 percent of solo attempts actually finish the grueling course. Both of our soloists completed multiple legs that are longer than marathons and most long-distance running events. This year’s solo racers were Michael Whipple and Richard Partridge. The relay team STEELE YETI was Dave MacIntyre, Thomas Underwood, Francis Graham, Russell Glennie and James Jung. Team STEELE BEAR consisted of Evan Barten, Andrew Lonegren, Natalie Veilleux, Landon Hall, and Shamus Molloy. Well done to all of our Death Racers. I’m proud of you all.  All Strathconas are proud of the accomplishments of both relay teams and solo competitors.

Perseverance