Survival Run Canada Puts Athletes to the Extreme

Margaret Schlachter (Survival Run) / 31.08.2017

This past weekend Survival Run debuted a new race adding to world renowned Survival Run Series produced by Fuego y Agua Endurance. Survival Run Canada took place in Squamish, British Columbia the action sports mecca for the country. Athletes from various backgrounds arrived Friday morning expecting the unexpected.

Survival Run is not your traditional adventure race, athletes arrive at the start and are given the first set of instructions on how to earn their bibs.  Eighteen of the over thirty athletes who registered made it to the start line. This year to receive a bib the athletes had to whittle the tip of a harpoon from a log. Once the task was completed they could start the 36-hour 120+ kilometer course heading out along a marked trail.

Race director Dylan Morgan created a course to highlight all the best of Squamish starting with some rugged trails, an alpine swim, and a traverse across part of the iconic Sky Pilot. Going into the race adventure racing legend Paul Romero was a strong favorite.  Additionally, on the men’s side two previous Survival Run finishers David Dietrich (Austria) and Mark Wheeler (United States) came to see how the Canadian addition would size up to the original in Nicaragua.  

Nicki Rehn (Canada) was among the notable women with her various Barkley Marathons starts and years of adventure racing experience. Canadian Helene Dumais came into the race with two previous Survival Run finishes in Nicaragua and Australia. Vanessa Gebhardt traveled from Germany after a near finish in 2017 Survival Run Nicaragua.

After the racers spent hours swimming, hiking, traversing a glacier, and scrambling up loose rocks they arrived at the top of the Sea to Sky gondola taking on a rappel then a via ferrata followed by an axe throw.  Along the way athletes earn wristbands for each successfully completed challenge.  After the axe throw athletes received their first part “FAIL” of the four-part medal “I WILL NOT FAIL.”

David Dietrich took an early lead over the rest of the field with Vanessa Gebhardt, Helene Dumais, and Paul Romero racing closely behind. Other early leaders included Mark Wheeler and Joe Koropecki (Canada).  All of the 18 races who started received their first “FAIL” medal and continued on the course which took them over more rugged terrain before arriving at a log chop. It was at this point where the first racer would decide to quit succumbing to the tough terrain.

At the log chop the racers had to chop various sized logs then proceed to carry them about 5 miles on trials used for hiking and biking in Squamish.  More than one biker was surprised to see a Survival Runner on the course with their log.  At the end of the log carry athletes were instructed to drop their logs and pick up several pieces of wood with holes in them for use at a later stage then instructed to continue traveling along the course.

Several kilometers later athletes arrived at the next checkpoint and were instructed to make a Trapper Nelson pack from the wood, firehose (received on the FAIL medal), and bolts (received on the glacier) received earlier in the race.  Dietrich still has a strong lead over the rest of the field with Gebhardt, Romero, Koropecki, and Dumais trying to catch up.  After the primitive backcountry pack was built the athletes filled a bag with sand to add some dead weight to the next section of the race.  For the men, it was 35 pounds and the women it was 25 pounds. Some athletes struggled to figure out how to attach their gear and sand to the uncomfortable pack before heading out for several kilometers of dirt road and single track hiking.

After the carry the second piece of the four-part medal was earned “I”. Athletes were more than happy to disassemble the pack after the grueling hike. As the leaders were taking apart their packs further back athletes were just getting to the log chop and coming off the mountain. The race was shaping up to be between about six to eight athletes who would make the upcoming time cuts.  Sixteen of the eighteen racers would receive an “I” medal.

After receiving their “I” medal, the racers took back off into the woods along the way stopping at a check point to recite as much of the poem “The Cremation of Sam Mcgee” as they could, a task assigned before the start of the race.  From that check point, they arrived at Cat Lake, the front runners Dietrich, Gebhardt, Romero, Sebastien Dion (Canada), Dumais and Wheeler ready to take on the next two challenges.  Koropecki pulled himself from the race after a cold night made it difficult to keep early symptoms of hypothermia away on the sub 45-degree night.

At the lake, the first challenge required athletes to make a harpoon from the tip they created at the start, a bamboo pole (provided), and rope (from their gear) then jump into the lake and dive for a band about three meters deep with only their headlamp and volunteer headlamps to guide the way.  From there they swam across the lake.  While the first athletes arrived there shortly after midnight the final racer would arrive at 4pm Saturday.

After the swim, all the racers started running back on the trail they had come in and had a second opportunity to recite “The Cremation of Sam Mcgee” before a long run and choker (logging tool) drag.  After the drag they headed off again for another long run. As the racers emerged from the woods to the next check point they were greeted with another axe throwing challenge.  If they had enough bands they were instructed to climb into a nearby tree and retrieve their “DID” medal.  Only ten athletes would receive this medal and two racers (Shane McKay and Nicki Rehn) missed the time cut off to continue on the course.

The remaining eight racers David Dietrich, Vanessa Gebhardt, Paul Romero, Sebastien Dion, Helene Dumais, and Mark Wheeler set off on the last quarter of the race. Brothers Stefan and Kristian Wieclawak were also able to continue, coming in two minutes before the time cut off. With these eight racers on course it was mostly them against the clock to the finish.

The last set of challenges included rock climbs and two rappels and one last log carry.  David Dietrich and Vanessa Gebhardt would cross the finish together.  Next to come in would be Paul Romero finishing his third straight Survival Run.  Newcomer Sebastien Dion was the fourth, Helene Dumais finished second female and fifth overall, Mark Wheeler crossed in sixth place.

Then the racers played the waiting game as Stefan Wieclawek finished with ten minutes left before the 36-hour cut-off followed by his brother crossing over the line after 35:55 of racing just making the time cut. All received the final piece of the medal “NOT”, to make “I DID NOT FAIL.”

Survival Run Canada welcomed eight new members into its finishers tribe with athletes, friends, and family watching at the awards ceremony. The next event Survival Run Australia takes place November 17-19, 2017 and the marquee event Survival Run Nicaragua is set for February 28, 2018 on the Island of Ometepe.

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