The Ironman triathlon is hard.
The CFB Petawawa Ironman might just be harder.
The Canadian military’s version of the extreme endurance race is technically shorter. But it imposes gruelling conditions that most athletes would still find daunting.
For starters, you have to run in combat boots. You have to carry a 40 pound rucksack from start to finish. At one point in the race you also have to single-handedly pick up a canoe and run a 4 kilometre portage. Then you have to enter the water and paddle 8 kilometres.
And just when your tired legs have seized up in the canoe you have to get out and run again for a course total of 50 kilometres.
Welcome to the Ironman for soldiers – a test of physical and mental toughness CFB Petawawa has been hosting for the past thirty years. This year hundreds of soldiers from Petawawa and beyond will put themselves to the test. On the line are both team and individual bragging rights, and a good old-fashioned gut check.
"This race tells a lot about yourself, what you're made of, what you bring to the table. And it gets to exercise your intestinal fortitude," says Warrant Officer Eric Leclair, who won the race in 2004.
Colonel Peter Dawe is the Commander of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, or 2 CMBG, that stages the event. He says the reason for these types of punishing events is simple. “You can't do what we do in an operational theatre, whether domestically or abroad, without being physically tough and mentally tough.”
But the 2 CMBG Ironman isn’t just for the competitors. It’s also for the community. This year’s edition is raising money for a campaign to buy a much-needed MRI for the local hospital. “Currently we don't have an MRI in our region. The closest MRI is in Kingston or in Ottawa so that involves a lot of travel," says Nancy Warren, Executive Director of the Pembroke Regional Hospital Foundation.
You can make a donation or sponsor a participant here.
The Ironman takes place September 11-12 at CFB Petawawa.
