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There are hard triathlons. Then there is Canada’s toughest triathlon. Welcome to the Canada Man/Woman Xtreme

Started as a way to help a community devastated by a railway crash in 2013, this triathlon is different in so many ways

At about 1 am on July 6, 2013, an unattended, 73-car freight train filled with crude oil barrelled down the hill from Nantes and derailed in downtown Lac-Megantic. The explosion and fire killed 47 people and about half of the downtown area was destroyed. Eventually most of the remaining buildings had to be destroyed due to contamination, too. The blast radius of the explosion was 1 km.

Determined to give back to the community, in 2017 endurance and nature-lovers Jean-Thomas Boily and Daniel Poirier came up with the idea for the Canada Man/Woman event as a way to try and help Lac-Megantic.

Marathons – check. Ironmans – check. Xtris? How about 10 of those?

Long renowned as Canada’s toughest triathlon, the day begins with a 3.8 km swim in Lac Megantic (although due to cold air conditions, this year’s race has been shortened to 2 km), then there’s a 180 km bike along the Route des Somme’s that includes 2,500 m of climbing, followed by a 42 km run that features 1,200 m of elevation gain and ends at the Mont Megantic Observatory. Like the famed Norseman XTri event, athletes must have a companion for the final stages of the run since it’s so tough. There’s also a Solo .5 race that offers a flavour of the Xtreme event over roughly half the distance – this year’s swim will feature a 1 km swim followed by a 90 km bike and a 20 km run.

The race was typically held in July, but in 2021, thanks to the COVID pandemic, organizers had to move the race to October. The spectacular scenery at that time of year, along with the chance to make the race even more challenging, prompted Boily and Poirier to move the date of the race to Oct. 6.

Canadian Olympic cyclist Lyne Bessette leads the women on the bike at the 2021 race. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

Here’s the story and photos we put together from that 2021 October event, which offers a glimpse of what athletes can expect as they take on the toughest triathlon in Canada tomorrow:

Canada’s toughest triathlon: The Canada Man/ Woman Xtreme Tri

This year’s race will include about 200 athletes from 10 different countries. Highlighting the men’s race will be Norway’s Henrik Knutsen, the winner of the Swedeman Xtri event in 2022 and ninth-place finisher at the prestigious Norseman Xtri race in 2023. The winners from last year’s race, Chris Cheeseman and Lynda Gingras, are both racing in the Solo .5 race.

The race features 150 volunteers from the area.

“The Canada Man/Woman Xtri World Tour has become a must-attend event for our city,” says Julie Morin, Mayor of Lac-Megantic. “It embodies the spirit of sportsmanship, resilience, and natural beauty of our region. We are proud to host athletes from all corners of the globe to take on this colossal challenge, as well as local citizens who choose to push their limits.”

Triathlon Magazine editor Kevin Mackinnon is here in Lac-Megantic and will provide coverage of tomorrow’s race.