Canadian ultrarunner Mathieu Blanchard has turn into the primary particular person on foot to finish the Montane Yukon Arctic Extremely’s insanely difficult inaugural 600-kilometere race. Beginning on Feb. 2 in Teslin, Canada, Blanchard traversed the frozen wilderness, enduring temperatures plummeting to -40°C, and crossed the end line in Faro after 7 days and 22 hours.
MYAU is already referred to as one of many coldest and hardest races on the planet, and earlier than this yr, it supplied three distances: a marathon, 160K and 480K. This yr launched a brand new beast: a 600K course by Canada’s frozen north. When 37 runners set out from Teslin on Feb. 3, the temperature sat at -22. The runners pulled sleds full of meals and survival gear for 340K, then rotated and retraced their steps. Athletes had the choice of working, fats biking or traversing by cross-country ski, and the general winner (the one finisher forward of Blanchard) was American Hurt Faringa, who accomplished the race by bike.
By the point the race reached its closing stretch, almost 30 athletes had dropped out, succumbing to cold-related accidents, exhaustion or the brutal put on and tear that comes with dragging a sled by deep snow for days on finish. Blanchard continued regardless of the circumstances, and after seven days and 22 hours, he crossed the end line in Faro, changing into the primary particular person to finish the inaugural MYAU on foot.
A historic end in excessive circumstances
Blanchard, who holds each French and Canadian citizenship, recognized for his second-place end at UTMB in 2022 and his victory on the Grand Raid de La Réunion simply 4 months in the past, had set his sights on this problem for months. Coaching by the winter, he documented his preparation on Instagram, buying and selling in his typical path gear for extra rugged gear.
The race itself pushed him past his limits. “Ache, pleasure, insanity, survival, achievement, battle, struggling, euphoria, worry,” Blanchard stated on Instagram, summing up the feelings that got here with working for over per week in temperatures that dipped as little as -40°F. In contrast to different opponents who took on shorter distances, he pulled his personal sled, relying completely on his personal energy and endurance to get to the end line.
A couple of success story
Blanchard wasn’t the one one to beat the course. Since his end, at the least three different athletes—France’s Guillaume Grima, Belgian runner Kasper Vanherpe and Joaquin Candel of the U.S. have additionally accomplished the 600K. Even among the many world’s hardest endurance athletes, merely ending this race is an achievement.
“For over per week, he confronted a few of the harshest circumstances on Earth,” organizers wrote of Blanchard on Instagram. “From the second he left Teslin, Mathieu set a relentless tempo, navigating the cruel circumstances with expertise, talent, and sheer willpower.”To trace the remaining opponents of MYAU, head right here.
