News of the Week: archives

Dr. D's last death wish before the race
As we enter the final week before the death race the race organizing committee would like to extend a warm welcome all racers. Hopefully your training has gone well and you have a plan in place that will get you to the finish line under the 24hours cutoff time. Its all over but the shouting now. Relax and enjoy your taper and remember you are suppose to feel ridiculously guilty about not doing anything, that's what tapers are all about. Resting, relaxing, and eating one too many Oreo cookies. And above all remember . . . absolutely no "hard" training of any kind . . . oh ya, and eat chocolate too!

The weather has been absolutely stellar - sunny and highs in the upper 20's - which is the forecast at present for the weekend so look for a hot one - but remember it is still mandatory to have a jacket, gloves and a headband with you at all times on the race course (I recommend one of those little ultra light wind jackets that pack into the size of your fist and a pair of stretchy magic gloves see on sale at Costco for 88cents and a small light but durable headband from Valhalla Pure Outfitters). This stuff could literally save your life if you need it, besides its the rules and bearly takes up any space if you get the right equipment. This is the mountains and funny things happen on the summits, including snow as we saw last year.

Good luck, best wishes and see you in a few sleeps.
Gooooooooooo Death Racer!
Dr. D and the Death Race gang

Dr. D on the Death Ride 2002:
Another death race (ride) come and gone and I can thankfully say that this was the smoothest run race yet. I even got to race on a relay team, a little unexpected bonus. The stats: 47 riders (on a death wish), 44 actually showed up for race start (bully for them). One relay team (out of 3) didn't make it due to a bad fall on Grande Mt, 4 female riders entered and three made it (see women can finish this race), 25 men entered and 13 made it, one fractured wrist and about 100 endos.

The conditions were ideal, very dry but just a little moisture to give good traction uphill and excellent breaking downhill, without the big water holes that usually collect on the course. The day was cloudy with start temperature 5C and the high for the day at 13C. Thankfully the rain held off and only the summits were hellish, with winds gusting up to 107km/hr on Hamel. Some say that the summit of Mount Hamel is not the end of the world but you can definitely see it from there.

Generally speaking, this race continues to decimate the field and people who read about the race still don't think that it can really be "that hard." Make no mistake it is that tough, silly! If you want to find out if you have what it takes, then stop flap'n those gums and put your bike where your mouth is. Think the whole thing is impossible or you have serious doubts about it, then do it as a relay team, we now accept 2, 3, 4 or 5 person relay teams. And we still have no women's relay teams that have entered this race - what's up with that? Ladies, any takers?

Congratulations to all those that survived this year. Look for our 2003 race brochure out in January 2003. Best wishes to all and happy training
Dr. D

Canadian Death Race on OLN

Dr D... WE HAVE AN AIRDATE!!!!!!!!
OLN has just confirmed that the first airing of the Canadian Death Race 2001 will be on Friday, September 20th at 3:30pm and 6:30pm. Once we get closer to the airdate I would recommend checking your local TV guide to confirm that they haven't changed it. That said if you're going to send out an email telling everyone to watch I'd wait until closer to the airdate.
Thanks for your patience Dr D.


Welcome Death Riders 2002
With less than a month to go we bring you the complete 2002 Death Ride Program of Events. Read this cover to cover but we warn you that you may have trouble sleeping afterward - truly an event to get excited about. We patiently await your arrival, many of you have already made the trip into town to train, which surely will pay big dividends on race day as long as the course doesn't have you totally demoralized. We consider Death Runners, Riders, and Snowshoers to be part of the Death Racing family and to think of Grande Cache as their home away from home - as extreme and adventuresome as that may be. Course conditions are dry, dry, dry. Now anything can happen in a couple of weeks but it looks like records will fall. Best wishes to all! Good Luck, Train Hard, and Go Like Hell. . .
Dale, Paul, and Keith
Canadian Institute of Extreme Racing.


Hey Death Racers!
Another Canadian Death Run come and gone. Here are the stats - 109 soloists (50% drop out rate - 57 did not finish), 104 relay teams (100% success rate as usual - the sane choice to do the race). And a whopping 154 kids - now that's a lot of very dirty kids. Weather was harsh - cold low of +2 and a high of about +9. Drifted snow up to 3 feet deep on top of the mountains with snow line starting at 5000ft. Very tough race for the racers but for organizers - Keith, Paul, and I, I think this was our smoothest race ever. Apart from a few bear encounters the race was a complete success and appeared in the Edmonton Journal over the weekend in several issues, absolutely fantastic coverage and will also be a five minute special on the 6pm news August 6th on CFRN TV. Thanks to all runners. Now only a few weeks before the ride. Results to be posted shortly (if not already check this link to Past Races) Best wishes. See you next year
Dr. D.


Welcome Death Runners,
With less than a month to go we bring you the complete 2002 Death Run Program of Events. Read this cover to cover but we warn you that you may have trouble sleeping afterward - truly an event to get excited about. We patiently await your arrival, many of you have already made the trip into town to train, which surely will pay big dividends on race day as long as the course doesn't have you totally demoralized. We consider Death Runners, Riders, and Snowshoers to be part of the Death Racing family and to think of Grande Cache as their home away from home - as extreme and adventuresome as that may be. Best wishes to all! Good Luck, Train Hard, and Go Like Hell. . .
Dale, Paul, and Keith
Canadian Institute of Extreme Racing.


Hello fellow Death Racers,
 It would appear that spring is here but it is off to a marginal start for the month of May.  Temperatures are warming up (s-l-o-w-l-y) but expect  training on the course to be only for those diehards right now.  The snow  is gone from the valleys and from most South facing slopes, but conditions are wet.  Elevations above 5000ft and most North facing slopes are still covered with snow.  If you are coming up to train, be prepared for a slog  - great for mental toughness though. Expect variable weather this time of year with highs in the low teens (Celsius), and lows around zero.

I trust everyone's training is going smoothly.  Remember over  training is your enemy, don't injure yourself - show up on race day healthy!  May will whiz by, June will be similar and by July it will be all over but the shouting as you begin your finale taper to race day.

Also, a reminder that we now accept 2, 3, 4, and 5 person relay teams  this year so you can pick your level of pain (only one relay person on course at any given time, but you may run in any order (i.e. for a two person team one member might run leg 1 and 2 and the second relay member  may run 3, 4 and 5 or another possibility may be for the first member to run leg 1, 3 and 5 and the second member may run leg 2 and leg 4).  The combinations are many and we invite team captains to maximize their strategy and bring out the best performance of their team by capitalizing on their runner's/rider's/snowshoer's strengths.

Please note that you must submit your relay team order when you enter which must be maintained.  Any changes to your entry form can be made only with the database manager's permission and upon receipt of the $25 administration fee.  No changes are permitted within the last two weeks (14 days) prior to race day.

Please note that the run training camp in June (14th, 15th, 16th) is fast approaching.  We take a maximum of 24 people and the cost is $50 for the weekend.  The Ridetraining camp is in July (26th, 27th, 28th).  For more information on the training camps please send us an email at drdeath@canadiandeathrace.com. See you in a few months.
Train Hard, Train Smart!
Dr. D.


Fellow Death Racers,
it is spring today (although minus 29C seems a far cry from spring weather).  The new brochures will be in the mail to you shortly. If you have not registered for a race in the past or requested an info package and given us your address, please do so now.  We keep addresses of racers for a five year period from the last race they entered or from their last informational request.  Let us know if your address has changed.  

Weather is cold, cold, cold, minus 20's all this week with warmer temperatures for the weekend.  We also have tons of snow (feet). Everything is covered with the white stuff and sqeaks underfoot.  We are looking forward to the 2002 Death Race Series.  You will be happy to know that you have spoken and we have listened . . . We now accept 2person, 3person, 4person and 5 person relay teams which all compete in the categories of Men's relays, Women's relays, and Mixed relays.  The entry fee is based per person (ie. the solo entry fee times the number of people in your relay team).  This will mean that for teams of less then 5 members some people will have to run more then once.  Only one person per relay team can be on the race course at a time but you can run in any order you wish (ie. run several legs in a row or leap frog with other team members, etc) but you must specify the order your relay will run in on the entry form, which can not be changed.  Have fun with this new relay twist and all the strategy it entails.  As for soloists, it is still as tough as ever. train hard,
Dr.  D.


Feb 8,9
Local Death Racers win 1st and 3rd in the Canadian Birkenbeiner Ski Festival
http://www.canadianbirkie.com/packresults.html for womens division
http://www.canadianbirkie.com/menpack.html for mens division
or visit www.canadianbirkie.com for complete results.


Death Snow Shoe Coverage
by the local newspaper, Mountaineer,--------->Snow Article.htm

January 21st, 2002
Check out the results of the Death Snow Shoe-->Snow2002
results.htm or in excel format here----->Snow2002results.xls
Click here for a picture of Dr. Death getting a taste of his own medicine->Dr. Death.jpg


Hi fellow death racers
As we enter into the final week of the race we have some good news and bad news . . . The good news is - the weather has been absolutely fantastic, warm and sunny. The bad news is - the fantastic weather is taking its toll on the snow. Now this is the mountains and anything can happen in a week so we shall see. The race continues on no matter what, although it is really just a question of the ratio of wearing your shoes to carrying your shoes. We have a rule in place for just such low snow conditions where racers may have the option of wearing or carrying their snowshoes when there is no snow. Of course where there is snow and ice wearing your snowshoes will be mandatory. In the meantime, taper well, if you're not fit by now its really too late to do any serious training. And lets all get out there and do a little "snow dance." See you in soon. I've got to go and cut the grass on my front lawn. Dr . D.

Greetings fellow Death Snow-shoers,
The final days are fast approaching.  The weather has been beautiful so far  (temperature -7 to -20 and sunny), snow is adequate (good in the high country) and it looks like you will be required to wear your snowshoes 100% of the time.

Check here for a list of current registered snow shoers--->snowlist.htm
Attached is the long awaited snowshoe program-------------->SnowShoe2001.htm
Please have a read of this as it contains important info that will make your racing experience positive and help ensure you finish under the cut off time.

I specifically draw your attention to a few things that are further explained in the package.

1) race legal snowshoes are 25" long by 8" wide.  Shorter shoes will receive a reasonable time penalty for finishing purposes.2) the kids race is moved to Friday night.  Kids Check-in is at the rec center at 6pm with a 7pm start.  Junior will need a flashlight or a headlamp.  Parents may snowshoe with their kids for the wilderness portion of the kids race.3) You need two (2) climbing carabiners for the ice flow crossing on leg 5. Your biner must have a fall rating (be for climbing - key chain or non-fall rated biners are unacceptable - Hey if you fall - you're gonna want it to be fall rated).4) All racers (soloist and relay racers) must carry (or wear) the mandatory equipment items with them at all times while they are on the race course.

If you get lost or a storm blows in these handy items may save your life (or at least minimize the little bits and pieces that they may have to cut off you) - no kidding.  Remember our mandatory list of items is only the bear minimum that you should carry, it is wise to supplement this minimum list with extra gear that you will need. Please forward this to your other team mates and anyone else that you might know who is in the race.  Some people don't have email and snail mail is unreliable so pass it on ( not everyone has given a mailing address).One thing will be, for sure... is that "this will be an epic experience." Come prepared.  I was snowshoe training on leg two yesterday....  (ya Dr. D.'s gonna come out of his cave and try his hand at a little death racing - I've heard so much about it) and there wasn't one snowshoe print on the slugfest (Flood to Grande) cross trail, which means no one has been training on this part of the trail. There is some very technical snow shoeing with some big bum slides if you aren't careful. epic, epic, epic, but fun, fun, fun. See you in a few weeks
Dale, Paul & Keith.

December 3rd, 2001
Well winter has come and with it the snow and cold. It looks like it is shaping up for an excellent snowshoeing season. We are expecting a small but hearty group of souls (between 25 and 50) to take on the challenge - such pioneering spirit is to marvel at. Few have the stomach to be the first, most instead wait quietly on the sidelines to see how others make out, before they take on the challenge. Remember there can be only one "first time," will you be there?

There is over two feet of snow in the Beaverdam pass and a good covering in the high country (above 4800ft). Snow is still pretty thin in the valley. Registered snowshoe entries will receive their programs in mid-december. If you register after december 15th we will put your program in your race kit. The Death Trail is open for year round training and we welcome racers to come up and preview the course. Take note to bring adequate clothing for the mountain summits it is always cold and windy on top. Watch exposed flesh for signs of frostbite.Also please note that the kids race has been moved to Friday evening - yes! A 5km extreme snowshoe course that junior can call their own. Note the race legal specs for snowshoes below:· Race legal specifications: All snowshoes must be the minimum size specified and must be built for the functional purpose of providing floatation over the snow.

· Minimum snowshoe size
· adults - Minimum of 25 inches long and 8 inches wide
· Kids (15 years of age & under) - Minimum size of 15 inches long and 6 inches wide
Click on the schedule of events here----->SnowShoe2002.htm
Complete updated information on all races------>SpecialInfo2001.htm
See you in January
Train hard
Dr D.