Ice Donkey: Winter Adventure Race

What are your first thoughts when somebody says winter in Winnipeg……. cold, snow, nasty, well probably not where you want to be, right?

Well I have some other ideas when I think about winter in Winnipeg, how about fun, adventurous and challenging.

Still not sold huh, well let me tell you about one of the best winter events out there, organized by some amazingly dedicated people who’s main goal is to get people out of their houses and enjoy everything that winter has to offer. That would be the Swamp Donkey Adventure Racing crew or SDAR for short. They are a dedicated bunch of athletes headed up by John Ford, who organized and run four adventure style racingents throughout the year in Manitoba. 

This event in particular is called Ice Donkey, which is a 5 km fun style race focusing on you guessed it, winter themed obstacles. Think Tough Mudder or the Spartan Series but with snow, lots of snow. There were fourteen obstacles including the likes of the King of the Mountain, Wall of Shame, Tower of Power, Prairie Downhill and of course Lick the Pole where you are the pole (no they don’t want you to lick a pole, that would be silly) and you have to make it through a bunch of wet tongue like creations while walking over a icy balance beam. It is a great way to spend a Sunday in February, have an excuse to get all costumed up, go out and have a great time while raising money for the United Way.

 Over 400 runners braved the cold and the snow to take part in the event, with over half of them dressed up in costumes and looking for a little bit or a whole lot of fun. In my opinion they were given that and then some, as all you saw on the participant’s faces when they crossed the finish line was grins from ear to ear.

 The run was split into team and solo catagories for the more competitive runners and even though it was being timed, nobody was seriously thinking about securing a PB that was for sure. It was just a great way to get out and enjoy the company of others and one of the most overlooked running seasons in my opinion.

The course was challenging to say the least with obstacles perfectly spaced out to give you that little bit of a breather before you had to tackle the next one. The participants were organized into waves of runners so there was good separation and limited the potential bottle neck and wait time at the obstacles, the whole event was ran like a well oiled machine.

Now of course, I had to be a bit different with my running attire, because I am not normal at the best of times. So I was decked out in a running kilt by Sport Kilt, a very Canadian pair of long underwear and a pair of rainbow coloured socks for my feet. I did start out with a pair of Luna Leadville Huaraches, but with the weight of the snow they did not stay there for long. The great thing about being a barefoot runner is the ability to be versatile and adapting to the situation at hand or foot if you like.

I tip my hat to John Ford and his team for putting on a fantastic event and providing the City of Winnipeg with something that will be talked about till the snow is gone at the very least and I for one cannot wait until next February to see what they have in store for us next time.

 Below is a photo and video montage of the event put together by Kelly Morton Photography and his team to give you a better idea of what the day was all about.

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