2023 Raid Témiscamingue – Endurance Adventure | Documentary
Unknown factors, surprises, prompt decisions, turnovers, and a whole lot of emotions: Raid Témiscamingue’s first edition offered plenty of twists and turns, for each and every one of the 11 participating pairs. Above all, every family exhibited perseverance and mutual support to take on and complete the racecourse beginning in Ville-Marie and ending in Opemican National Park.
In the end, it was a win for the Mallory family, having completed the 70km course of Raid Témiscamingue in the fastest time. The Ontario athletes Dan and Daniel Mallory took 5:07:57 to complete a swim, mountain bike route, race section, canoe stage, and some rope activities.
The 11 registered teams on the Raid successfully completed the challenge within 11 hours. This unique experience presented something truly special for everyone, even if they were accustomed to embarking on various types of challenges. Pairs hailing from all over Quebec and Ontario were handed a racecourse map only the night prior to race day; participants had to be part of the same family to be allowed to enter the challenge.
“We created this Raid concept in 2020, when the only option available to gather teams, was to invite participants who were of the same family”, said Jean-Thomas Boily, Co-Founder and Director of Operations at Endurance Aventure. “We wanted people to have the opportunity to experience a truly unique challenge in a very rich environment such as Témiscamigue and its National Park. We are proud to have developed this project to fruition, being completely aligned with our mission, promoting collaboration within local communities.”
Every family of this Raid Témiscamingue has its own background, but its members were connected by a special thread: the desire for adventure and a strong calling to embark on a challenge. Every team had strong backgrounds, previous to this adventure, such as taking up grueling triathlons, taking long distance challenges or even spending a whole year on a sailboat!
“We were impressed to witness, once again, a contagious outdoor fever for every family involved in the challenge. They are passionate and it is pretty amazing to see this passion passing from parents to their children! One of our participants has even registered for three of our events with one of his three children for every single one! Despite feeling exhausted everyone kept a smile on their face, and it was impressive to witness the satisfaction that Raid Temiscamingue brought to life.”
A Unique Course
The racecourse presented many surprises to the team members, asking them to switch repeatedly from one gear to another, right from the beginning in Ville-Marie, right up to the finish line at Opemican National Park point. Changing weather conditions also played a big part in the challenge!
“We could not wait to see our participants take on the adventure”, commented Bastien Michaud, Race Director of Endurance Aventure. “Every race, every challenge is built with a unique design in mind so as to create a special and distinctive adventure. Our goal is to put together and present challenges with a distinctive signature, which will offer a very special experience to the participants. We do not intend it to be easy! We want our participants to push themselves – and as shown by Raid Témiscamingue – every team member had to maintain a great connection to make it to the end of the racecourse.
Throughout these 70km, the participants had to employ maps and compasses to find their way in the exceptional wild of Témiscamingue. Every team had the support of a crew, composed of one or two members, to help with the transitions, feeding zones, transportation, equipment, and to provide emotional support.
Raid Témiscamingue was held with the partnership of MRC Témiscamingue and Témiscamingue Tourism Office, with the collaboration of Development Society of Témiscamingue and Opemican National Park. The goal is to facilitate the discovery of a vast and rich territory for every outdoor lover and adventurer.