Video: Canada’s Toughest Triathlon – the Canada Man/Woman XTRI

Since the first Canada Man/ Woman Xtri took place in 2016, it has long held the moniker of Canada’s toughest triathlon, and for good reason. The event is part of the XTRI World Tour and follows very much in the spirit of the Norseman XTRI championship event. A combination of a cold, “in-the-dark” swim, a challenging bike course with lots of climbing and a mountain-top finish make for a spectacular – and tough – race set in the heart of the province of Quebec.

Endurance Aventure, the organizers of the event, have provided an exclusive international version of the race video to Slowtwtich, which you will find below.

Canada Man/ Woman History

The men behind the race are Jean-Thomas Boily and Daniel Poirier (pictured above) who have been putting on adventure races since 1998. After a horrific train crash and explosion in the town of Lac-Megantic that killed 47 people and devastated the downtown area, they wanted to try to help the city. They came up with the idea of the long-distance triathlon event, and eventually added what was likely the hardest sprint-distance race in the country, too, along with a “Solo .5” race that was roughly half the distance. The goal was to bring people to Lac-Megantic, while the video production and its worldwide distribution would provide valuable exposure to the region.

The day begins in the dark with a 2.4-mile swim in Lac Megantic, followed by a 112-mile bike that includes over 8,200 feet of climbing. The marathon run has almost 4,000 feet of elevation gain, with a finish at the observatory at the top of Mont Megantic. The race required athletes to have a companion for the final section up the mountain.

The race is taking a hiatus for 2025, but will be returning in 2026.

Video

You can check out the video from last year’s race exclusively here on Slowtwich.

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