Adventurers take on Medicine Hat Massacre race in Cypress Hills

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on May 15, 2025.

sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

The Medicine Hat Massacre Adventure race challenged Western Canadians in the Cypress Hills over the weekend.

The annual adventure race saw 46 teams from across the Western provinces, from Winnipeg to Banff and north to Athabasca, take on the Cypress Hills.

Racers competed in either the full nine-hour race or the four and a half hour lite race.

Teams of two navigated through the back country using only a map and compass to find checkpoints to accumulate points. The winning team is the one that can accumulate the most points in the given time. Those teams participated in three disciplines, back country trekking, mountain biking, paddling. There is also a Root Cellar challenge, teams could carry up to 60lbs of food/team for around a kilometre to earn extra points.

The overall winning team ‘the Lake Tornado Chasers,’ with Darryle Hawkings and Dale Owen from Calgary, captured 685 points.

The second place men’s team was ‘In Our Element’, featuring Matt Ward, Everett Ward (14 years old) from Medicine Hat who captured 674 points.

The women’s winners were ‘Now Face North,’ with Mercy Peterson-Au (Edmonton) and Becky Wood (Winnipeg) recording 432 points.

Coming in second place was ‘Running on Empty,’ with Tamara Jackson and Megan Swaroop from Athabasca recording 315 points.

In the mixed division, the ‘Long Story Longer’ team of Georgia Smith and Mike Wenzlawa from Calgary finished first with 570 points.

Team Haywire finished second, as Tina Langille-Hayward and Jeremy Hayward from Athabasca captured 540 points.

Medicine Hat’s Kia Kannekens and Maddy Heese formed team ‘Muddie Buddies,’ winning the Lite Race with 293 points. Team “Lost and Loving it,’ Kris Biegler and Jim Wilkinson from Calgary, finished second in the half race with 270 points.

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