Located at Horseshoe Resort, this venue gave us indoor facilities, easy access for parking for 1126 participants and you could stay at the resort for around $175.00 Canadian. We chose to drive 20 minutes to Orillia and stayed in town for around $90.00 and had access to all the restaurants and malls. The race is a mountainous OCR with 7.2+KM and 38 obstacles to challenge you for speed, agility, and strength. This is one of the OCR World Championship qualifying races and the top 10 for male and female Elite athletes each received their qualifying shirts for the event plus a custom made wooden plaque. The added bonus was they also offered all top 10 general racers (per category 50-59 yrs etc...) a spot in the OCRWC. This was a very well organized event directed by Jesse Ward Bruce, a seasoned racer. It was apparent that he took the needs of the racers seriously and provided a great course, lots of variety with multiple challenges back to back. Snow was incorporated into some areas and added a chilly frosting to everyone at the start. Some obstacles included the trampoline wall, rope climbs, wall climbs, balance beams, log carries, tire flips, water crossings and ropes. Racers were well informed from the minute they signed up until it was time to race. Heats were well planned so there were no bottlenecks along the route and each finisher received a medal. The medals deserve a mention as they are big, bold and solid! Elite racers headed off first and then heats were released gradually thereafter. Jesse himself was the MC who kept everyone motivated and engaged. The resort itself is well laid out and provided racers with indoor storage and washrooms and Tremar provided a great outdoor shower for those needing to rinse off. Parking was $10.00 the day of the event and allowed racers to come and go to their cars with ease. A small vendor village was inside and offered hats, t-shirts and additional XMan swag. Race kit pick-up was offered the night before so there were no line-ups to deal with the day of the event. The race kit itself was well worth the $60-$80.00 entrance fee and included a tech tee, headband, sticker and timing chip. The final 1/2 pipe wall was great for spectators and photographers alike and demonstrated great team support as finishers returned to help fellow racers conquer the challenge. Quidchrono provided quick and accurate results so finishers could see if they had qualified or not for the October Championships. Online results were available the next day, as were photographs and Facebook posts. Medics were on site. Family friendly venue. Great location.

From start to finish, this was a great event. Great location at the Chicopee Ski Resort in Kitchener, Ontario. This 5 K event boasts 25 obstacles that you discover as you loop your way up and down the mountainside. The vendor village is well laid out and has some great SWAG, free beer for those of legal drinking age, and some fun activities to keep spectators happy while they cheer on their fellow racers. Bull riding, great music, and an excited energy awaited anyone wanting to tackle this course. Registration was quick and easy and there were little to no lineups for race kit pick up. Gates opened promptly at 0900 hours and we were racing by 10. Parking was on site for $20.00 or you could choose a lot further away for $10.00, many chose to park roadside and walked into the venue to save the $$. The vendor village was well laid out and it was easy to navigate between washrooms, registration, bag drop, start line, and finish line. The course itself was a blast with varied elevations and challenges at every turn. Climbs, crawls, mud, fire, water, swing, carry, and slides kept us entertained for the entire 5K route. The bling alone was worth the drive for us and the soft cotton t-shirts were icing on the cake. We admittedly event spent time shopping at the merch tent as their sweatshirts and tees were reasonably priced and very creative (rare nowadays). Ample volunteers, security, police, and medics to make the venue safe and fun for all ages. We will add this to our list for next year, and perhaps try a different location to mix things up.

After completing the 5K torch run the night before, we headed back to the town of Mont Saint-Gregoire for the second part of our double header. Our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) was conveniently located about 15 minutes from the race site and offered a free breakfast, which we took full advantage of. As we approached the main race site, we were faced with a huge traffic jam that spanned almost 2 kilometers. Roads had been closed off and even though we arrived well over an hour before our race start time, we were stuck in traffic for over 45 minutes. Many racers were parking roadside and walking into the village to avoid the delays. We were told to take an alternate route by someone roadside but to our dismay, this just took us to more closed roads and forced us back into the traffic jam only many more kilometers back from where we had started. We followed the other frustrated racers and parked about 2KM away and walked to the main vendor village. Upon arrival, we were quite stressed as our race was to commence within 30 minutes and we were nowhere near the start line. We stood in line for one of the port-o-potties on site, as the interior ones were lined up out the door, and then made a few inquiries to find out where the bus shuttles were to try and get to the 5K/10K start line as quickly as possible. Many racers had not picked up their bibs the day before, as noted in the pre-race guidelines, so were panicked upon arrival and rushing around frantically trying to get to the start line on time. We caught the next bus out and made the short 5-7 minute drive up the mountainside picking up wayward walkers along the way and finally arriving at our destination with 10 minutes to spare. Fortunately, the race was delayed until 9:15 am to accommodate those that had been delayed trying to park etc....the 5K left first with the 10K following shortly thereafter. It was a quick out and loop and then make the sweeping, rolling, descent back down the mountainside. Along the route, there were cheering sections and even a quick sugar-fix of fresh maple syrup poured on snow that melted sweetly in your mouth as we continued the gradual climb before descending towards the final finish line. The finish line was well placed so spectators could enjoy the celebratory grins of successful participants. Medals were given to all finishers and top 3 for each distance and sex. The vendor village was well laid out with sponsors, swag tables, water/sports drinks and fresh sliced oranges and bananas for racers to enjoy. Sportstats was on site to post results quickly and would scan you bib for instance timings electronically. There was a small bouncy castle area for children to enjoy and an inside tent area for food. There were 2 great photo banner areas and lineups were quite short. Bag drop was provided by a truck that transported your bag from start to finish for you and a bus returned racers back to their cars where needed. For those that raced both Friday night and Saturday morning, a third medal was provided by the information desk----a nice touch! Tech shirt for this event also. Family friendly event. Leave well in advance to avoid parking issues. Pick up race kits day before if possible. Overall, a nice location and the vendor village was casual and inviting. Holiday Inn in St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu was clean, friendly and has easy access to a local mall and restaurants within walking distance. Very quiet rooms.

We arrived early to get settled in the hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and grab a quick bite before heading to the race. The race was located in the apple orchards of Mont Saint-Gregoire, Quebec. Upon arrival racers could pick up their race kits (bib & tech tee) quickly from the main building and could then do some light shopping/browsing next door. Music kept the crowd entertained and racers could adorn themselves with glow sticks provided by the race organizers. A smoke machine and coloured strobe lights set the mood as we waited for darkness to fall. The race was scheduled to start at 7 PM but there was a slight delay to wait for complete darkness to help with the race ambiance and add a mystery as we snaked our way through the winding apple orchard trails. The trails were lined with lit torches and racers wore headlamps to help with illuminating the sometimes uneven and rough terrain. This was a double loop to complete the 5K course and volunteers motivated racers at most corners. The start/finish line was well positioned so you could be cheered on by friends and family as you lapped the route. Music guided you towards the finish line and the MC kept racers informed throughout. Medics were on site and volunteers on bikes looped the course continuously to ensure everyone was safe and accounted for. Bathrooms were in short supply and the lineups were long for only 2 indoor stalls that were available. A full pasta meal was provided for an additional cost of $15.00 and had to be pre-booked. This is a fairly flat course with only a few small elevations around the second bend and loops nicely back to the start. Some outdoor seating is available and the free wine/cider tasting was a nice touch as you waited for the race to commence. This race was an inaugural event and ran smoothly with a water station in the main vendor area that was easy to access. Free parking across the street, making it easy to come and go to your car. Very friendly staff and volunteers. Timed by sportstats.ca

This event is capped at 350 racers and sold out this year. Family-friendly event with distance choices of 2K, 5K, 10K and a half. Out and back flat course with volunteers to direct and motivate as needed. Music, MC, and mascot kept racers entertained and informed from start to finish. Excellent parking access and water stations along the course. Trail run, hard packed, tree lined for most parts. Well-organized event and no line ups. 2-minute start delay for each distance to avoid bottle-necks. Great socks with runner's bib or the option to trade for a racing buff. Banana, granola bars and juice at finish-line. Timed event by Sportstats.ca with quick results online same day. Medics and port of potties on site. Recommended event.