What do an Olympic style boxer, a martial arts expert and a mountain biker have in common? This summer, it’s the desire to push their body to limits beyond what others think are possible by competing in what is described as Canada’s toughest race.
Come July, Amber Konikow, 36, Steve Gagne, 29, and Joe Hurban, 35, otherwise known as the Electric Grasshoppers, will make their way to Grand Cache, Alta. to line up at the start line of the 2011 edition of the Great Canadian Death Race.
The race’s slogan, “It’s a killer,” sums up what the trio will go through on July 30. In a 24-hour time frame, teams and individuals from across North America will run 125 kilometres of trails, cover three summits with 17,000 feet in elevation changes and make one major river crossing.
After boxing competitively for the past 10 years and completing seven half marathons, Konikow, who is the captain of the team, said she wanted to try something different.
I like to challenge myself. The things people think are impossible, I like to prove that wrong.
Amber Konikow,
The Electric Grasshoppers’ captain
“I was reading a running magazine and saw this Canadian Death Race,” she explained. “Joe and I like trail running, so we thought, why not try it? It looks pretty extreme and looks like a lot of fun.”
“I was told I was doing it,” Hurban said with a laugh. “I enjoy being outside in the bush. We do a lot of hiking. I’ve run about five half marathons and have always wanted to do a full marathon. This is going headfirst into it I guess.”
Gagne’s reason for taking on the challenge was much the same as Konikow’s.
“I’ve been in martial arts for the past 25 years,” he said. “I’m used to short powerful bursts of speed. Endurance was not my forte and this was a new challenge, physically and mentally, to conquer more endurance activities.”
The team has been following a strict training plan since late last year that saw each of them racking up kilometres in whatever conditions Mother Nature threw their way.
On race day, the trio will work in a relay to cover varying distances. Gagne will take the first 19-km stretch and hand off to Hurban for the next 27 kilometres, which includes a 5,000-foot mountain. Gagne will log the next 19 kilometres, which involves a large river crossing, before leaving Konikow to complete the remaining two legs — 38 and 22 kilometres — which includes the hardest climb and the highest altitude, in the dark.
“I like to challenge myself,” Konikow said. “The things people think are impossible, I like to prove that wrong.”
They’ve split up the legs in a way that complements each of their individual skill sets, Gagne said. For him, it’s speed. “As a taekwondo stylist, there’s hundreds of kicks within minutes,” he said. “I’m doing the fast leg, where it’s important for making up time.”
For Hurban, he said the leg strength and endurance he’s developed through mountain biking will held him conquer the mountain on his leg of the race.
Konikow said boxing combines both speed and power, which will help her to go longer without tiring.
While the team is confident their training will get them through the intense physical strain, they said there are other things they are concerned about.
“We need to make sure we apply our training during the run,” Konikow said. “Sometimes you get competitive and lose focus. Being in the high altitude can be a bit of a concern, but we’ll get there early to adapt.”
“Definitely getting hurt on the trails in the remote terrains is a challenge,” Hurban said. “In that race, there’s not as many aid stations on the way, you have to be self-sufficient.”
In case of a mid-race injury, Konikow, who is a registered nurse, has shown her teammates how to “bandage themselves up.”
“By splitting it up, it also gives us the option, if someone is irreparably harmed, we’re all prepared to cover each other,” Hurban added.
No matter how much training they put in or how many kilometres they log, the team will have to be ready for the inevitable mental challenge that will come with pushing their bodies to those kinds of limits.
“Being a boxer and competing at the international and world level, when you’re in the ring, it’s just you and your mind can easily turn off to the fact that you’re tired or losing or not going the way you want to, and you want to give up,” Konikow said. “But I’ve trained myself to be able to snap out of that. You have to dig in and convince yourself you can do this, and remain positive.”
Gagne said he does his best to stay in the moment. “I don’t think about if I have five miles or two miles left, I just think one more step, one more step. You can always achieve smaller bits at a time.”
Hurban said loud music was going to get him through. “And don’t look at your watch or GPS,” he added with a laugh.
While the racers are looking forward to the gratification that will come from completely the grueling race, their motives go beyond themselves. The trio will be racing in support of local children by raising funds for the Greater Sudbury Police Service’s Chief’s Youth Initiative Fund.
Each of them works with kids on a regular basis. Konikow is a coach at the Top Glove Boxing Academy, Gagne is the owner and head instructor at Impact Martial Arts and Hurban volunteers with the Walden Mountain Biking Club.
“(The Chief’s Youth Initiative Fund’s) focus is directly on youth and that’s what we believe in — helping youth out for activities to stay healthy and fit,” Konikow said. “To see younger kids who don’t have opportunities because of certain circumstances, to be able to provide funds to help them out to make it a little easier for them, that would be great.”
“The youth have a lot of challenging times to keep up with sports, and this charity really helps them out,” Gagne added.
To make a donation to the Electric Grasshoppers’ campaign to raise funds for the Chief’s Youth Initiative Fund, contact Konikow at 705-561-6895 or [email protected] or Gagne at 705-522-2253 or [email protected].
For more information on the race, visit www.canadiandeathrace.com.
