Zephyr youth represents Canada at racing event

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ben Walker of Zephyr represented Canada last month in a race that lasted three days and involved canoeing, cycling, swimming and running.

Zephyr resident Ben Walker strides out of the water during the inaugural Junior Adventure Racing World Championship at Raid Témiscaminqgue in Quebec in the Under-18 category. Submitted photo

Walker, 18, took part in the first ever Junior Adventure Racing World Championship at Raid Témiscaminqgue in Quebec in the Under-18 category with his team mate Linden Spence, racing against teams from several different countries.

Walker said the first day of competition featured a mini-race, and both Walker and Spence commented that the hardest part of the day was “scaling the side of the mountain” and “the bushwhacking stings a lot on the legs.”

On the second day, competitors received maps of the course and started off with a 10 kilometre canoe trip. Walker said he and his teammate went the wrong way on the canoe course and missed some mandatory checkpoints.

Throughout the course there were checkpoints to make sure the competitors had all the gear they were supposed to have with them on any particular leg.

After the canoe section, they had to swim to shore with all their gear on and jump on bicycles for a 14.5-kilometre race, at the end of which they had to run 2.6 kilometres.

The third day was more of the same. At one point, Spence lost his salt pills and his legs began to cramp. Walker pushed his teammate to the top of a hill where Linden rode a zipline down the hill and Walker had to run back down.

Walker and Spence came in fourth when the race was over.

The sport is not new to Walker. He said he began racing in triathlons as a young boy, following his parents, who are both phys-ed teachers.

Walker graduated from Uxbridge Secondary School in June, where he received the athlete of the year award. At USS, he was on the volleyball team and was the MVP on the hockey team.

He is planning to go to Laurentian University in the fall, where he will be on the cross-country team while studying to be a phys-ed teacher.