Team List Expedition Canada 2023:
Team More Mayo (Canada)
Ryan Schissler, Freya Wastenays, Russell Henry, Graham Henry.
A team of friends who enjoy life’s finer things: sunshine, coffee, good food, mayonnaise on good food, and of course spending long periods of time suffering in the wilderness. With the goal of keeping things lighthearted, we do not take ourselves too seriously. However, with our ability to push beyond, and competencies in multiple pursuits, More Mayo will put forth a competitive effort all while having a great time. With varying degrees of first to last-place finishes, records, and FKT’s in a variety of sports, we are all first-timers in this format of adventure racing aiming to compete and have fun.
Silva | Rocky Mountain AR (Canada)
Donna Grey, J Sotropa, Matt Dreis and Chris Fenlon-MAcDonald
Team SILVA | Rocky Mountain AR is a classic combo of average athleticism mixed with
full-strength wit. We fiercely support one another, but will jump at the chance to make light of our
teammate’s blunders. We met at our local gym trying to out-lift and out run one another, but then
quickly realized that ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ ... and the team was established. Come
say hi to Donna, J, Matt or Chris. We aim to race hard, have fun and not take ourselves too
seriously! We aim to exemplify the teamwork that makes this dream work!
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Team Just For Fun (USA)
Sam Thoma, Grace Thoma
We are a dad-and-daughter team that has been adventure racing for 3 years. Grace is 16 years
old and a high school senior. Expedition Canada will be our first time competing in an expedition
race. We hope to use the knowledge we gained from volunteering at races to complete
Expedition Canada in the middle of the pack. Fun fact, we decided on a Weird Al playlist to help
us fight through the hard times of the race.
Team Supernova (USA)
Chelsea McBride, Paul Steele, Taylor Pospisil, Rachel Popelka
Team Supernova is comprised of four white dwarfs who are easily triggered into runaway
nuclear fusion. We plan to go out hot and bright while slowly fading over the week. A team like
this only happens three times a century so don’t blink and miss us flying by at the speed of light,
hopefully in the right direction.
Team Working on it (Canada)
Ilana Kingsley, Sarah Pihel, Cole Reinstma & Yohan Pare
Team Working on it are super excited to see what the Okanagan Valley has in store for them! Sarah, from Orangeville, Ontario, loves adventure and can be found paddling the wilds of Killarney and skiing with her dogs Taiga & Piper. Ilana is a dog musher based in Whitehorse, Yukon who turned to adventure racing for summer fun and is now hooked on both. With travel & adventure in her blood, Cole and Yohann are ready to tackle anything on the EC course, or at least have a good laugh trying. Our goal is to cover as much distance in 6 days and laugh a lot
Snowdog Trail Team.pl (Poland)
Mateusz Niedbala, Kris Muszynski, Magda Stachura & Kuba Zwolinski
Snowdog TrailTeam.pl is a group of friends competing in adventure racing and other
outdoor activities. The history of the team goes back more than 20 years (we may
not be the youngest in the pack), but after years of absence, we only returned to
racing three years ago. In Canada, we want to have fun, race in beautiful places
and meet amazing people (but maybe not those famous big animals). Whatever
happens, we expect an awesome adventure in the wilderness. Of course, while
trying to make it to the finish line in its entirety we will do our best to rank as high as
possible in the classification.
Grit Racing (Canada)
Ross Brittle, Phil Kazmaier, Ben Waugh & Una Hall)
GRIT Racing is an Ontario based team who are aiming to follow up last year’s full course EC finish (and their first expedition race) with hopefully even better results this year. New to the team this year is Una who is also an Expedition Canada veteran and is sure to keep the rest of the team going full tilt. The team has raced Wilderness Traverse 24hr races together going back to 2014 and will rely on great friends, great snacks, great attitudes, and really really bad dad jokes to carry them to the finish line.
Natural Selection (Canada)
Ryley Deblonde, Mark Brainard, Andrew Stuntz & Jon Hammett
Climbing from the primordial sludge of both Washington State and Winterfell (the Canadian Prairies) comes four brash competitors, looking to reserve a seat in the annals of history! Their names. MARK "the Brains" BRAINARD - a trail runner whose engineering prowess can extract the team from all but the stickiest of situations. Jon Hammett - wise as the sun is hot. His experience with porcupines (and previous expedition races) will prove to be indispensable. Riley "the Medic" De Blonde - never in 2 places at once, but always hoping to be. Has 0.94 Expedition Races under his belt. And finally...the eagle-eyed phenom from Bellingham...Andrew Stuntz! He will be the team's navigator. No intersection - nor snow - SHALL BAR HIS PATH...as the team journeys through the wilderness towards their ultimate goal. Finding Bigfoot.
Charles Darwin truly would be proud.
Bend Racing/Skin Doctor (USA)
Dusty Caseria, Emily Caseria Jason Magness & Lebn LoveJoy
Team BendRacing/Skin Doctor is known for making bold choices, having fun in the harshest of conditions, and inspiring new racers to enter the sport. BendRacing also puts on several races throughout the year for new and experienced racers alike.
Fun Fact: Our team for this race consists of all PNW dwellers, representing Bend, Oregon and Bellingham, Washington.
Race Goals/Expectations: Race hard and strong. Finish first and have an awesome time racing and exploring a new place together.
Team Four-ward motion (Canada)
Jeremy Green, Pavla Lounova, Carl Barrett & Chris Ford
We are a group of ‘old’ locals that have all raced before against each other, but just never together in the same team. We are planning to tackle the full event as fast as possible without losing our sense of humour, or our way. We are all negotiating who gets to get towed by Carl, our iron man. Chris claims to be a box of chocolates, we never know what we are going to get, but an adventure is guaranteed.
Our goal is to keep up a sense of urgency at all times - to be in a hurry.
Work together to support and encourage each other through the course
Finish feeling like we did as well as we could have, where ever that happened to be in the standings (but we want to do the full course, and not be chasing cut-off times)
Minimise the errors by communicating well.
Team True North (Canada)
Philip Roadley, Alex Man, Becca Man & Logan Roadley
Team True North features haggard adventure racers, Philip Roadley and Alex Man, who began their
racing careers at Eco Challenge Patagonia, 1999 nearly 25 years ago. The legacy continues now in a combined effort with their children, Logan Roadley (the new mule) and Becca Aysan Man (sarcastic astrophysicist). Team True North made their first appearance in Amazon Prime’s World’s Toughest Race
- Eco Challenge Fiji, with particularly memorable footage -- to make Canada proud -- of the team
assisting others in navigation, late in the race. The team is thrilled to keep this unique legacy alive in
Expedition Canada, 2023 without killing either child or digging early graves for either father.
Team East Wind (Japan)
Asuka Takei, Toru Ogura, Akira Yonemoto & Yoki Tanaka
Team EAST WIND is a professional adventure racing team led by Yoki Tanaka. They mainly compete in domestic races but are training to reach the top internationally and have proven themselves many times already on the World circuit.
Team Manny's Pale Ale (USA)
Tamara Armstrong, Chip Palzer, Robin Smith & Clint Arney
This year’s edition of Team Manny’s Pale Ale includes old hats Clint Arney, Tamara Armstrong, Chip Palzer, and Robin Smith who have participated in adventure races around the world including the US, Australia, New Zealand and China. The team has participated in a number of Expedition Oregon events but this will be our first race North of the Border. Manny’s, from Seattle, WA, is out here looking forward to some epic challenges and beautiful landscapes. The goal is a full course finish, but short of that the team is stoked for adventure, camaraderie, and earning a well-deserved cold one at the finish line.
Team Epic Endurance (Canada)
Kelly Boyd, Bruce Hawryluk, Jenna & Kat
Our main goal is to finish the full course.
Beyond that we just want to able to work well as a team and make sure Bruce eats something other than Mike and Ikes for the whole race. Also Kat has said she will have us all fluent in German at the end of six delirious day.
Team Strong Machine AR (USA)
Kate White, Evan Moreshead, Kit Vreeland & Tom Martin
Strong Machine Adventure Racing is based in the northeastern region of the US and races nationally across the US and internationally at ARWS events. The team also directs the Maine Summer Adventure Race and Wildlands Adventure Challenge in Maine, USA. We aim to complete the full course and achieve the best overall finish that we can. Our team motto is: "Push hard and love each other."
Team Bones (USA)
Roy Malone, Jason Quinn, James Galipeau & Megan Erspamer
Bones Adventure Racing has been competing internationally since 2001.
Through the years, we've raced on every continent, in the biggest races, among the world's beast adventure teams.
Team 400team Givaudan (France)
Adrien Lhermet, Benjamin, Daphne & Matthieu Bajard,
The team present in Canada will be a new team with 3 new team members. Benjamin, Matthieu and Daphné will be more motivated than ever to push themselves to their limits and enjoy this wonderful country. Adrien will try to follow them but will also have the task of guiding and ensuring the team cohesion.
Objective: take maximum pleasure, enjoy the landscapes and place well!!!!
Adrien Lhermet, with other 10 years of experience in ARWS, will be the captain of the team and will bring with him new young racers.
The Team is excited to race in Canada, especially on the West Coast and can't wait to see what the race is going to bring them.
Team Bones Canada (Canada)
Chris Laughren, Tom Martin, Chad Spence & Jen Segger,
Team Bones Canada came together after a few former Bones US teammates (Jen Segger and Chad Spence) raced together in Belize in 2018 and won. With Expedition Canada they've decided to represent their home country on home soil with hopes of finishing on the podium. They will be joined by long time teammate of Chad’s, Chris Laughren and recently “retired” Tom Martin. The team will look to Jen as their “coach” and hopefully they heed her advice on training leading up to the big race. Chad is one of the top navigators in the sport but when he’s not on map/bearing, he can often be heard singing a tune in the later stages of a race. Chris usually good for at least one adult tantrum per race but tries his best to “mule” for the team whenever he can. Tom is workhorse out on course, but legend has it that he hates wardrobe changes so he may be smelling ripe after 4-5 days of racing! Hopefully their year’s of Expedition experience and teamwork combine well for a solid race.
Team Peak Pursuit (Canada)
Ben Kwiatkowski, Kiah Davidson, Mark Dodsworth & Nicholas Hurff ,
Kiah, Mark, and Nick are joining Ben in their first expedition length race. With multiple podiums in all lengths of races, wildland firefighting / military backgrounds, and a strong root in long distance outdoor adventure, they are all ready to tackle the course this year. They are excited for a new challenge and want to see every part of the course with the aim of hitting every checkpoint. Singing and dancing on the trail will get them through the wee hours!
Team Ozarks (USA)
Jameson Henkle, Marie-pier Alary, Jason Bettis & Mike Kuschner
Team Ozark comes onto the ARWS expedition circuit with over 15 years of adventure racing experience primarily at the 24-30 hour range. Our goal is to have a really fun time as a new team together, and as a result excel through the second half of the race by being proactive in our race strategy. The team is excited to race in the Okanagan and have shared experiences with the community of ARWS expedition racers.
