Introducing
Team Expedition Canada
Expedition Canada is building a racing team like no other, called “the one to watch” at ARWC 2023. The team previously named “Travel Penticton” representing our host City, seemed to just come out of nowhere. The orphan team who stole the hearts of the other racers, and followers, faced many challenges throughout the event, including a serious mountain bike crash that took them 40k off course to the hospital and then back on course to continue on with the race. Despite it all, they still managed to finish in an impressive 23rd place out of 109 teams!
This new and inspiring team is now building their racing roster for 2024 & 2025 leading up to World Champs and their line up looks amazing with as many as 14 races throughout the next season.
“We have brought together some of the most passionate and dedicated individuals for this team. We not only want to race well, but we are excited to represent Expedition Canada and the World Champs 2025 on a National and International Scale. We can’t wait to help put Canada back on the map in the world of adventure racing!" Ben Kwiatkowski, Team Captain.
Ben Kwiatkowski
Having carved out a life that combines both recreating and working in the mountains, Ben embodies the skills required for adventure racing. Parallel careers in avalanche forecasting, forestry, and mountain rescue allow for jobs that help train for adventure racing every day. This has been merged with a passion for outdoor sports including mountain biking, backcountry skiing, running, mountaineering, and whitewater paddling, all from a young age. Endurance racing across multiple disciplines has always been an important part of his life with many podium finishes. In the past few years this has begun to focus on adventure racing with podium finishes at ARWS events.
Jen Segger
Jen has spent the last 20+ years competing at the highest level in the sport of adventure racing, competing for and against some of the best teams in the world. In her early 20’s she raced full time for several of North America’s top teams in both expedition racing and on the sprint scene while simultaneously pursuing a long career in ultra running. Until recently, Jen was based out of Squamish, BC, an environment that allowed for non stop mountain play and an excellent training ground to develop as an endurance athlete. For decades she has pushed her body and mind to the extremes, exploring her true potential beyond what she thought was previously possible.
Dave Ellis
Strong like fox, smart like Ox. Dave's love of fluoro is matched only by his complete lack of fashion sense. He looks forward to continuing to scare locals around the globe as Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America have already been subjected to far too much retro 80s BMX gear. Dave is known for his ability to suffer much more so than any actual athletic ability. But what he lacks in skills he makes up for with enthusiasm - ask him what he thinks at 3am when the team has just bushwhacked through thick thorns and leeches up the wrong mountain in the pouring rain - and inevitably the answer will be "SUPERFUN".
MP (Marie-Pier) Alary
MP is based out of Squamish, BC. She comes from a competitive sailing background, but quickly transitioned to mountain sports when she moved to the west coast from Quebec. New to the sport of adventure racing, but has a profound love for big multisport adventures and high objectives that often involve lots of bushwhacking and suffering!
Laval St Germain
Laval is an outdoor athlete with a love for hard trips to hard places. Having been involved in adventure racing a few decades ago, he has been rekindling his passion for the sport in the past couple years.
He is a passionate global adventurer with highlights of his extensive resume including the 7 summits, rowing across the Atlantic, and countless other major expeditions.
After racing with Ben, Dave, and MP at the 2023 Adventure Race World Championships in South Africa, he is excited to continue racing with this team.
Kiah Davidson
From Ontario, Kiah's interest in distance sports was sparked by her mom's passion for adventure racing. But it wasn't until recently that Kiah immersed herself in AR. Now residing in Revelstoke, BC, she is excited to have found an activity that combines all her favorite things and takes her to remote locations. Kiah's intro to AR began with a 24-hour race (which she won), followed shortly after by Expedition Canada. Humbled by sore feet and sleep deprivation, motivated by snacks (and the occasional nap), and inspired by the resilience of everyone else on the course, she is excited to stumble, learn, and evolve with every race.
James Galipeau
From Ontario, playing court & field sports, James didn’t start adventure sports until the age of 26. His first AR was an 8-hour race in the middle of a true Canadian winter in Ottawa. He finished the race frozen, exhausted, & completely hooked on the sport. He's since raced in more than 30 expedition races around the world, including 8 AR World Champs, as well as countless shorter races, orienteering & other "ultra" races.
James brings experience & a calm, positive energy to the team. He loves the unique (& sometimes extreme) challenges that are part of AR, & the thrill of meeting them head-on as a team. James is the team’s pack mule and loves to test his “MacGyver” skills when some piece of gear or equipment inevitably falls apart in a race.
Tom Hardy
A Wildland Firefighter and Mechanical Engineer from Salmon Arm, BC, Tom spent the majority of his youth chasing every endurance sport he could find all over the province & country. Tom's first real AR was the Eco Challenge Fiji with a team who knew little about AR. After making it to the finish line as a rookie crew, he was already thinking about the next race. Since then he has competed in Expedition Oregon & Canada, and a collection of other smaller races. His career choices have made it easy to fix gear when needed but his real strengths are; actually wanting to run up a hill at 24:00 “just for fun”, & due to his identifying as "awkward", he does not shying away from awkward situations.
Jasper Edge
Born in New Zealand, Jasper's intro to AR was at age 12 for two years in high school before his family moved to BC in 2011. With a University education in Adventure Tourism, he now works for BC Wildfire Service as a rappel firefighter. Jasper raced with Ben in Eco-challenge Fiji - a bold first big race. Since, they have raced Expedition Canada & Oregon, as well as other smaller races. Due to firefighting commitments, Jasper had to pull out of ARWS 2023. Jasper brings to the team an infectious positive attitude to slog through long nights and he's a great pack mule. Whitewater paddling is his strength, with skills learnt from recreational kayaking and raft guiding. He is very excited to be part of Team Expedition Canada, to learn from the varied experience of all his teammates!