Canadian ultrarunner Mathieu Blanchard has made history by becoming the first person to complete the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra (MYAU) 600-kilometre race on foot. The event, which began on Feb. 2, in Teslin, Canada, took Blanchard across the frozen Yukon wilderness. After seven days and 22 hours of grueling conditions, including temperatures as low as -40°C, Blanchard crossed the finish line in Faro, achieving something no one had done before.
The MYAU is already renowned as one of the coldest and toughest races in the world. For years, it featured three race distances: a marathon, 160K, and 480K. But this year, organizers added a new challenge: a 600K course that pushed athletes to their limits. The 37 runners who started the race on Feb. 3 faced a temperature of -22°C. They pulled sleds packed with food and survival gear for 340 kilometres before turning back and retracing their steps.
Runners had the option to complete the race on foot, on fat bikes, or on cross-country skis. While Blanchard took on the challenge on foot, American Harm Faringa was the first to finish, completing the race on a fat bike.
View this post on Instagram
By the end of the race, dozens of athletes had dropped out due to cold-related injuries, exhaustion, and the physical toll of dragging a sled through deep snow for days. Despite the extreme conditions, Blanchard pressed on, becoming the first person to finish the 600K race on foot.
Blanchard, who holds both French and Canadian citizenship, is no stranger to endurance challenges. He finished second at the prestigious UTMB race in 2022 and won the Grand Raid de La Réunion just four months before taking on the MYAU. For months, he had been training in the winter to prepare for the race.
“She has everything in it. Pain, joy, madness, survival, achievement, fight, suffering, euphoria, fear,” wrote Blanchard, on a social media post following the race. “Just finished this Yukon Arctic Ultra.”
Running for over a week in temperatures as low as -40°F tested Blanchard like never before.
View this post on Instagram
French runner Guillaume Grima, Belgian Kasper Vanherpe, and American Joaquin Candel also completed the course after Blanchard. Even among the world’s toughest endurance athletes, finishing the MYAU is an extraordinary achievement.
The race organizers praised Blanchard’s performance, saying, “For over a week, he faced some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Mathieu set a relentless pace, navigating the harsh conditions with experience, skill, and sheer determination.”
Blanchard’s historic achievement will go down in the books as one of the most remarkable feats in the world of ultrarunning.
Lead photo courtesy of Yukon Arctic Ultra (Mark Kelly @markkellyphotography).
Leave a Reply