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INUVIK - Three runners from Inuvik have prepared for a gruelling race up mountains, over creeks and through the darkness of night in anticipation of the Canadian Death Race.

Inuvik residents Cynthia Wicks, Alfred Moses and Yvonne Doolittle will participate in the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache, Alta. It's a 125-km relay race over 17,000 feet of elevation in the Rockies through rough terrain, darkness and unpredictable weather. It's held July 30 to Aug. 1. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

Cynthia Wicks, Yvonne Doolittle and Alfred Moses, along with Doolittle's sister Charlene will run as a relay team more than 125 km and 24 hours in the race, held in Grande Cache, Alta. The course begins and ends on a 4,200 foot plateau, passes over three mountain summits and has 17,000 feet of elevation change and a major river crossing.

Although no one has died in the race's 10-year history, it does push racers to the edge as they battle changes in altitude and temperature and is a test of will. Racers are forced to question why exactly they are doing this.

"I've met my goals of time for a marathon and now I'll start in terrain and trail running," Wicks said. "I wanted to set a new goal and I think that as an athlete you need one. Otherwise you're just out there, without motivation."

Wicks will run leg three of five. It's 19 km and described as not too difficult, but with tricky, rocky terrain. To prepare she's been training on Old Baldy and the gravel path beside the hospital and the bypass. Biking has also provided a high intensity cardio workout, which also has strengthened her muscles.

"I'm looking at it like an obstacle course," Wicks said. "I don't want to know what (my leg) is like because I'm training for the worst."

Leg one will be completed by Charlene, who lives in Yellowknife. That leg starts in the town, then works up a hill. The difficulty with that section is the pace and crowds at the start of the race, as well as a large downhill section.

Leg two and five belongs to Moses, who is the only team member that has participated in the Death Race before. He first heard about the death race when he trained for another marathon in 2008. In the years between his team members fell through and 2010 was the first race for him.

The second leg is rated the second hardest, but many runners rate it as the most difficult. Moses faces 27 kilometres of dirt trail with rocky and swampy sections and an elevation change in excess of 6,000 feet. It has a long, sustained climb of three kilometres over rough terrain and two creek crossings.

Leg five is 24 km and will likely be completed in darkness and includes a river crossing with an elevation change of more than 2,500 feet. In less than 24 hours, Moses will have to run close to 50 km over some intense terrain.

"I've done long hours of training, going on the stair master and climbing hundreds and hundreds of floors to see how long I can sustain," Moses said. "During the weekend you can feel the energy and determination. The people there are like Olympic athletes, and are very special athletes. It's amazing just to go through it."

Doolittle will complete the fourth leg, called the Hamel Assault. At 38-km long, it's straight up and then back down a mountain. The net elevation gain is zero, but the elevation change is more than 6,500 feet, which comes practically all at once.

While having to run 17 to 18 km straight up is difficult, Doolittle thinks the downhill will be more difficult. The downhill has boulders and deep ruts, meaning any fall will not be pleasant. On the upside, the scenery will be beautiful.

"I'm thinking of it as a good hike," Doolittle said. "It's a mind/body challenge for me. I wanted to make my body stronger and needed a goal."

She anticipates completing the leg in five to six hours. The challenge of running over that terrain will not be her body failing, but her mind rebelling. After a few hours of intense work, it will be a psychological battle.

"My body will make up reasons to stop, it'll make up an ankle pain, but that's just my body testing my mind," Doolittle said. "I make my mind tell my body to stop complaining. After a bit the pain will move to my knee and then my other leg. I'll just chase the pain around my body."

An additional difficulty will be the loss of oxygen. While Inuvik sits 220 feet above sea level, Grande Cache, the start of the race, will be at 4,200 feet above sea level. Add in the elevation changes and breathing could be a struggle due to the thinner air. The racers hope that arriving a few days earlier will acclimate their lungs.

The racers will keep training until the week before the event, when they will take it easy, adjust nutrition and mentally prepare for the event. The relay had more than 250 teams, 425 solo and 265 kids racers in 2010.

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