Vedder Mountain Challenge
The Vedder Mountain Challenge (formerly Conquer the Vedder) is a two-day race weekend at Cultus Lake, BC, hosted by Heads or Trails. Saturday is trail run day, with a 35K or 15K on Vedder Mountain. Sunday is multisport day: stand-up paddleboard (SUP), bike and run, raced solo or as a 3-person relay. Relays are capped at 50 teams.
Disciplines
Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) / Gravel OR Mountain Bike / Trail Running
SUP only on Sunday’s multisport day. No kayaks, canoes, surf-skis allowed or other watercraft allowed.
Mountain bikes are allowed, but gravel bikes are more efficient for the experienced rider over these courses. The course is steep at the beginning and end, while fast and flat’ish in the middle. An inexperienced rider may prefer a mountain bike, which has a friendlier gearing ratio for the steep climbs, and a less aggressive seating position for the downhills as well, especially if there’s a dropper post. Using a mountain bike will place most experienced riders at a time disadvantage, however, the bike course has a few steep uphill sections off the start (you can expect a few short hike-a-bikes if you’re not super experienced), and a few steep downhill sections into the finish (nothing crazy, we promise). A gravel bike IS faster, but some people may be more comfortable on a mountain bike. Any non-motorized off-road pedal bike is allowed.
Course Description
All trail run distances start and finish at Cultus Lake.
35K (1,900m / 6,234ft of gain): the full Vedder Mountain challenge.
Strava route
15K (650m / 2,133ft of gain): a shorter taste of Vedder Mountain's trails. A student price is available for this distance.
Strava route
Sunday Multisport (SUP, bike, run): SUP only, so no kayaks, canoes or surf-skis. Any non-motorized off-road bike is allowed. Gravel bikes are faster for experienced riders, and mountain bikes suit less experienced riders. The bike course is steep at the start and finish and flatter in the middle.
Aid Stations and Support
Aid stations are stocked with Näak and GroundSpeed nutrition. A cutoff is the latest time you can reach a checkpoint and keep racing.
35K: AS1 Zest 8.5K (10:30am), AS2 Prisonerland 18K (12:30pm), AS3 Zest 29.5K (3:30pm), AS4 Dilema 32.7K (4:15pm), Finish 36K (5:00pm)
15K: 5 hour cutoff
Multisport (solo and relay): 7.5 hour cutoff
Event's current local time: 9:36 PM PT
