📍 Cultus Lake, BC
Trail Running
35KM
15KM
Multisport
Solo or Relay
May 30 & 31, 2026
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
15 KM | 650 M+ ELEVATION
Saturday 30th 2026- Trail Running
35 KM | 1,900M+ ELEVATION
Ascent: 650m / 2130ft
Descent: 650m / 2130ft
A fantastic figure eight style run, beginning and ending on the Cultus lakefront at the Smith Falls campground. With a burly elevation profile you’ll get a full taste of Vedder Mountain’s famous trail network. Thankfully, you tackle all the climbing on the front half of your run, and then it’s all downhill to the finish on the back half… hey, that’s a first for us. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Maybe we’ll have to find one more hill for you to climb before the finish line though? Enjoy a dip in the lake post-race as the pre-summer sun shines bright and warm (at least 50% of the time ) in late May in Chilliwack.
Download the 15km run GPX file here.
Ascent: 1900m / 6225ft
Descent: 1900m / 6225ft
Tough, steep, gnarly and scenic. Need we say more? Starting at Cultus Lake in the private group campground at Smith Falls, runners will make their way up and over the very tippy top of Vedder Mountain at 924 m (3,031 ft), and there’s even a few hand-rope assisted areas to get you safely over the steepest rock faces. Of course we’ll throw in a few more ups and downs along the way, just to test your mettle out there on the singletrack. You’ll cuss us, but you’ll also thank us… eventually… we hope.
Download the 35km run GPX file here.
Sunday 31st 2026- Multisports
SUP - RIDE - RUN Relay | 53 KM
Stage 1: 6km SUP on Cultus Lake.
Heads Or Trails results are submitted to both ITRA and UTMB for performance index scoring for each runner!
Stage 2: 32km off-road ride, up and down Vedder Mountain.
Ascent: 750m / 2460ft
Descent: 750m / 2460ft
Stage 2 GPX file
Stage 3: 15km Trail run, up and down Vedder Mountain.
Ascent: 650m / 2130ft
Descent: 650m / 2130ft
Stage 3 GPX file
SUP - RIDE - RUN SOLO | 48 KM
Stage 1: 6km SUP on Cultus Lake.
Stage 2: 15km off-road bike up Vedder Mountain via a mix of rideable singletrack and service road.
Ascent: 580m / 1900ft
Descent: 157m / 515ft
GPX file | Strava route
Stage 3: 12km Trail run, up and over Vedder Mountain.
Ascent: 535m / 1755ft
Descent: 535m / 1755ft
GPX file | Strava route
Stage 4: 15km off-road bike back down Vedder Mountain to the finish line.
Ascent: 157m / 515ft
Descent: 580m / 1900ft
GPX file | Strava route
More Info
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Saturday, May 30, 2026 —> Running Races, choose from 15km or 35km distances
Sunday, May 31, 2026 —> Multisport races, choose from solo or relay teams of 3 (one person per discipline) SUP-Ride-Run -
Saturday —> 15km or 35km
Sunday —> Solo multi-sport (SUP / Off-road Biking / Trail Running): 48km total
—> Multi-sport relay (Teams of 3) -
Smith Falls (Westside) Campground, Cultus Lake, BC
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Saturday
8:00am: 35km run
9:00am: 15km run
Sunday
8:00am: multi-sport both races, solo and relay
Pre-Race Briefing:Mandatory each day: 15 minutes before start -
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.
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Solo Multi-sport: 7.5 hours
Relay Multi-sport: 7.5 hours
15km Run: 5 hours
35km RunAS# Aid Station Distance Time Taken Arrival Time
AS2 Zest (1st time) 8.5km 2h30m 10:30am
AS3 Prisonerland 18km 4h30m 12:30pm
AS4 Zest (2nd time) 29.5km 7h30m 3:30pm
AS5 Dilema (2nd time) 32.7km 8h15m 4:15pm
Finish line 36km 9 hours 5pm -
Friday: 4:00pm – 7:00pm (run only) @ Garrison Run Co
Saturday: 7:00am – 8:45am (run only) at race start at Smith Falls Campground
Saturday: 3:00pm – 6:00pm (multi-sport only) at race start at Smith Falls Campground
Sunday: 6:00am – 7:00am (multi-sport only) at race start at Smith Falls CampgroundID MUST BE SHOWN TO PICKUP YOUR RACER PACKAGE. BIBS CANNOT BE PICKED UP BY ANYONE BUT THE REGISTERED RACER. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Watch Jeff Pelletier tackling the Vedder Mountain Challenge
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SATURDAY - 35 KM
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SATURDAY - 15 KM
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SUNDAY - MULTISPORT