Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Whistler adventure racer conquers The Rock

Jen Segger finishes world championship adventure race in Newfoundland

Jen Segger was barefoot when she stepped off her plane in Vancouver, her feet too swollen after more than five days of adventure racing to even put her shoes on.

A closer look would show that she also lost a few toenails in the race, and that her legs were covered with scratches and gashes, souvenirs from her run-ins with Newfoundland’s infamous Tuckamore bushes.

Still, Segger was smiling when she made the trip home to Whistler – her team hung in to finish the 20-stage, 533 km Adventure Racing World Championships in Newfoundland, even as some of the top international pro teams were forced to drop out due to a combination of injuries and exhaustion.

It wasn’t an easy competition. Of the 42 teams that set out in the fog from Sandbanks Provincial Park on Sunday. Aug. 1, only 28 made it to the finish line outside of Corner Brook with all four members.

Segger’s team, Go Big! finished 24 th overall with a total time of five days, 12 hours and 50 minutes. Segger estimates they only spent about 10 hours of that time sleeping.

They were more than two days behind the winner, Nike ACG-Balance Bar, which completed the course in three days 9:49:30. It was an incredibly close finish for an adventure race, with team Cross Sportswear coming in just 20 seconds later.

Segger says Go Big could have finished a little higher in the standings, but they were held back by some bad luck and injuries.

In one long trekking section they lost a piece of their map in the Tuckamore bushes and were forced to spend the night curled up in the roots until they could find their bearings. In a sea kayak section they arrived too late to set out, and had to wait until daylight to get back on the water.

On the injury front, two members of Go Big, including Segger, were having knee problems heading into the race, which created problems in the challenging trekking sections. The constant wetness also took its toll on feet, resulting in blisters, lost nails, and other problems.

"Our goal was just to finish the race, and we did that," said Segger, who is already a veteran of adventure racing at the age of 23. The World Championships in Newfoundland were her longest race so far, although she also completed the Southern Traverse in New Zealand last year with another team and won a medal at the annual Full Moon in June races in Alberta earlier this season with Go Big!

The rest of Go Big! is Rick St. Pierre, 36, of Maple Ridge; Don Barthel, 37, of Vancouver; and navigator Tom Jarecki, 36, of Ladner.

"At one spot we were 15 th and moving really well, but near the end of the race we faded a little when we should have been pushing a lot harder. I learned a lot, which hopefully I can put to work in my next adventure race."

The constant wet and cold was difficult mentally, especially after the group’s short sleeps.

"There were two miserable nights where we had to sleep in our emergency blankets. It was cold and uncomfortable, and we didn’t even get to sleep that much. These were the real mental moments, where everybody was down and nobody felt much like racing."

Segger says the mountain bike legs were difficult to get through, even thought they weren’t very technical and didn’t involve much climbing.

"The sections were really long and boring, following these rail beds. At night you just wanted to fall asleep, and at one point we had to take a break because we were colliding with each other and going off the sides," said Segger.

Not that the race didn’t have its highlights. Segger says the first paddling section was so incredible that she would go back to Newfoundland again just to take in the scenery. The locals were also friendly and enthusiastic, and willing to do anything they could to help out the athletes. One local even gave the team his bed one night during a temporary closure to one of the water sections, says Segger.

The group also came across several moose and caribou, which helped them out by showing them where the paths were through the Tuckamore.

"The locals warned us about that stuff, but we had no idea. They had groups running out before the race to find shin pads," said Segger.

"The trick is to step carefully through it, so we were in there for hours and hours, but the more frustrated you get the more stuck you get, and the branches were razor sharp. It kept your awake and on your toes, so I guess that was one good thing about it."

Although she hoped to compete in a Raid the North adventure race in Vernon, she says she will probably give it a miss to allow herself more time to heal. She’s also considering entering the 24 Hours of Adrenaline race in Whistler on Sept. 4-5 as a solo.

In addition, she has been invited to take part in the Primal Quest race in the U.S. this September, but after that she says she will change her training to focus on the Victoria and Seattle marathons. Next April she plans to run the Marathon Des Sables, a six-day, 243 kilometre endurance race across the Sahara Desert.

She may have some local company on the way there with Pemberton fitness trainer Chloe Lanthier contemplating her third Des Sables appearance.

Finding the money to race can be difficult, says Segger, who is working double shifts at Lululemon (which is also a sponsor) and the Wildwood Café to raise money for her races. She is also taking courses to become a certified athletic trainer, something she says is helping her with her own health and fitness.

It’s a heavy load right now but it’s worth it, she says. She is still a decade younger than most of the women in adventure racing, and is getting better with every race.

"A lot of people have different goals in adventure racing – some teams just want to finish the race, some want to really be competitive and win. I want to make a career for myself in adventure racing if I can, and go as far as I can with it.

"It’s my sport."