Destination Race
The North Face Endurance Challenge Series
The rolling trails through the Marin Headlands, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, host a championship event of the world’s largest trail series yearly in early December. Over nine years, the race has become a premier ultramarathon in North America, drawing a large international field competing over the singletrack, screaming down fire roads along the Pacific Ocean and through the John Muir Woods. Jacob Puzey, an elite Canmore Alta.-based ultrarunner and participant of the 2015 edition felt it was one of the better races he’s ever run. “The Endurance Challenge in San Francisco brings together the best in the trail-running world for a weekend of celebrating bipedal exploration in the stunning trails of the Marin Headlands,” he said, ref lecting on his experience.
The North Face Endurance Challenge Series ( ecs) has become a global giant. This year’s series will be the 10th anniversary of a project born out of the tireless work and passion of Dean Karnazes, the world-renowned ultramarathoner. The primary ecs is based in North America, with annual stops in Washington, D.C., New York, Ontario, Utah and Wisconsin, before culminating in the championship event and year-end celebration in San Francisco. After establishing a wide presence and impact in the U.S., the ecs opened up shop in Blue Mountain, about two hours north of Toronto, in 2014. The event had over 1,000 runners in its first edition, the largest turnout for any first Endurance Challenge. In 2015, the ecs saw 16,500 runners toe the line in all locations, by far the largest turnout for trail running, globally. Each stop includes a weekend of events from 5k to 50 miles (80k). The ecs has been a welcoming venue for those ready for their first ever trail race as well as a launching point for many in their tests of running against the top trail runners in the world. “Every event has the same high standard of quality,” said Melanie Labelle, a Montreal trail runner who’s participated in multiple ecs events. “You know what to expect – a great atmosphere, happy faces and great aid stations. I enjoyed my experience, especially because the ecs provided the opportunity to discover trails and nature that I would not have seen otherwise.”