Fresh Air Experience (map)
At the head of Lake Superior, in Ontario’s northwest the City of Thunder Bay has a wealth of outdoor adventure opportunities. Taking advantage of purpose-built mountain bike and recreation trails built over unique mesa rock formations cover in Boreal forest. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy what northwest Ontario has to offer.
The City of Thunder Bay is located in northwest Ontario at the lakehead of Lake Superior:
Travel by car is via Highway 11/17 of the Trans Canada Highway or Highway 61 from Minnesota
Winnipeg ~700 km
Sudbury ~1000 km
Duluth, MN ~300km or 185 miles
Flights are available through the Thunder Bay Airport with many flights daily from Toronto
Accommodations:
There are approximately 40 hotels in the city
Host hotel TBD
Thunder Bay offers a number of camping options as well, including the Trowbridge Campground, immediately adjacent to the race course!
The XTERRA Sleeping Giant takes 50-75 volunteers to run. If you would like to be a part of the event but don’t want to participate please sign up to volunteer at: https://forms.gle/u5xFpn7o6Cg2QJyd8
All purchases are final. We are not able to offer any refunds, transfers, or rollovers for any reason.
As we are moving to a new venue for 2023, event specifics will continue to be updated as the event nears. Please follow our Facebook and Instagram page for updates. As well you can send us your email and we will add you to our distribution list.
No, this event is mountain bike only. The trails used for this event are designed for mountain bikes.
The event is sanctioned by Triathlon Ontario and follows standard protocols for ITU racing. On-site officials, along with the Race Director, will determine if weather may adversely impact the safety of the event and make appropriate changes if necessary. The event is in northwest Ontario, while mid August weather is generally quite nice, racers should be prepared for inclement weather such as cold weather and precipitation. Water quality will be continuously monitored leading into the event. Lake temperatures will be measured on race day. Should water quality or temperature be unsafe the swim may be shortened (or canceled, though that is unlikely). If the swim is canceled, we will do a duathlon format.
Yes! XTERRA Sleeping Giant Full Distance Triathlon is now a qualifier for the 2023 XTERRA World Championships in Trentino, Italy.
The swim will be started by event type. The Full Triathlon and relay will go out together, then the Short Triathlon together.
Final decision regarding swim start will be made closer to the event depending on participation.
The bike course is a mix of bike path, double and singletrack trail. The trails in the Shuniah Mines/Trowbridge Forest are incredibly fun as well as challenging. While the route selected for the event will not be the most difficult in the trail system, race day should not be your first time riding on a mountain bike on tricky trails. Please be prepared.
Yes. There will be sections of double track trail where a faster rider can overtake. If a faster rider approaches you from behind and signals intent to pass, the rider in front should find a safe place to pull aside and let the faster rider go by.
The run course is a mix of gravel path, double and singletrack trail. The run course does contain some technical features making for fun run and challenging for all.
Past results can be found at https://elementracing.ca/results/.
The City of Thunder Bay offers amazing outdoor opportunities including mountain biking and trail running of course, but also flatwater kayaking, road & gravel cycling!
And the food! Thunder Bay really punches above its weight in dining. If you are a foodie, have a penchant for local breweries or are a coffee lover, you will find that right here in the city.
Check out the XTERRA Sleeping Giant promo video HERE.
Early Bird Registration expires at 11:59pm EST on February 25.
Final price increase is on July 1.
Online registration ends on August 2.
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