Muskoka River X “Huntsville 110”

A new format for the infamous “Muskoka River X” event in Canada, the Huntsville course is a 110km (68 miles) odyssey through a system of four interconnected lakes. Unlike the old Muskoka that leaned on several portage runs, there’s only one land crossing on the Huntsville, making this year’s race a pure punishment of paddling and pain.

Not content with a mere 110km hit out, Muskoka is also promoting the unique, 510km (317 miles) “David Thompson Virtual Paddle Challenge” to celebrate the extraordinary feat of the titular character. David Thompson paddled from the Ottawa River to Georgian Bay with the help of First Nations guides in 1837 searching for trading routes — the original expedition covered three months, and Muskoka have been encouraging paddlers to tackle the same distance in that same timeframe wherever they are in the world.