by Jacqueline Priolo, Guidance,

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The RLC Fall Colours Adventure Race happened yesterday. The race consisted of a 500 m swim, 1 km paddle, and a 1 km trail run. It was amazing to see the number of participants this year. We had 75 students, staff, friends and family sign up. Additionally all of the RLC staff and the Parent Guild were either lifeguarding, trail marshalling, providing first aid support, running the hydration stations, organizing prizes or adding spirit to the day.

The fastest overall time came in at an impressive 15 minutes and 45 seconds, Derek Scheffel completed the full event solo. Following Derek and very close behind was a student team made up of Jonathan ’25, Jack ’24, Ivan ’24 and Zhipeng ’25. Jonathan started the race with an impressive swim, no one could believe how fast he made it from the Rosseau Public Beach to the sail dock. He tagged his paddlers who are grade 12 students Jack and Ivan, known for their style in the canoe. They made their way around the lighthouse onto the RLC campus beach at full speed. Next they tagged Zhipeng who sprinted the 1 km uphill trail route, which brought him to his limits as he gave it everything he had, Zhipeng broke the finish line and collapsed! It was a beautiful moment to see an athlete push themselves to the brink. Of course this was followed by the cheers of his teammates as he recovered to realize what they had achieved.

The first place for the female team was a force to be reckoned with, the Grade 9 class of 2027 team included Logan, Evelyn, and Anabella. They divided up the race in a unique way. Logan swam and ran, while Anabella and Evelyn crushed the paddle in between. It should be noted that Anabella from Germany only learned to stern on the Thursday of the grade 9 outtrip. An indication of the speed that they canoed at could be marked by Logan emerging from Lake Rosseau, tagging her teammates and having just enough time to get around to the RLC beach where they met her again for her to complete the race with the 1 km run (really a sprint). Logan, still dripping with water from her swim, gave it her all and secured the first place for the girls team.

The first place for student-solo was Gabriel ’26. Gabe only learned that he would be doing the event solo a hour before the race as his partner was unable to compete. His ability to rise to the occasion did not come as a surprise for Gabe continuously demonstrates his tenacity on campus with early morning workouts and extended soccer trailing after practices.The first place team for the pairs division was two new Grade 12 students who formed their team on Friday, Shian ’24 (swimmer) and Roberto ’24 (runner) tested their abilities in the canoe and overcame the challenge by making up their time in the lake and on the trail.

For the adult category of pairs we had Betty Priolo and Christina Hall competing. Betty is a 65-year-old grandmother and her daughter Christina, a 37-years-old and mother of two youngsters, decided that they would add a third to their team by taking her three-year-old Easton in the canoe. He acted as extra weight and a little bit of paddle drag as he attempted to join in on the fun.

The second place finishers also received an honour as the runners-up were all in it, what a close race! For full event results click this link. 

‍Results aside, the spirit of an event is always the defining characteristic. The total number of people involved in putting this race together is a sign of the strength of the RLC community. Still, we are looking to continue to grow this event. Martin Birthelmer, the president of the Alumni Association suggested that we get an alumni team from each decade to really ramp up competition! The participants were in different categories, after all this was a choose your own adventure race they could select between doing the full event, solo, in pairs, or teams. Or the relay category where athletes could divide the race up by choosing their favourite element. The different variations of this event made it especially fun as teams strategized to find the best way to be the fastest.

The adventure race proves to be a place for everyone the best part about it is you are truly competing with yourself. You are pushing your personal limits, feeling the burn and seeing how you can work through the mental aspects of the race. It was common to hear teams support other teams, to hear opponents cheer on one another as they collectively dug deep. We also learned that we have many more competitive swimmers than we ever realized. While the polar bear dip lends itself for brave souls, jumping into Lake Rosseau in February, what we got to see yesterday was the beauty and flow of some of these athletes' performance in the water. Lynsey Walker has already offered to start the swim team up! We also learned that our students have GRIT. The Timberwolves have officially come out of their dens. It’s been a long grind with many unpredictable scenarios occurring, but what we’re witnessing now is that the Timberwolves are hungry and ready for adventure, for competition, and for excellence. This was also proven just days ago in the Terry Fox event. It warmed my heart to see every single student on campus participating by either walking, jogging, running or a combination of the three. Everyone pushed their personal limits, inspired by the courage of Terry Fox. Calum ’25 inspired all of us as he decided to continue running after the Terry Fox event had wrapped up. By the time he was done he had completed a half marathon. I don’t think he was doing it for any extrinsic reason he was running because he loves to run! He loves to see what he is capable of.

The adventurous spirit of the students is spreading and we cannot wait to see what they will do next!