We were delighted to send a delegation to the Canadian Ski Marathon (CSM) again this year. It is North America's oldest and longest cross-country skiing event, and is held annually in February in the Outaouais and Laurentian regions of Québec. The course covers a total distance of 160 kilometers over two days. It is divided into 10 sections, five each day, with individual sections ranging from approximately 12 to 20 kilometers in length.

It is non-competitive, there are no winners or losers. It’s not a race. Participants challenge themselves by choosing how much of the course they wish to complete, ranging from a single section to the full 160 km. It’s all about challenge, and personal best, and getting out and taking part in something larger than ourselves. There are some formal awards. Bronze is awarded to those who complete the entire course, silver recognizes those who do it carrying a pack of at least 5kg. Gold is awarded to those who have earned bronze in a previous year, carry a pack of at least 20kg, carry all of their provisions, and spend the night outside.

The CSM reflects so many of the core values of RLC, such as being adventurous. It’s also about learning what we’re capable of, and maybe surprising ourselves in the process. In what was something of a motto for RLC in the early days, Kurt Hahn said that “there is more to us than we know if we can be made to see it.”

That's been true of everyone we've sent to the event. We’ve been sending delegations for many years, beginning in the 1980s. This year’s marathon was held last weekend and seeing the photos was delightful. Some are included below. Everyone who went achieved their goals, and I truly couldn’t be prouder of them and how they’ve represented our school. But a mention, too, needs to be made of Calum ’25. Last year he earned bronze, itself an incredible feat. Afterward he talked about doing the marathon because he was inspired by his mother. This year, he earned the gold. Moira was in touch on Monday with photos—the one on the right below is one of them—clearly and rightly proud of everything he’s accomplished there.

Through the challenge and accomplishment, the support and the training, the experience of being outdoors, the community spirit, this is what RLC is all about.