Challenge the Shield Adventure Race
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Challenge the Shield Adventure Race
Challenge the Shield is a multi-sport adventure race held on the Canadian Shield near Parry Sound, ON. The host site is Nine Mile Lake Beach, near the Georgian Nordic Outdoor Activity Centre about 10 km northeast of Parry Sound. The 2027 edition is scheduled for September 12, 2027.
Teams of two have a six hour time limit to score points on a choose-your-own-adventure course. A total of 2,500 points are available. The race begins with a mandatory three-part prologue worth 500 points that includes a marked-route run of about 3.5 km, a paddle of about 2 km, and a bike leg of about 7 km. After the prologue teams may paddle, trek, and mountain bike to as many of the 28 checkpoint challenges as they choose. Four backcountry checkpoints are listed at 125 points each and include additional marked-route challenges such as an MTB relay, an island challenge, a mystery checkpoint, and an end-of-race swim-run.
Checkpoint challenge distances are approximately 10–12 km of trekking, 10–12 km of paddling, and 20–25 km of biking. A penalty of 100 points is deducted for every minute or part of a minute over the six hour limit.
Categories are teams of two in Coed, Male, Female, Masters (total age over 100), and Juniors (ages 13 to 18, age as of December 31, 2027). Registration opens December 1, 2026, with an entry cap of 80 teams. Entry fees are listed as Early $199, Regular $229, Late $259 with junior teams at half price. Entry includes customized race maps for each team member, host site day-use fees, customized CTS race swag, a participation sticker, race insurance, and a post-race pizza per team. Canoes are not included; canoe rentals are available from a local partner on a first-come basis.
Awards include first-place prizes by category and CTS points stickers for teams reaching 2000, 1500, and 1000 points. An all-time points leaderboard accumulates points from CTS events with milestone levels such as 5K, 10K, and 25K. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
