CHALLENGE THE SHIELD

MULTI-SPORT ADVENTURE RACE

Parry Sound, ON



SEPTEMBER 13, 2026

REGISTRATION OPENS DEC. 1st, 2025

OVERVIEW
The Challenge the Shield Multi-Sport Adventure Race is an awe-inspiring wilderness endurance challenge on the rugged Canadian Shield. Teams of two have up to 6 hours to tackle as many of the 28 checkpoint challenges amongst the iconic windswept pines, pristine lakes and granite rock barrens as they choose. The "choose-your-own-adventure" points-based course design is both beginner-friendly and an epic challenge of strategy and adventure for even the most experienced teams.  Shred some wicked granite slab MTB trails. Navigate to as many of the beginner, intermediate, or advanced checkpoints as possible. Paddle and portage to a backcountry lake. Try a swim run at the end of the race. You decide the adventure!
Challenge your friends.  Challenge yourself. Challenge the Shield!

HOST SITE
Nine Mile Lake Beach (near the Georgian Nordic Outdoor Activity Centre ~10km NE of Parry Sound, ON)

RACE FORMAT
NEW RACE FORMAT FOR 2026!
6-hour time limit.  A total of 2,500 points are up for grabs.
The race begins with a mandatory three-part prologue (500 points); a marked-route ~ 3.5 km run/trek, followed by an ~ 2 km paddle, and then an ~ 7 km bike. After completing the prologue (and NEW for 2026), teams will paddle, trek, and MTB to as many of the 28 checkpoint challenges as they choose. The more checkpoints you get the more points you score. Our four backcountry checkpoonts (125 points each), each with their own additional marked route challenge, are back for 2026 including the MTB Relay, Island Challenge, a mystery CP, and the very popular last CP end-of-race Swim-Run challenge. The checkpoint challenge distances are ~10-12 km of trekking, 10-12 km of paddling, and 20-25 km of biking. A penalty of 100 points for every minute (or part) over the 6-hour time limit will be deducted.

CHALLENGE STICKERS & AWARDS
Challenge yourself at Challenge the Shield!
We will have prizes for the first-place team in all categories and lots of draw prizes.
 
The Challenge the Shield is also about challenging yourself. Whatever your age or experience we would like to reward your achievements in this race.  How many checkpoints can you find?  How many points can your team get? Challenge the Shield Points Challenge Gold, Silver, and Bronze CTS stickers will be given to teams that get 2000, 1500, and 1000 points, respectively! All other teams will get a Challenge the Shield participation sticker!  

CHALLENGE THE SHIELD ALL-TIME POINTS LEADERBOARD
Check out our Challenge the Shield All-Time Points Leaderboard. Challenge yourself and friends to reach our all-time points milestones of 5,000 or 10,000 points. The all-time points leaderboard accumulates points from both our CTS Adventure Run and CTS Adventure Race. Milestone prizes will be available in 2026.
Congratulations to our 10,000 points club athletes.
Congratulations to our 5,000 points club athletes.
Current leaderboard

CATEGORIES
Teams of 2.
Coed, Male, Female, Masters (total age >100), and Juniors (ages between 13 and 18)
*age as of December 31, 2026.

REGISTRATION & ENTRY FEE
Entry fee is for a team of two. Registration limited to a total of 80 teams of two.
Entry fee includes professional customized race maps for each team member, host site day-use fees, customized CTS race swag (i.e., hat, t-shirt), CTS participation sticker, race insurance, and a yummy post-race pizza for each team. Entry fee does not include Zone-4 online transaction fee, HST, or canoes. Teams will need to arrange their own canoe or kayaks.  through our race partner White Squall (see below). 

Entry deadlines: Early until April 1, 2026; Regular until July 1, 2026; Late until September 1, 2026.
Race fees: Early $199; Regular  $229; Late $259 (Junior category teams half price)
Discounts: Teams that have a GNOAC Annual Pass can use code GNOAC50 for 50% off entry fees.
Registration Link       Confirmed Entries        Refund policy
 
EVENT GUIDE, RULES & REQUIRED GEAR
2026 Event Guide will be available in early July. Check out our 2025 Event Guide for details on the race, required gear, waiver, race day schedule, and more. 

The 2026 segment challenge (SC) marked routes are summarized here:
2026 Run SC:   Strava    GPX    Map
2026 MTB SC:  Strava    GPX    Map
2026 Paddle SC:  Map
2025 Swim Run SC:  Map

CANOE RENTALS
We're excited to partner with White Squall Paddling Centre in Nobel. White Squall will have canoes available on a first-come first-served basis. H20 Kevlar 16-18'6 canoes with paddles, rope/bailer, delivered/picked up at the race site! Email [email protected] with the subject line: "Challenge the Shield Canoe Rental" for pricing and payment information.

There are also several other canoe rental options in the Parry Sound and Muskoka region ( link ).

SCHEDULE
Sunday September 13th, 2026 (Race Day)
0745-0900:    Gear drop and paddling gear check at Nine Mile Lake Beach.
0800-0915:    Race packet pick-up (please bring signed waivers) at Georgian Nordic.
0945               Pre-race briefing at Nine Mile Lake Beach.
1000               Mass start at Nine Mile Lake Beach.
1600               Finish at Nine Mile Lake Beach.
1600-1700     Post-race pizza at Nine Mile Lake Beach.
1700               Awards at Nine Mile Lake Beach.

RACE RESULTS
2025 RESULTS
2024 RESULTS
2023 RESULTS

CONTACT
Wil Smith and Mike Waddington
[email protected]

ADVENTURE RACING ONTARIO SERIES
​Challenge the Shield Multi-Sport Adventure Race has applied to be an official race in the Adventure Racing Ontario Series. For more information on other races in the Adventure Racing Ontario Series click the logo.