It’s the middle of peak winter in Manitoba and tears are rolling down my face in pain and despair.

I collapse onto a half-frozen pile of mud in the middle of nowhere, some place in South of Winnipeg in the freezing cold midnight. I’m not even sure where I am. All I know is that I have little over 6 hours to finish this race, Actif Epica - the ultramarathon that I’ve been training for months to do. [caption id="attachment_9308" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] © Kevin B Desaulniers[/caption] Actif Epica is a 120 km long self-supported race in peak winter of Manitoba. Unlike other races, there is no support available of any kind, you carry all your needs like water, food, survival gear and clothes in a backpack from the start to finish. Temperatures are generally 30 degrees below freezing with winds at 50 kilometers an hour.