Calgarians are known for their love of the mountains and outdoor life. A leisurely walk along the Bow River, an easy hike just west in the Rockies or a short trail jog — incorporating outdoor activity into everyday life is part of Calgary’s culture.
Our proximity to the mountains and their attendant pleasures is also a big part of what attracts people to the city. For most of us, that fun is a welcome addition to life, not the main attraction. But for others, the extreme side of sport, which requires an elite level of drive and endurance, is where they thrive. To the average weekend warrior, the reasons these athletes willingly partake in ultra challenges might be hard to imagine.
“Yes … but why?” still hangs in the air.
So we asked two Calgary-based endurance athletes to share what motivates them to chase new records and push the limits of their sport.
Evan Hau – Reaching New Heights
Sport climbing — a style of rock climbing where anchors are already fixed to the wall or rock face and climbers clip in as they go — calls for stamina both on the climb and in the years of planning it can take to complete a route.
Sport-climbing routes are classified by decimals and letters, starting at 5.0 and inching up to 5.15 in difficulty. Between 5.10 and 5.15, the grading scale also includes the letters “a” to “d” for further distinction. Factors, such as the number of moves required to complete the route or the spacing between the holds, affect the grading. A 5.15 route, no matter the letter that follows, is extremely challenging and strenuous, and can take years to complete.
In 2020, Calgary sport climber Evan Hau became the first Canadian to complete a 5.15a route. It took him seven years of attempts to complete it from start to finish. When he was younger, Hau used to climb every day. Today, at 40, he splits his time between his tutoring business and climbing every second day.
“I like the challenge of it. It’s challenging physically, but it’s challenging mentally to figure out how to move my body to make progress on the climb,” he says.
Hau’s passion for climbing runs deep — he moved to Calgary from Ontario in 2008, specifically to be closer to the Bow Valley’s renowned climbing routes. In 2011, he left his engineering career to pursue climbing full time.
“I wanted to just do what I loved,” he says. “I was starting to get pretty good, and that was part of why I wanted to pursue it. For enjoyment, but also to see how far I could take it.”
In 2013, Hau completed a 5.14d, his most challenging route up to that date and one of the most memorable accomplishments in his climbing career. Soon after, he set his sights on achieving a 5.15a. Seven years later, he completed Sacrifice, a 5.15a route he developed in Canmore by fixing its anchors himself.
“It felt amazing,” says Hau. “But it’s interesting how rock climbing goes.” He explains that, while long, technical climbs require mental and physical stamina, the years that lead up to a full ascent require endurance, as well. “There’s endurance in just accepting that I’m going to be working on this for multiple years.”
Currently, Hau has been attempting Fight Club, a 5.15b route in Banff. He doesn’t know when or if he will ever fully ascend it — he does it simply for the love of the climb.
Evan Birch – Life Lessons on the Long Runs
Calgary ultra-runner Evan Birch was 160 kilometres into a Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas race when he felt what he describes as a “big flash” in the back of his leg. He paused at an RV, got his leg taped, did a few rehabilitation exercises and then ran another 304 kilometres to complete his run.
After a 94-hour race with no more than six hours of sleep, Birch crossed the finish line. When he got home, he realized he had a torn fascia in his calf.
“When I say that we’re more capable than we believe, I look back at that,” says Birch. “It’s in those moments that really challenge you, that you find out what you’re made of.”
Birch, now 40, has been running in the mountains since his early 20s, but what motivates him to lace up and hit the trails has changed drastically over the years.
At 18, he began his 20-year career as an emergency dispatcher, unaware of the mental toll it would take on him. Slowly, his casual runs became an escape from the stress of the job. A typical weekend involved a 30- to 50-kilometre run in the mountains.
Eventually, years of intense, emotional work caught up to Birch. Near the end of 2021, he began experiencing panic attacks, night terrors and sleepless nights.
“It was Boxing Day of 2021 when I finally went to [my girlfriend] and said, ‘I can’t do this by myself anymore. I need help.’”
Within two weeks of seeing a therapist, Birch was diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety. His diagnosis changed the role running plays in his life.
“I began to understand that running, for a long time, was an escape for me,” he says. “I had to make a conscious decision, ‘Do I want to keep running for myself, or do I want to keep running away from things?’”
Birch shifted his perspective and started using running as a growth tool instead of a coping mechanism.
“That’s the power in running, and in sport and endurance in general: you can learn a whole lot about yourself in a very condensed amount of time,” he says.
And what Birch learned was that he had always been more capable than he thought.
In 2022, he competed in a 100-mile run because he wanted to, and not because he had to in order to cope with his stress. In 2023 and 2024, he completed the Divide 200, a 200-mile run in the Castle and Crowsnest Pass mountains, with many other runs of 100 km or more in between, including an attempt at a 100-mile run with his dog, SuperNova.
Birch carries what he learns on the trail into his day-to-day life. It’s never been about wins or titles, only about running for himself. Throughout his toughest challenges, Birch says he has had steadfast support, and it’s part of what has helped endurance sport become a way to grow, not escape.
“Find the people who are willing to sit with you in the dark,” he says. It’s a message that he now shares through his work as a coach for ultra-runners, a public speaker and an ambassador for KidSport Calgary.
“You can run for the joy of it,” says Birch. “You don’t have to always be doing these endurance events to hide away pain or to put yourself through suffering. It can be the complete opposite. It can be an opportunity to grow and learn about yourself.”
Evan Birch’s go-to trails
These three running trails aren’t just for endurance athletes — they’re easy to tailor to any activity level.
Prairie Mountain Trail in Kananaskis has a nearly nine-kilometre trail with more elevation (about 700 metres) than a flat city run. The trail offers a steady climb with lots of places to take breaks as needed.
Rundle Riverside runs from the Canmore Nordic Centre to Banff, totalling about 20 kilometres. The trail is quiet, with great views of the Bow River, so it makes for a great spot even if you want to run a few kilometres and turn back.
Goat Creek Trail is another Banff-to-Canmore trail, slightly more popular than Rundle, with a gravel path. As with Rundle, you can opt for a shorter out-and-back, turning around when you’ve hit your halfway mark, or you can challenge yourself to the 19-kilometre run and then bus back to your car.