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Creeker wins Toughest Mudder Boston

Shaun Stephens-Whale

Begin at midnight and run a gruelling five-mile (8 km) single-track loop studded with obstacles that require you to crawl through filth under barbed wire, for example. Now run that course eight more times. It’s not a typical race, but with a bear attack behind him as well as a short-lived career as an endurance stair climber, neither is the winner.

Last weekend, 28-year-old Roberts Creeker Shaun Stephens-Whale took home first place at the Toughest Mudder Boston, finishing nine loops of the infamous course in eight hours, taking home a purse of US$5,000, to boot.

“To finally get my name on the top step of the podium at one of these justifies the journey a little bit because it’s been a frustrating road,” Stephens-Whale told Coast Reporter.

He moved to Squamish six months ago to focus on training, with the hopes of turning obstacle racing into a full-time job, and during the winter sustained a stress fracture in the right tibia. “It’s a bit of a gamble and a bit of an investment when you travel to these races and not making any prize money. I’m very happy to finally get on the top step of the podium and am hoping to carry that momentum onwards to events happening later in the season.”

He said his father’s energetic presence as his on-site crew helped push him to the finish line.

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Stephens-Whale takes top spot on the podium in Boston. - World’s Toughest Podcast, Jack Goras Photography

Another help, he said, was the lack of Ryan Atkins, who dominates the sport, as well as time. Because the race was in Boston, Mass., it felt to Stephens-Whale like he was starting at 9 p.m. rather than midnight. Still, he said, burnout poses a major challenge. His answer is caffeine, and maintaining high spirits. “You’re going to be so mentally fatigued if you’re so focused on outclassing your athlete for eight hours, so it’s really about surviving.”

Approximately 1,000 people competed in the Toughest Mudder, a race brand name that was founded by Harvard business school graduates Will Dean and Guy Livingstone in 2010 and which has since spread to become a global phenomenon, with more than 2.5 million people finishing races to date. “They are always very competitive and difficult to win,” said Stephens-Whale, who is used to running through pain.

In the summer of 2017, a bear attacked him, clawing at his thigh during a training run in Merritt. He had to beat it off with rocks and sticks. Stephens-Whale has also competed at an elite level in tower running, racing up the CN and Eiffel towers. Now his focus is on obstacle races because they are more lucrative.

The week prior to Boston, he participated in the 10-mile (16 km) Whistler Tough Mudder and finished within a minute of the winner.

His next race will be the Red Bull 400 in Whistler on July 14, marketed as the world’s steepest 400-metre race. Stephens-Whale has placed second twice.