https://crowfootmedia.com/2015/09/03/three-peaks-challenge/
Standing on Banff Avenue, on a clear day, you can see three of the region’s iconic peaks: Cascade, Rundle and Sulphur. Summiting all three of these mountains in under 24 hours – starting and ending at The North Face store – has become the Banff Three Peaks Challenge. That’s 25,419 feet of elevation gain in just one day, and a distance of 70 kilometres when athletes run from peak to peak.
It all started when former The North Face athlete and ultrarunner, Paul Wathan, was visiting Banff on a working holiday visa in 2013. Originally from the UK, Wathan had completed the Canadian Death Race on August 3, 2013 – a 125 km race with 17,000 feet of elevation.
During his recovery period, Wathan talked to co-workers at The North Face Banff about other routes he could complete before leaving the area. Running Cascade, Rundle, and Sulphur was one idea that came up.
“I was doing a bit of research and noticed that nobody had actually summited all three mountains consecutively, with running in between as well,” said Wathan.
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Total time: 00:17:59:26
Started at North face store in Banff at 4:57am. Went to Rundle for the first summit of the day and broke my personal record of time. Then went across town and up Norquay to the start of Cascade mountain where I summited and immediately came back down and went to Sulfur mountain to end the day off at 11:00pm. Hurt so bad I felt like my feet were bleeding but I now know my physical limits. Loved the challenge and looking forward to doing more.
My roomate joined me for just the summit of Sulfur mountain.
I got water at the river at the bottom of Rundle, Cascade and in town by the bow river when going back and forth. I used a lifestraw water filter and a 1L water bottle
No resupply of food was needed. All food was taken with me for the whole trip.
June 19, 2025
I took on my first ultramarathon. I ran the entire route, including all transitions between peaks. Total time: 19h 42m 50s (71.88 km / 4,623 m gain).
Most of the route was solo, except for a short early morning section on Cascade where my host dad joined me for wildlife safety. I carried my own gear and used pre-packed resupplies at four points.
This one was really special to me, because of where it was, and what it meant. I was 18 at the time, taking on something far bigger than anything I’d done before. I know this isn’t a time to submit for a fastest known time, but I wanted to leave it here in the comments to share the experience. It was a long, challenging day and one of the best of my life. I absolutely loved it, and I can’t wait for more adventures like this! Mountains are my happy place!!
I also used this run as part of a fundraiser, and I’ve shared two short videos about it on my Instagram (@vendy_haladova) for anyone interested in seeing more of the story.
https://www.instagram.com/vendy_haladova?igsh=czh2ZWp5bjUydGkz&utm_source=qr