Town staffer Riley Welden is challenging one of the toughest ultramarathon races in the world this summer while raising funds for the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.

Riley Weldon has launched a "Death Before Hunger" campaign in support of the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.

In a 24-hour window from Aug. 3 to 4, Welden will be testing the 125-km course of the Canadian Death Race through the mountains in the Grande Cache, AB area. Competitors have 24 hours in which to summit three mountains during which they face 17,000 feet in elevation changes. Only the toughest attempt to solo the course; the majority do it as part of a team.

Welden isn't strictly quenching his thirst for adventure. He's asking neighbours, colleagues and friends to donate to the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank through his fundraising campaign "Death Before Hunger." Pledges can be made online directly at www.cochraneactivettes.com or can be made in person at the local branches of Royal Bank or ATB Financial. 

Cheques can be made out to the Cochrane Activettes and mailed to Box 535, Cochrane, AB T4C 1A7.

Charitable income tax receipts are available.

A "Death Racer" reaches the summit of Mount Hamell to collect his flag. Weldon has twice completed the race as part of a team and that experience will come in handy in doing it alone. Both times the veteran "Death Racer" completed leg 4, better known as the Hamell Assault. Many argue this the toughest section of the race.

He was there for the race's 10th anniversary and is returning for the 20th-anniversary edition.

"I've always had it in the back of my mind to do it solo and decided this is the year," says Welden. "There's a big difference between doing it as part of a team and as a soloist and I've never done anything of this distance with these significant elevation changes."

He has, though, completed the Sinister 7 Ultra in the Crownest Pass twice as a team member and most recently ran in the 50k Rundle's Revenge in the Canmore area. 

Weldon strongly believes in the community initiatives of the Activettes and hopes people will consider making a donation.

"The Cochrane Food Bank is a great cause that directly helps people in need," says Weldon. "I want to support the Cochrane Activettes, who do an exceptional job of running the Food Bank and making a positive difference in the community."

Physical endurance and mental fortitude are everything if a person wants to complete this intense race. Welden has been running and hiking at various mountain locations here in Southern Alberta in preparation for the day.

Over 430 soloists will be challenging the Death Race course this year. There are also over 115 teams that vary in size from two to five members.

The Canadian Death Race was created by Paul Bailey and Dale Tuck in 1999 and was taken over by Sinister Sports in late 2017. It's now part of their triple race series that also includes the Sinister 7 Ultra and Black Spur Ultra.

Grande Cache is about 665 km northwest of Cochrane. The mountainous community is located in the northern portion of the Eastern Slopes and borders on the Willmore Wilderness Park directly north of Jasper National Park.