Emerson was the starting point Saturday morning for a unique winter endurance race. Cyclists gathered in the community to participate in Actif Epica.

The 6th annual ultra marathon event is billed as a celebration of human resilience for cyclists and runners who want to take on Manitoba's frozen winter landscape.

Participants follow a course along the old Crow Wing Trail for the classic 120 km race from St. Malo to Winnipeg. However, cyclists have the option of tackling a longer 200 km course, while runners can opt for a 162 km route which starts in Ridgeville.

"We've got runners and cyclists from as far away as Brazil and India and we've got a lot from places like Tennessee and Minnesota, from all over the place in the U.S," said organizer David Pemfato of Winnipeg.

Mauricio Estevez lives in Brazil and travelled all this way to participate in his second Actif Epica. His only reason for coming back was the challenge of the course.

"I did the race two years ago and thought it was time to do it again. The last time I was here, I did the 160 km course and I struggled for over 16 hours, so I hope I'm luckier this time and a little faster."

Most competitors would agree with Estevez. It's the challenge of the course that brings people back. The distance in combination with the geography and the winter conditions make it a great test of endurance and a excellent warm up toward an even larger event.

"Actif Epica is actually a qualifier for the Iditarod Invitational, which is the biggest winter ultra endurance race in the world," said Pemfato. "We're one of only eight qualifying events in the world for that race and the only one in Canada."

The historic Crow Wing Trail is 191 km long and connects Emerson to Winnipeg through the municipalities of Emerson-Franklin, De Salaberry, St-Pierre-Jolys, Niverville,  Ritchot and the Roseau River First Nation.

The trail was initially established in the 1800’s as a route to transport goods to and from the Red River Settlement on the Red River and the Crow Wing Settlement on the Mississippi River.

According to Pemfato, the unseasonably warm weather this winter has made this year's race course even more challenging.

"We've never had such a warm year, and ironically, that might make things a little more challenging just because we've had a lot of snowfall, so there's going to be a lot of sections where the cyclists are going to have to push their bike through the snow. It can also be a lot more of a challenge to keep warm with the temperature hovering around zero because there is always the risk of getting damp and then cold, which is much worse than if it's -30 Celsius and you're bundled up and you know what to do."