Last weekend, teams and solo runners completed a 547-kilometre trek from L.A. to Las Vegas in the notoriously mysterious race dubbed The Speed Project (TSP). The unsanctioned event, known for its lack of a fixed route or rules, has runners following a path of their choice, sleeping if and when they can, with crew aiding them along the way. This year’s event had Canadians running strong in both the team and solo categories, with Team Pace & Mind (originally out of Toronto) taking first in the team category, and Calgary’s Evan Birch finishing as the sixth solo runner.
Canadians on The Pace & Mind team speed to first place
Pace & Mind, a team of four men and two Canadian women, captured the first-place spot in 30 hours and 12 minutes. Post-race, team captain Carolyn Buchanan told Canadian Running that some sections of the race “find your vulnerabilities and tear you down mentally, but somehow you keep getting out of the truck and putting one foot in front of the other.”
Carolyn first ran TSP in 2022, with fellow athletes from her track club Toronto—the original Pace & Mind team took fifth in their first attempt. Now based in Chicago, Carolyn shared stories of TSP with her new run club, Second City Track Club, who were keen to chase a win. Laurel Buchanan, Carolyn’s sister (who crewed her in 2022) also joined the team.
Buchanan, an experienced marathoner with a PB of 2:43, says that the team experience at TSP is uniquely incredible. “You have a different motivation burning from inside than a typical race—not being able to run or perform would let your team down and I think that at the end of it all that is why people find this insane race ‘fun’ and come back to do it more than once,” she explains.
Buchanan’s favourite moment was seeing the sunrise as the team neared the Las Vegas sign at the finish line. “The shift in energy from anxiousness and exhaustion to pure joy and adrenaline is unmatchable. Vegas is on the horizon, you discover this new gear and there is nothing but paved road between you and that sign.”
Birch captures sixth soloist in a mental health odyssey
Calgary-based ultrarunner Birch, whose running resume includes The Divide 200-miler and the Canadian Death Race, says that running TSP was “all about curiosity for me and doing something on my own terms.” He explains that the event is a choose-your-own-adventure situation. “It allowed me to use my decades of experience in logistics and route planning from my career for the purposes of my running.” Birch captured sixth place in 95 hours and 48 minutes.
Birch, who spent decades as a 911 dispatcher, once found himself struggling with PTSD, anxiety and depression—and his journey of healing found him rediscovering a love of running. He is an advocate for mental health awareness, sharing his journey on social media, and raised funds during TSP for Bigger Than The Trail, a non-profit that offers mental health support.
“I always say if there is a string and you feel like pulling it, pull it. You never know where that next thing is going to take you. I can honestly say there is nothing out there like TSP.”
To check out full results of The Speed Project 2024, head to their Instagram page here.
