Athlete & Ambassador Stories
Because I Can: An Epic Journey
1 Woman. 3 Days. 4 Sports. An Epic Backyard Adventure.
On this three day adventure, Stoko ambassador and athlete, Celeste Pomerantz, will be mountain biking, trail running, kayaking, and gravel biking her way through some of BC's toughest terrain in a circuit that has never been done before. The journey will span a distance of 180km with elevation gains of up to 7000m.
The Why
Growing up watching and reading adventure documentaries of athletes pushing their limits to be the first, the fastest, or the gnarliest at something always seemed unachievable to Celeste. When the concept of this adventure was first formulated, she had a similar feeling; unachievable. However, the more she thought about it, the more she knew she could do it.
Even though, it hasn’t been done before, to Celeste, it isn’t about being the first to do this. It’s about doing it because she can. There’s a significant difference between an out and back versus a loop. A loop guarantees a finish, a closed circle. Realizing she could take advantage of the entire environment and landscape she grew up in and where she continues to play, powered by no other than her and the equipment she uses gives her energy. She's combining four mediums of sport that she's spent her whole life doing into one great adventure.
Day 1: Gravel To Kayak
Porteau Cove to Deep Cove.
Distance: 80km
Elevation Gain: 1120m
Day 2: North Shore Triple Crown Mountain Bike
Deep Cove to the base of Cypress Mountain.
+ gravel bike back to summit of Cypress Mountain
Distance: 65km + 14km
Elevation Gain: 2672m + 750m
Day 3: Howe Sound Crest Trail Run
Top of Cypress Mountain to Porteau Cove.
Distance: 30km
Elevation Gain: 1700m
How Stoko Supports Celeste
Stoko is proud to support Celeste Pomerantz on her three-day Epic adventure through her British Columbian backyard. Celeste regularly wears the K1 Breathe to support her while being active and will be testing a K1 Breathe crop prototype during this trip. The Stoko team will be tagging along in our Toyota "Stokoma" bringing supplies, capturing live updates and cheering on Celeste over the three days. At Stoko, support means more to us than just supportive apparel and as one of our Stoko Ambassadors, we couldn't be more proud to give her our full support every step of the way.
Curious about Stoko? Learn more here.
Interested in becoming a Stoko Ambassador? Click here.
Some Words from Celeste
When people ask me “what was the hardest part of the three days?” honestly, kayaking. Sitting up straight for over three hours is incredibly challenging and there’s no such thing as coasting in a kayak, especially when the tides are against you.
I’d say Seymour has the most technical riding of the three mountains, which is a good thing as you want to get the trails that require the largest amount of concentration out of the way sooner rather than later.
The Cypress descent is my favourite of the three mountains, but you need to stay awake as exhaustion is your companion and the trail is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, I found my second wind at the top of this trail, so fun. That second wind faded fast at the bottom when I realized I still wasn’t done my day.
Suddenly we were beginning the large descent back into Porteau Cove. We sprinted; I’m not joking we literally got so excited we sprinted the last five kilometers back to where we met basically all our loved ones. My family was there, my roommates, my partner, Michael’s partner, the Stoko crew and some other friends. We trail ran 31km and 1940m of elevation in 9.5 hours.
It’s weird how your brain can stay so alert until the moment you tell it you’re done. Minutes after we arrived back at Porteau Cove, my brain shut down. I couldn’t drive, eat, walk, or formulate intelligent sentences for a few hours, makes sense considering I had just gone 200km, 6800m in three days. What I found even weirder is that I even though I did my loop, and it should be a moment to celebrate, I instantly wondered what’s next? I am still wondering and undeniably looking forward to what’s next.