Pte Christian Baun crosses the finish line in first-place during the annual Ex MOUNTAIN MAN event held in Edmonton.

Jules Xavier
Shilo Stag

There was no need to channel his grandfather Bobby Baun’s hockey prowess with a hip check or sharp elbow when Pte Christian Baun bolted under cover of darkness from the Ex MOUNTAIN MAN start line.

Instead, the 2PPCLI soldier now in his second year with the Canadian Armed Forces took the early lead at dawn en route to a first-place finish, crossing the finish line in five hours, 13 minutes, 16 seconds. He was fives minutes ahead of runner-up MCpl Alexander Marinutti of 3PPCLI.

“I came out guns blazing at the start, which was my strategy,” he told the Stag post-race after returning from Edmonton. “I wanted to hold the lead from the start in the run portion if I could. It was all about setting a good pace.”

This pace was temporarily stalled when the lead competitors took a wrong turn when a marshall arrived late at a Y on the course. Pte Baun retraced his steps, then reeled in the front runners before retaking the lead prior to arriving at the canoe pick-up location in the Edmonton River Valley for the three-kilometre portage portion of the competition.

By the time Pte Baun arrived at the North Saskatchewan River to begin paddling, he knew he would not be challenged for the victory as he’d opened up a sizeable lead.

“I did not have to push myself in the canoe because when I looked back behind me, I was the only canoe in the water,” he recalled. “It was quite windy, so I just relaxed paddling and enjoyed the scenery.”

Once out of the water, he used his strong running skills to finish off a race he’d been looking forward to taking part in after an injury in 2017 forced him to miss running alongside his mentor, two-time winner Capt Eric Henderson, who was posted to Quebec prior to the run.

“My legs were in great condition for the competition,” he said, acknowledging he put in a lot of time on his own running, besides working with his teammates on the Base. “I wanted to push the pack off the line to start the race, and was looking to finish in under five hours.”

He added, “I made sure I built up my endurance [training] knowing the start with a ruck sack on your back would tax the legs, and your card. After about 25 kilometres [of 29 kilometres run] I felt my pace dropping … it’s like hitting the wall in a marathon, but was I was able to push through. I think keeping a consistent pace for me helped.”

Doing a triathlon earlier in the summer at Riding Mountain National Park helped with his run, too. The Toronto-born soldier said the terrain was ideal for building stamina minus the ruck sack.

Now 23, Pte Baun’s did not pursue a hockey career like his 82-year-old grandfather, who starred for the Toronto Maple Leafs as a defenceman for 14 or his 17 seasons in the NHL, and was with the Leafs the last time they won the Stanley Cup in 1967. His cousin Kyle was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, and later traded to Toronto.

“I talk to my grandfather all the time,” he said. “My grandfather attributes our athletic success whether we are playing hockey or doing what I do, to the Baun work ethic.”

Pte Baun discovered running in elementary school, when he took part in his first cross-country fun in the fall. By the time he was in high school, running kept him busy. He also took part in his first triathlon, at age 12, when he was part of Kids of Steel.

And more recently, he also took part in a half-marathon during the Army Run in Ottawa. He was looking to earn a qualifying time for a look at trying out for the CISM cross-country team.

How did Pte Baun find himself joining the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)? Having worked in construction and landscaping, his mother suggested the Canadian Navy as an option when he was working in Summerside, PEI.

He visited a recruiting office on the east coast, with the recruiter being an ex-RCR.

“My mom sold me on the idea so I went in to see about being a Bosun [Boatswain] in the navy,” he recalled. “The recruiter said there was nothing available for the Navy until the following spring.

“We got talking and I thought abut combat engineering as a possible military career. He asked me how I felt about kicking down doors and doing some cool [stuff] with the infantry. He told me some of his stories. He was selling me on joining the infantry, so I put it down as my third choice.”

A week later he received a phone call asking if he wanted to go into the infantry, with a opening now at basic training in St. Jean, Que.

“My application moved fast, so that fall there was a spot in the infantry. I was off to St. Jean that October, and I’ve not regretted my decision. I made the call to my mom to tell her I was going into the Army, not the Navy.”

With his first posting to CFB Shilo and 2PPCLI, Pte Baun said his mom is now proud of his choice when she sees what he’s done serving his country.

“It’s been great since I arrived. I did training in the Arctic, and also went to England with the Queen’s Guard,” he said. “And now I’ve won my first Ex MOUNTAIN MAN.”

And with his team also taking the the major unit title, Pte Baun and his teammates are looking to 2019 and once again defending their Ex MOUNTAIN MAN crown.

“I look forward to defending my title, just like Capt Henderson did before me,” he said.