MCpl Christian Baun received a CO’s coin from 2PPCLI A/CO Maj Chris Hartwick during the Battalion’s SAG held in the Great Hall. Photo Jules Xavier/Shilo Stag

Shilo Stag

Imagine going for a run covering 50 or 80 kilometres with rugged terrain on the trail as part of the journey?

2PPCLI’s MCpl Christian Baun from Cbt Sp Coy has done this and more during the past few years since returning from a deployment to Latvia in 2019 on Op REASSURANCE.

While serving his country away from home, the defending Ex MOUNTAIN MAN champion was unable to defend a title he first won in Edmonton in 2018. That year, then a private, he garnered the title covering the gruelling course in a time of 5:13.16.

Organized annually in the fall by 1CMBG, this race pushes soldiers past their physical limits as they run, hike and paddle for 48.3 kilometres. The race starts at 5 a.m. in Rundle Park, where soldiers from Western Canada were charged with making their way through the pitch-black track using headlamps.

After about 29 kilometres, these soldiers are tasked to hoist aluminum canoes on their backs for another three kilometres before reaching the North Saskatchewan River, where they fought against the tide for 11 kilometres. Hitting the river shoreline, it was another 4.8 kilometres before soldiers crossed the finish line.

To make it even more difficult, participants are asked to wear a 15-kilogram pack on their back for the duration of the race.

The victory in 2018 came after then Pte Baun was unable to compete in 2017 because stress fractures in both shins had prevented him from entering.

Winning Ex MOUNTAIN MAN is a tradition among 2PPCLI soldiers. Before MCpl Baun won his first, the previous three years it was former Capt Eric Henderson who prevailed among his military peers. Capt Henderson, who was later posted to Quebec, helped train MCpl Baun for his first victory.

The COVID-19 pandemic curtailed MCpl Baun’s ability to compete, as Ex MOUNTAIN MAN and ultra-marathons were cancelled. So, he was on his own to continue training which is easy when you enjoy going out for a long solo run. He took to the trails at Brandon Hills to train and was planning to take part in the tough 125-kilometre Canadian Death Race in Alberta, but it too was cancelled.

MCpl Baun challenges himself participating in ultra-marathons, especially with a few completed in 2022, plus others in the previous year. This did not go unnoticed by 2PPCLI’s Command Team, with A/CO Maj Chris Hartwick presenting the grandson of Toronto Maple Leafs bruising defenceman Bobby Baun — he played on the blueline alongside the likes of Tim Horton in front of goalie Johnny Bower the last time Toronto won a Stanley Cup in 1967 — with a CO’s coin during the Battalion’s Soldier Appreciation Dinner (SAG).

Proud mom Anne Baun says her son relishes his running, and pushing himself no matter the distance or terrain he finds himself heading in the direction of a finish line.

“I’m so proud of him,” she said in a telephone call with the Shilo Stag. “His grandfather is proud of him, too.”

He finished second in a fall event held in Beaumont, Quebec, covering 80 kilometres in more than eight hours. He won a 50-kilometre run a month earlier in Haliburton, Ont. During the past two years, he’s also run ultra-marathons with success in Bragg Creek, Alberta and the 50-kilometre run at Brandon Hills.

MCpl Baun also had the Manitoba Marathon in Winnipeg on his to do list last June, but because of extreme heat it forced a mid-race cancellation. Runners on the course complained of humidity which left them drenched in sweat and dehydrated.

The race with MCpl Baun as a participant started in the morning despite warnings from local meteorologists of temperatures topping 30 Celsius, with humidex values above 40 Celsius. Race organizers made the decision to cancel around 8 a.m., about one hour after the event started.

MCpl Baun was still able continue his training, and ultra-marathoning when he was selected to be a ceremonial guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa thanks to the schedule for those working this honoured assignment.

Then Pte Christian Baun crosses the finish line in Rundle Park after winning his first Ex MOUNTAIN MAN organized by 1CMBG and held annually in the fall in Edmonton, Alberta. Photo Dayla Lahring/St. Albert Gazette