Who the heck are we? 

We are a group of friends (and a pair of siblings) who share a passion for pushing the limits of endurance and exploration. Russell and Graham are brothers who grew up in a prominent kayaking family, and have teamed up for many ambitious personal expeditions, including a 6500 km transatlantic trip from Brazil to Florida. Freya and Russell are connected through a shared community at Strathcona Park Lodge, an outdoor education centre on Vancouver Island. However, the two first crossed paths in 2018 while both separately running the tallest peak on Vancouver Island in a day (a trip that takes the average party five days). Meanwhile, Russell and Max met guiding polar expeditions in Antarctica, and are now “best friends” (according to Max).

Freya, Russell and Graham’s first adventure race experience was in 2022, when we raced with good friend, Ryan in Expedition Canada, under the team name “More Mayo”. While we went into the 580 km event with the intention to simply finish, we saw early success in this event, and surprised some veteran racers by holding a place in the top five. Sadly, we had to withdraw from the event 69 hours in due to an injury, but the experience grew our respect for the challenging world of adventure racing, and each other. We were not discouraged by this experience! On the contrary, a fire was lit: we each found success in subsequent shorter races that soon solidified our love of the sport. In the winter of 2023, we set our sights on Expedition Oregon, another adventure racing world series event. While our teammate Ryan followed the siren call of physio school, we gained a teammate in Max (aka Big Boy or Max-a-moose). That said, we forever hold More Mayo in our hearts, and some of us continue to eat a controversial amount of mayo.

Our team ethos is one that embraces a sense of duality. Disco Inferno may roughly translate to learning through suffering, but those who meet us on course can confirm that we spend most of our time giggling. We go hard, but we never forget to have fun. We are quickly becoming known in the adventure racing world for our lightheartedness, laughter, and strong team dynamics. What we lack in adventure racing experience, we make up for in sheer grit, good humour, technical proficiency, and adventurous spirits.

  • Graham Henry

    (Vancouver, BC)

    Our team’s expert navigator, Graham has the background of a paddler like his brother but has more recently strayed away from the water and made maps and mountains his passion. He works as a lawyer with a great capacity for research, organising, and attention to detail.

  • Russell Henry

    (Pemberton, BC)

    A paddler by trade but a diverse athlete at heart Russell has records and firsts to his name that speak to his determination and grit. He has experience working with sponsors through organizing community kayaking events, as a sponsored kayaker, and through past large scale expeditions. 

  • Max Seigal

    (Boulder, CO)

    The lone American in the group, Max comes from the high hills of the Colorado Rockies. Understated and underrated Max is the workhorse on this team that can grind through just about anything you throw at him. He has worked as a professional photographer for the last decade developing a large social media following resulting in representing numerous brands as a sponsored athlete and ambassador.

  • Freya Wasteneys

    (Cumberland, BC)

    Coming from a long line of Olympians and endurance athletes, Freya has a strong background as a competitive cross country ski racer and ultra runner. She has a communications background, and has experience with website development and managing social media accounts for outdoor businesses. She is currently completing her Masters of Counselling, and loves to geek out on interpersonal dynamics and nature based interventions inspired by her time in outdoor education settings.

Why Adventure Racing?

Adventure racing is a multi-sport endurance event that typically involves trekking/running, mountain biking, paddling, navigation, and usually some type of rope work. These races vary widely in length and duration. Shorter races are done in under a day and expedition adventure races can last up to a week or even more and span 700km+. And just to clarify, that’s a week of non-stop racing 24/7. These expedition races bring athletes to their absolute breaking point operating on little to no sleep for days on end while pushing their bodies beyond what most people think possible. 

While this may sound like a sufferfest (and let’s be honest, there are definitely moments of that), races of this style are typically completed with a team of four. A lot can go wrong in these races, but with the right team and attitude, a lot can also go right. Adventure racing is full of moments of connection, laughter, support, and pushing our capacities beyond what we might be able to achieve on an individual level. In this way, adventure racing can provide opportunities for learning beyond the competition.