Anyone 7 years of age and up!! Anyone who remembers the exhilaration of playing in the snow – building snow forts, trudging up and down the toboggan hill! Polar Rush is for non-athletes, athletes, Mom, Dad, Grandpa – The Polar Rush is for anyone with a pair of boots, a good spirit, and who is tired of looking at the snow out their window!

NEW for 2026 is a MASSIVE $20 discount for Youth 18 and under - we want entire families to be able to experience the RUSH at a reasonable price!

End of February/early march usually brings freezing temperatures (but not super freezing) - so a good pair of trail running shoes or light boots are perfect for Polar Rush. Some workout pants – track pants or spandex – is all you’ll need as well as a wicking layer up top (polypro, wool) and a light jacket, gloves and a toque. More may be needed if it is colder, or maybe less if it’s warmer!! WAIVERS: You can also speed the registration process by completing your waivers before you arrive! Get them here: Resort Waiver / Event Waiver

Snow is harder to run in than bare ground, and we will use hilly terrain. Add to that 14+ obstacles, and a fast runner might come in around 45 minutes to an hour. For those who are looking more for the experience of flying down a hill on a crazy carpet, climbing snow walls and crawling through snow caves – allow up to 2 hours to complete POLAR RUSH!

Drive to the event, be sure to be at the parking area approx. 1.5 hours in advance of your start.

Park – Make sure to be there approx. 1.5 hours in advance of the event. Plan to walk 200 - 800 meters from your car! Try and CARPOOL!!

Register – Be sure to have your ID handy upon time of registration. You will also sign waivers, at which time you will get your race Bib, Polar Rush BUFF, and you can purchase other goodies including hoodies, tshirts and toques.

Bag Drop – There will be an unorganized area to leave your bags in the chalet.

HAVE FUN IN THE SNOW!!! Get to the start area 10 minutes prior to your start, warm up, be hydrated and have a RUSH!!!

Relax by the fire with a beer!! Yes, you’re done, now grab some food, and enjoy the bonfires and swap stories of your Polar experience with new friends!

Albion Hills features a chalet and the event has multiple bonfires. If it is an especially cold day we will have a warming tent!

There is a column for “Team name” at time of registration. It is up to you to enter the same wave, and enter you team name. We are excited to know your team names as you await the start, so our announcer can give you a good shout-out! There is also a section where you can tell us the meaning behind your team name - so our announcer can mention it at the start! If you sign up 10 or more runners at the same time - there is a 10% discount applied!

If you are looking to make a large team of individuals - send a note to info@polarrush.ca

for a special discount code!

Remember - teams of 10 or more get special rewards, and the captain get a free toque!

Unless an unlikely tornado touches down, Polar Rush will run with whatever weather the weather lady hands us! – The end of February/early March should still feature fluffy winter snow without bone-chilling cold. Average temperatures for this time of year are approx. Minus 5 degrees.

Not necessarily, but make sure you have taken advantage of your time this winter to at least exercise twice a week, be it a long walk, cross country ski, gym workouts, hockey or anything else that works your cardio vascular system. Many people will choose to briskly walk Polar Rush, while others will run, but all will have a good time – and EVERYONE is welcome to come say goodbye to winter and hello to spring!

The founders of Polar Rush are mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and general outdoor buffs – and we HATE seeing people sit around all winter waiting for spring. We LOVE winter. We LOVE fun. Polar Rush is winter FUN! Obstacle racing fanatics need an early season tune-up, before the May rush of Mud Hero, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder and other obstacle events descend on Ontario.

This time of year averages only about minus 5 or warmer, it’s rare to get blistery cold, and it’s still winter! Our inaugural year was at the tailend of March, and we found people were “over winter” – this is where we get our new slogan – if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!. 2019 had rain in the leadup to the event, and the last few years early March was COLDER than late February! We've always had great snow in this near-north snow belt, so this is a great time of year to get a rush, a POLAR rush!

We heavily encourage runners to take advantage of the additional event insurance available at the time of registration. This guarantees your money back, in case something comes up and you are unable to attend.

When you pre-register for an event you are making a commitment. The organizer also uses this to gauge spending, ordering your schwag, and it is not simple to reimburse your money if something better comes up. No refunds will be issued AFTER December 31, 2025, however all participants can transfer their registration at no additional cost, up to Wednesday, February 25, 2026. We do not want to be inundated with emails from people who had something better come up mere days from the event when we are super busy getting ready!

We encourage spectating! There’s some great spots to cheer on your friends! There is a park spectator fee of about $7.50 (Albion Hills Park fee), and spectators can purchase items at the food trucks and enjoy a local Craft Beer!

All times can be found over at timeral

We so appreciate the 6 years we enjoyed at Horseshoe, however the event has outgrown the facility, which is already busy with daily operations. While we will miss the long tube run, and on-site accommodations, working around the resorts operations was becoming a huge challenge, and for many the venue was just too far from the city.

For this reason, we now have Albion Hills, very familiar to obstacle running enthusiasts and Mountain Bikers. The venue is over an hour closer to the city, has great terrain and we will have the entire place to ourselves! There are hotels/air bnb's nearby for those wanting to make a weekend of it!