Ultraman Canada is an annual three-day, 515-kilometre, endurance race held in Penticton, BC, designed for elite athletes. The Ultraman is an athletic odyssey of personal rediscovery; as such, it is the next step in the endurance challenge of being human.  The event involves a 10 km swim, 420 km bike, and 84.4 km run. If you aspire to compete at the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii then this is one of the few qualifying races.

Swim 10km – Bike 420km – Run 84.4km

The 2026 event is scheduled for July 24-26.

History of Ultraman

The first Ultraman Triathlon was held in 1983 on Hawaii Island and was organized by Curtis Tyler, Alex Smith, and Conrad Will. Among the group, Curtis Tyler served as original race director with the goal of having more than just a competition but an event which focused on the guiding principles of Hawaiian culture…. “aloha” (love), “ohana” (family), and “kokua” (help). In 1992, Tyler turned over Ultraman to Jane Bockus on the condition that there never be prize money. Jane Bockus, often referred to as “UltraMama,” kept the event the same with the exception of a course change in the years 2001 & 2002 when it started and finished each day in Kailua-Kona. Since 2017, the event has been managed and directed by Sheryl & David Cobb.

In 1993, a second Ultraman was organized in Canada (Penticton, British Columbia) which served as a qualifier event for the Ultraman World Championships until 2014. The new, official, Ultraman Canada was restarted in 2019 and serves as an official qualifier going forward. Additional qualifying events have included Ultraman United Kingdom (2011-2013), Ultraman Australia (2015-2017) and Ultraman Florida which began in 2014 and continues to be a qualifier. The first Ultraman Arizona was held in 2022. Starting in 2025, Ultraman Mexico joins the official Ultraman family, and is an official qualifier for UM World Championships in Hawaii. As of 2017, the race director baton has been handed from Jane Bockus to her long time assistant, Sheryl Cobb, (and Sheryl’s husband, David) ensuring the continuation of the principles of Aloha, Ohana and Kokua.