Rob Farrer is a die hard.

Regular races just aren't hard enough for this 35-year-old Maple Ridge dad, so he signed up for The Death Race.

Held annually since 2005 in Pittsfield, Va., The Death Race gives ultra-endurance athletes the chance to test their mental and physical prowess like no other event. Coincidentally, it has the URL youmaydie.com.

"I like the endurance. I did the Fun Mudder last year, but it didn't really test myself," Farrer explained.

"The people who started the Death Race are super smart men. It's not a typical marathon. They say right up front that you won't finish this race," he said, adding that about 85 per cent of those who attempt the race don't finish.

The challenge-driven race requires competitors to com-lete a series of gruelling mental and physical challenges throughout a 65-kilometre course that runs through the woods in Vermont.

"I've been in a lot of races, and I've run marathon distances, but this is the first multi-day adventure race," Farrer said about the June 21 race.

Competitors may be asked to chop wood, carry a 20-pound stump around for hours, lift 10-to 30pound rocks for five hours, crawl through mud under barbed wire, or after 20 hours of racing, memorize the names of the first 10 U.S. presidents or a Bible verse, hike to the top of a mountain and recite them back in order.

Farrer expects to have to chop wood for hours and has been training in Hemlock, where his family has a condo with a wood-burning fireplace.

"All this with sleep deprivation, and if you don't get the answer right, you have to start all over again," Farrer explained.

Andy Weinberg, one of the organizers of the Death Race, asked Farrer via email if he likes to be woken up by air horn or water hose.

"My reply was both, I'm a heavy sleeper, and his response was 'noted.'

Death Racers have no idea what to expect as the course map and list of challenges are kept secret, which is ideal for Farrer.

He is a corporal with the RCMP E Division fighting business crimes like passing fake currency and committing credit card fraud. And he owns a cross-fit gym in Port Coquitlam.

"This is not a spectator sport, especially for little kids," Farrer explained.

He and his wife Brandy have three children under the age of seven: Kadyn, seven, Ashlyn, five, and Syler, two.

"They think it's great. The girls - Kadyn and Ashlyn - try to devise little workouts for me," he said.

About his wife, he explains that she understands and is supportive, "but she thinks I'm crazy."

smclaren@mrtimes.com