If you’ve been along Calgary’s Bow River by night lately and wondered if your eyes deceived you, rest assured — ice canoeing (by night) is a real thing.

And it takes some real athletes to build up the courage to hurtle themselves over the jagged, unstable ice and frigid, fast-moving waters of the mighty Bow.

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Barney Mcilhargey was recruited by his rugby team in 1999. The 72 year old is still doing it — training by night with a multigenerational team about to launch into competition on the St. Lawrence river.

Watch the video above for more.