John Buchan publishes John Macnab
Three friends announce an audacious challenge to Highland estates under a shared name.
An old spirit. A new society.
The Macnab, reimagined for a new place.
The Macnab Society brings the one-day challenge into new landscapes. Its first activity is the Vancouver Macnab Challenge — mountain snow, ocean and city, with a purpose rooted in community.
7Distinct activities
2027Founding activity · proposed
DTESCommunity purpose
Vancouver Macnab Challenge · Founding edition
- Ski
- Sycle!
- Sail
- Swim
- Skate
- Scooter
- Supper
The Society's first activity
One city. Seven ways through it.
The Vancouver Macnab Challenge is a founding-edition, paired, non-race day built around the city's mountain, coastline and streets. Spring 2027 is proposed; route, permits and safety plans remain in development.
Vancouver Macnab Challenge · Founding edition
From the snowline to supper.
A deliberately small first activity, with each leg designed as a supported experience. Sponsors help cover delivery costs so participant fundraising can support the Society's community purpose.
Discuss founding sponsorship-
Ski
Descend from Mount Strachan into the Cypress Mountain bowl.
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Cycle
Ride downhill from Cypress to Ambleside Park in West Vancouver.
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Sail
Travel by crewed yacht from Ambleside toward Stanley Park.
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Swim
A short swim or shore landing from boat to shore, subject to safety approval.
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Skate
Skate through Stanley Park toward West Hastings.
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Scooter
Ride along East Hastings to the finish at Superflux Beer Co.
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Supper
Celebrate the day with sponsors, participants and stories.
The swim is conditional on specialist safety approval; a safe shore-based alternative may be used.
A short history of the Macnab
From a 1925 story to a living tradition.
John Buchan's novel gave the challenge its name. The Field helped shape a modern sporting form in Scotland. Macnab challenges have since taken different forms; the Vancouver Society's first activity is a charitable adaptation, not an official branch of the UK or Scottish events.
A one-day sporting test
The modern classic combines a salmon, a stag and a brace of grouse, completed in a day with permission.
Mountain, sea and city
The Macnab Society begins with a different route, seven local experiences and a community purpose.
Community purpose · under assessment
Science that starts by listening.
The founding group is assessing three possible DTES programmes and their hard costs. Scope, partners and funding arrangements are not finalized.
Data admin
Process paper forms collected at the Recovery Centre reception so Sarah Blyth and others can summarize progress. The team is assessing whether a few extra data points, including possible trigger moments for requests for help, would materially improve reporting.
Fact checking
Investigate a rapid, source-based way for community organizations to respond to misinformation about the DTES.
Biotech
Review external work and suitable data for research into addiction biology and overdose risk, with the aim of advancing treatment options.
Trigger moments for requests for help and prevention strategies are additional areas being explored.
Founding committee
The people behind the Society.
A volunteer team bringing together experience in life sciences, research partnerships, data, healthcare technology and community work.
Founding committee
Simon Haworth
CEO of Intellomx and founder of the BC+AI Life Sciences subgroup, applying machine learning to disease biology — and the driving force behind the Vancouver Macnab.
Founding committee
Iain Begg
Managing Director of Innovation Partnerships at UBC Research + Innovation — twenty-plus years of R&D leadership in software, data and turning research into impact.
Founding committee
Michael Stewart
IT consultant and enterprise architect (Stewartclan Consulting) and volunteer consultant with Data for Good — twenty-plus years bridging business and technology teams on data, integration and digital transformation.
Founding committee
Sarah Ennis
AI ecosystem leader and enterprise AI advisor; co-founder and advisor at AgentsGeo.ai. Her experience includes Unity, EY and Microsoft, and she chairs the AI initiative at LG NOVA.
Founding committee
Ella Young
Healthcare IT and data executive; co-founder of E2E Consulting, focused on digital health strategy, health informatics and AI solutions.
Founding committee
Vahid Ghafarpour
Full-stack developer, cloud architect and AI/data engineer with over 20 years building digital platforms across telecom, fintech and enterprise. Founder of Smartoire and a Microsoft Certified Trainer and community lead.
Founding partners wanted
Help establish the first Macnab Society activity.
We are building a small coalition of presenting, activity and service partners for the Vancouver founding edition.