The third annual Idaho Peak Mountain Marathon and 10 km trail run presented by the Kootenay Sufferfest Society was record breaking.
The event attracted 39 racers from across western Canada for the races held on Sunday in New Denver, the highest number of participants the event has seen.
The event consisted of two races. The Idaho Peak Mountain Marathon, a foot race using New Denver’s trail network leading to Idaho Peak and back covering a distance of 46 km and a vertical mile (1.6 km) of elevation. The 10 km trail run shuttled participants to Three Forks where they raced down the Galena Trail to the finish line at Lucerne elementary secondary school.
The record for the Idaho Peak Mountain Marathon was set by Andrew Brisbin from Canmore, in a time of 4:07:35, breaking the previous record from 2014 by 10 minutes. Close behind were Greg Munby of Kaslo (4:19:44), and Jamie Dunnett from Victoria (4:22:16).
In the ladies division for the marathon, Jody Lownds from Revelstoke was first with a time of 5:22:09. Naomi Humenny from Kimberly was second (5:39:40) and Mishka Heimowski of Nelson was third (5:41:52).
The men’s winner in the 10 km run was Danny Semenoff from Nelson while the ladies winner was Lori McWilliam from Genelle. Kolibri Drobish from Hills came in a close second overall in the ladies 10 km in a time of 44:50. Elias Lampimaki from Nakusp was the youngest competitor at age 10.
It was a fun, family friendly event with many father-son, mother-son and mother-daughter duos taking part. The oldest competitor was Paul Doyle from Oliver who turned 69 the following day and participated with his sons Rory and Liam in the mountain marathon.
Feedback from the racers was that the event was well organized, and the courses were beautiful and fun. This event will continue to grow and attract visitors in the years to come.
