The King of the Mountain race, now in its 38th year, attracted about 50 challengers this time, and organizer Kristine Ewald says cold weather may have contributed to a smaller turnout compared to last year when 100 showed up.
But the race still turned out to be a triumph of sport and volunteerism, bringing the community together, with runners navigating the thin trails on the Terrace Mountain overseen by 15 volunteers, with a start and finish line located at the Terrace Sportsplex.
According to Ewald, last year the biggest hazard was the bees, while this year it was the slippery terrain and cold weather.
The runners said it was fine once they started sweating.
The King of Mountain volunteers, 15 in total, were apparently a bit on the cold side.
“All the volunteers were suffering,” said Ewald.
And while the runners kept warm from the rush of competition, they didn’t keep clean.
“I don’t think anyone bailed, but everyone had muddy legs, search and rescue [volunteers] came out and looked after us.”
Last year there was a bees nest located underneath one of the bridges the runners had to traverse, which meant many runners were targeted and stung by the irritated colony.
But that’s life for the wilderness runner, and part of the fun lies in the rugged unpredictability of one of Terrace’s most well-known races.
Ewald and her business partner, who together own Transcend Fitness, decided to take over organizing the event after the previously owners left town.
Results
In the Male 17 and Under category: Conner Block was first with a time of 0:52:29, Jackson Netzel second with 1:08:17 and Jonas Lecuyer third at 1:08:20.
In the Female 17 and Under, Avery Back was first with 1:24:56; Caelyn Christensen second at 1:53:55, followed by Kenlee Plunkardt, 2:05:55.
First place in the Mens 18-39, and overall best time went to Francois Dagenais Cote with a time of 0:48:10, then Jeremie Drouin at 0:51:02 and Maxime Guillaume 0:52:30.
The female 18-39 category: Kriste Johnstone took first with a time of 0:54:13, Reheannon Brooks second with 0:59:54 and third to Aliye Tuzlak with a time of 1:02:57.
In the Male 40-54 category: first, second and third went to Judson Rowse at 0:50:02, Cody Skog at 0:57:02, then Brent Webb at 0:59:40
The Female 40-54 tops went to Erin Baker with a time of 1:08:26, Eva-Maria Simms with 1:10:58, and Daphne Heenan at 1:20:39.
The Male 55 and over category saw Al Marleau take first with 0:54:39, Murray Wamer second at 1:00:10 and Robert Weir third with a time of 1:20:19.
In the Female 55 and over category, the single competitor, Sherrie Hamer, had a time of 1:12:25.
