North Island athletes lined up in Port McNeill for the second annual Rugged and Wild Race, which was held Saturday morning at the Rotary Trail.
With over 150 people signing up to compete to see who would get their names on the plaque this year, it was anyone’s guess who would end up the big winners.
It wasn’t just a racing event, though. There were hotdogs grilled by Steve Lacasse and Craig Murray, various booths selling items and trinkets, the Literacy Bus was parked for children, and the Royal Canadian Legion graciously donated the use of their bathrooms.
Port McNeill Rotary President Trudy Lacasse was in charge of organizing the event, and she made sure to point out the race is not a fundraiser.
“The first year we had the race, we put in a budget of $1,000 from our club, and we really just wanted to promote the trail, let people know what it was about, increase participation in the town, people living a healthy lifestyle, and we have definitely achieved that,” she said, adding, “I see people of all ages on this trail, running, biking, so we have achieved that goal.”
This year the rotary club’s goal is to “raise awareness that we would like to build phrase three of the trail that will go from the ‘T’ in the highway out to the municipal airport,” said Lacasse. “We did charge $10 per adult to enter, but that covers things like insurance, we bought 200 hotdogs and buns, we purchased materials for the race that we didn’t last year, so we are hoping the $10 entry fee will cover materials and costs.”
She added that if people/businesses are interested in giving donations towards phase three of the trail, “that’s always appreciated.”
Lacasse added the rotary club really appreciates everyone’s support, “and we are really enthusiastic about getting phase three finished, and eventually phase four (municipal airport to Hyde creek Esso) which will connect Port McNeill with Hyde Creek so kids can ride their bikes safely, people can run and be visible from the highway and be safe and secure.”
Results from the race are as follows:
10 km top women – Lisa Spingle.
10 km top man – Colin Wenman.
Top biker male – Derek and Isaac Koel.
Top biker female – Eva and Adrianna Koel.
