The Salomon 5 Peaks Trail Running Series went country on
July 16 for its third race of the season by heading south to
Camrose for a rootin'-tootin' run at the Camrose Biathlon
Centre.
A drove of over 400 runners moseyed on in and
were itching to go by the 10:00 a.m. start, if only to get away
from the hordes of mosquitoes. The mass start of both Enduro
and Sport runners stampeded down the trail slipping through wet
grass and kicking up mud. As the saying goes - no mud, no glory.
Judging from all the mud-encrusted legs at the end of the race,
this was a down 'n dirty glorious run.
Runners were up for the challenge at this new
venue, battling hills, mud, swamp, heat and humidity. In the end,
Evan Smelquist from Camrose rustled himself up a time
of 40:06 to take overall first place in the 8 kilometre Sport
distance. Nipping at his heels, Shari Boyle of Calgary
kicked it up on the women's side to finish first, and second
overall, in a blistering time of 40:18.
The 12.5 kilometre Enduro route took runners
through the ironically named Happy Valley. A steep climb combined
with a muddy trail, made this section of the run, as one runner put
it, not so happy. But undaunted and with guns a blazin', Enduro
runner, Robert Renman, another Camrose resident,
galloped through the finish line with a time of 55:16 to take first
place overall. And Megan Hodges of Edmonton
roped in a time of 1:05:47 to take first in the women's
division.
Around 45 little buckaroos giddied-on up in
the ScotiaBank Children's Challenge for a one kilometre race. Open
to children under 10, these tykes proved that you're never too
young to start running.
5 Peaks Northern Alberta will be seeing y'all
August 27 for the next race at the Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area
where you can bet on more hills and fun and games. For more
information or to register go to www.5peaks.com. Happy
Trails!
