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Coldstream to host first Canadian mountain, trail running championship

The event, put on by Vernon’s Bush Babes and Bros, will take place Sept. 17 in Kal Lake Provincial Park
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The first-of-its-kind 2022 Canadian Mountain and Trail Running Championships will be held Saturday, Sept. 17, at Coldstream’s Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park. (Morning Star file photo)

A first-of-its-kind national running championship will be held in Coldstream.

Athletics Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Mountain Running Association (CMRA) and the Association of Canadian Ultramarathoners (ACU), has said the 2022 Canadian Mountain and Trail Running Championship – the first of its kind – will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park as part of the Freaky Creeky race weekend.

The Canadian Mountain Running and Trail Running championships used to be held separately, but in holding them together, Canada follows the international trend: the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships will also be held in tandem for the first time this year.

Vernon’s Bush Babes and Bros, a trail running company that organizes ultra running races in Vernon, will play host to this year’s Canadian championship. The event will serve as the Selection Trials for the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck and Stubai, Austria in June of next year.

“We’re thrilled to be working closely with the Canadian Mountain Running Association and the Association of Canadian Ultramarathoners,” said Mathieu Gentès, Athletics Canada CEO. “Athletics Canada is track and field, road running, cross country, para-athletics, and mountain, ultra and trail running. It’s a priority of our organization to provide value and representation for participants in all disciplines of our great sport.”

The event will comprise five championship races, each with a women’s and men’s category: three in mountain running (Senior Classic Up and Down, the U20 Classic Up and Down, and the Vertical Uphill) and two in trail running (40-kilometre short course, and 80-km long course).

Each championship race will offer a prize purse of $300, $200 and $100 for first, second and third finishers, respectively, for a total prize purse of $4,800.

Dawna Jodoin, race director and coach at Bush Babes and Bros Trail Running, has hosted ultra running events in Vernon for four years, and trail races for 12. She expects the Canadian championship event to be the biggest one she has seen take place on her home trails.

“I think people will fall in love with our views – the course through three ecological systems, and you see everything from cedars to marshes to Douglas firs,” she said.

Jodoin said her company’s events have become known locally for its stellar aid stations: runners looking for a short rest between miles will be treated to hot and cold food, barbecues, entertainment, and music for all tastes. Yet, competitors should not expect their day in the park to be too comfortable.

“You’re going to be doing a lot of climbing. We have pretty sharp hills – at one point you travel 900 metres in six kilometres,” she said.

“It’s a special course because there is no paved road: it’s one per cent dirt road, 95 per cent single track and four per cent double track – it’s a good combination of challenging and scenic.”

The competition is open to adults ages 18 and over. Learn more about the event here!

READ MORE: Hitting the trails with Vernon’s Bush Babes and Bros

READ MORE: Rocky Mountain high for Vernon runners



roger@vernonmorningstar.com

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