6th annual Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay breaks records
Lindsay Goss photo
Mike Kirby from Calgary accepted the "Samaritan Award” at the Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay," after he was nominated by a fellow runner who noticed some considerate and thoughtful deeds he did for other runners. during the race.
LINDSAY GOSS
Pass Herald Reporter
More than 1,000 racers training vigorously for the 6th annual Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay, which took place Saturday July 6th.
Racers met on 20th Avenue in Blairmore bright and early Saturday at 7 a.m.
Racers have 27 hours to complete the course, by 10 a.m. on Sunday.
During the course of the race, runners battled it out against the elements and 148 kilometres of challenging terrain with more than 5,250 metres of elevation gain.
Runners had the option of either running solo, or in teams of up to seven people.
There were a total of seven stages of the race that led runners across Crowsnest Pass.
Leg one, Frank Slide, was a distance of 16.5 km, leg two, Hastings Ridge, was a distance of 16 km, leg three, Willoughby Ridge was a distance of 35 km, leg four, Iron Ridge, was a distance of 32 km, leg five, The Seven Sisters, was set at a distance of 22.7 km, leg six, Crowsnest Mountain, was a distance of 13.8, and leg eight, Wedge Mountain, was a distance of 12. 8 km.
Runners crossed the finish line at Crowsnest Sports Complex on Sunday Morning. Runners were awarded with a breakfast, medal and sponsor giveaways. $1,000 each was awarded to the top female, top male and top team.
The race began in 2008 with a mere 159 runners, and has gradually increased every year, to 1400 last year.
This year, eight local Crowsnest Pass teams competed in the event, including Human Spirit, which finished in 5th place with a time of 14:59:13. Two high school teams are given free entry to the race by the Full Moon Adventure Company. Crowsnest Consolidated High School has always been one of two recipients, along with Buck Mountain Central High in Buck Lake, Alta.
Crowsnest Consolidated students finished in 17th place this year with a time of 16:51:03.
Sinister 7 saw a large number of international runners this year, including two from the UK, two from Germany one from France and a number of people from the United States.
Abi Moore from Fernie was the defending female champion and was not only the first female soloist but also set a new female course record with a time of 19:02:33.
A total of 66 soloists completed the race out of the 135 who started the race, which equals to a 48 per cent finish rate of the soloist runners.
Around 160 volunteers came out to help with the race and a total of $500 was raised in donations through a silent action for the Crowsnest Forest Stewardship Society and the Full Moon Adventure Company matched the amount and made a donation of $1000 to the society, which was presented to John and Suzanne MacGarva at the awards ceremony on Sunday.
Weather conditions were called “ideal” by organizers Andrew Fairhurst and Brian Gallant, with temperatures in the low 20s and overcast throughout most of the day portion of the race.
