Several competitors from Olds took part in the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache August 4 and 5.
Emmerson Clark, 9, took part in a five-kilometre kids' race.
“Her performance was good. I think even the kids showed that they were affected by the altitude and the need to condition. The course was very well laid out and monitored. I'm very proud of her with the effort she put in,” said dad Robert.
“The kids obviously aren't fazed by it at all and I believe all the kids completed it in the time allotted,” he said, adding that his older daughter also ran the race a few years ago.
“I thought I did pretty well. It was fun. I like how they challenged us making us go downhill on this really rocky trail and running up on a huge toboggan hill,” Emmerson said, adding she was tired at the end.
Emmerson, who finished the course in about one hour and six minutes, said she would like to do the race again.
Marlin Redpath, Mark Unger, Jim Crawford, Lorne Petersen and Jeff Sleno were part of a local team that completed the 120-kilometre all-day scrambling race, finishing 89th out of 256 teams. The team finished in a time of 17 hours, 14 minutes and 55 seconds.
This was Redpath's fourth time at the race.
“Climbing the verticals and the mountains is pretty extreme. It's a super-neat experience,” he said, adding that a lot of elite racers also competed. He said it's always neat to get together with fellow competitors who show a passion for extreme racing.
Redpath said because it was extremely wet in the area this year, much of the trail was muddy.
“For sure (it was difficult). Your feet are wet and you're coming through sometimes mud up to … your waist in water, so it's extremely challenging,” he said.
“We found that it was extremely hot, which plays havoc on the runners 'cause in some places in the race you're down in a river valley…. In some places, they call it Hell's Canyon,” he said.
