A local group of runners teamed up to run in the annual Banff Jasper Relay, a non-profit fundraiser for brain cancer.
“All the money they raise goes to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada,” said Steve Brigden, the team's captain.
He helped coordinate the group after being approached by local business owner Kevin Jung, who moved to Sundre more than a year ago and largely spearheaded the effort, said Brigden.
“He's run it several times,” said Brigden about Jung and the relay.
“He did most of the planning. I like to run — he knew that — and he has a real passion for it as well.”
The 260-kilometre, one-day relay race was done in two runs — a southbound leg and a northbound leg that both started at about 7 a.m. on June 4. The event used to last about 24 hours straight, but organizers decided to instead arrange two runs simultaneously to get done in less time. Afterwards, the times of both legs are combined to determine the fastest teams, he said.
“We ended up 36th out of about 60 teams,” he said, adding the group, dubbed Sundre Slam, clocked a time of a little more than 26 hours.
“We were happy.”
While everyone on the team was “a little war-torn” during the week following the race, no one sustained any sprains or injuries. Such a relay “takes a lot out of you” but the team, whose members' ages varied widely, did really well, he said.
Brigden agreed to get involved after Jung approached him because “it actually sounded like a lot of fun,” he said.
And although he already enjoys running, “it was a nice change to get together with a group of people.”
Running alone is all right, but it's more fun and motivating with others who are also pushing themselves, he said.
“It was kind of nice to be part of a team in what is usually an individual sport.”
Bridgen had never before participated in the Banff Jasper Relay and said, “It was a really beautiful place to go for a run.”
The team, which mostly included Sundre residents but also a few relatives of people from town, had registered for the relay in November. For a number of months, each member trained individually, but by the end of March the team was getting together once a week to run Snake Hill or even north towards James River, he said.
Next year's relay is already set for June 3, 2017. Visit www.bjr.ca for more information.
“Absolutely,” Brigden didn't hesitate to answer when asked whether he was thinking of participating again.
“It was an amazing experience. Sounds like several other runners will want to do it again,” he said, adding, “We're hoping to make it an annual trek.”
