Hundreds of people from Sundre and other Alberta communities gathered in town on Saturday to take part in the second annual Snake Hill Slam hosted by Call to Action.
Kim Free, Call to Action's program coordinator, was happy with how the event went, but admitted she was disappointed in the turnout.
Last year there were roughly 280 participants, and this year there was approximately 272.
“That's down from last year and that really surprises me because we got nothing but positive feedback last year from all the participants and everybody involved,” said Free, adding she was expecting 400 to 500 participants this year.
“It's really making me scratch my head and wonder why.”
About 55 per cent of the participants were from Sundre, and 45 per cent were from other communities including Calgary, Red Deer, Banff, Edmonton, Rocky Mountain House, Sylvan Lake, Didsbury and Olds.
New attractions at this year's event included an artisan tent with a variety of vendors selling homemade or purchased items.
“Last year we had Studio K Dance lead some stretching and warm-ups on stage and we really liked that so they're going to be doing that throughout the day instead of just in the morning,” she added.
There was also a free Snake Hill Mini Slam for kids aged three to seven hosted by Sundre Parent Link.
“It's a chance for the little kids to experience the obstacle race thing but it's more their size,” she said.
Members of the Sundre Fire Department had an obstacle set up for people to try out. There were also free massages for participants offered from Prairie Therapy.
More obstacles were added to this year's race, and there was a person making balloon animals for children, along with other activities.
“We're trying to convince people to stay until the closing ceremonies and the prize giveaways at 3:30 p.m. So giving them more options to keep them entertained after they run their race was kind of the purpose of all that,” she said.
The organization was not short of volunteers for the event, including volunteer photographers.
