It’s looking a lot like 2008 for the 26th annual St. Albert 10-Mile Road Race.
The late spring, a recent dump of snow and a blustery forecast for Sunday morning has race director Donald Fairweather recalling what the 10-miler was like three years ago when runners trudged through the streets of St. Albert in a blizzard.
“Yes, I am having a few flashbacks,” Fairweather told the Gazette Friday.
The temperature at start time was -10 C, but with the wind chill it was -18 C. At times the heavy snowfall was so bad runners had trouble identifying the grain elevators on Mission Avenue.
The final registration total surpassed the 700 mark, but only 545 runners picked up their timing chips on the morning of the race. Overall there were 515 finishers; 261 females and 254 males. Four runners completed the race in less than one hour, compared to 21 in 2007.
The winner was Canadian Olympic triathlete Paul Tichelaar in a time of 56 minutes and nine seconds.
“I actually raced that one and that was not nice at all. I’m hoping it’s not going to be as cold on Sunday,” Fairweather said.
Unless a sudden heat wave rolls through St. Albert, it’s going to be a sloppy track for the runners to conquer.
“I’m obviously hoping for plus temperatures to get rid of the snow and slush and ice but we’ll just have to see,” Fairweather said. “I just hope for the volunteers’ sake the conditions are not terrible because having to sit out there for a couple of hours in blizzard conditions isn’t great.”
Registrations
Online registrations closed at 6 p.m. Thursday, with 475 entries processed. More registrations are expected to arrive by mail and from drop-off locations.
“People can still register Sunday morning if they want to come out and enjoy the balmy warm weather,” Fairweather said with a chuckle. “Obviously the way the weather has been has restricted people’s training so that has affected our registrations but the numbers did go up rapidly in the last two weeks.”
Registrations will take place in Grandin mall, prior to the 9:30 a.m. start on Grandin Road. The fee is $65.
Last year 330 males and 315 females crossed the finish line. Going the distance in 2009 were 358 men and 293 women.
Frontrunners
The pre-race favourites are Travis McKay, last year’s winner at 53:01, and Matt Norminton, the course record holder at 50:46 in 2007.
The fastest male and female will each receive $500.
“You’re going to have runners who thrive in these conditions. Anyone who likes cross-country or hills running are going to do so much better in these conditions than people who are used to just flat racing,” Fairweather said. “Yes, the conditions will probably change the results but we do hope the best person wins.”
The 10-miler, hosted by the St. Albert Roadrunners and Triathlon Club, is sanctioned by Athletics Alberta and is part of the TIMEX Canadian Road Race Series.
