After a two year absence Round the Mountain was back and conditions were ideal. Clear skies and moderate temperatures greeted the almost 500 participants and volunteers to the Kimberley Nordic Centre.
First time organizers; Race Director Pascal Grey, Festival Director Angela Symes, Registrar Steph Boulanger and Kidz Zone Lead Angela Hurd guided a 100 strong core of volunteers, some newbies and others with many years of Round the Mountain experience. They put on a first class event that seemed to go flawlessly from start to finish.
While out of town participants were down from previous years Kootenay residents were out in force completing in the 10K Run, 20K Run and 20K Mountain Bike events. For those wanting an easier pace the Trek is still popular. The day finished off with a couple of exciting races from the younger racers who biked and ran a couple of shorter course.
Special thanks goes out to Brian Gallant, of the Black Spur Ultra who brought his inflatable finish arch from Crowsnest Pass and then helped out Seb, of Kootenay Computers in the timing hut. For the first time ever there were live streamed results to outdoor TV screens.
Full results can be found on the RACE page of the roundthemountain.ca webpage.
The organizers are now looking forward to the next 10 years of Round the Mountain. See you in June 2023.