Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
The Jasper Canadian Rockies Half Marathon, presented by Pursuit, is inviting both casual and serious athletes to run in Jasper on April 29.
Trevor Soll, owner and director of MultiSportsCanada, said this will be the sixth time the half marathon has been held in Jasper.
鈥淭he biggest [thing] is that everyone come out on race day, have a great event and hopefully have some great weather to enjoy the community.鈥�
The half marathon was on hiatus for two years due to the pandemic but made a triumphant return in 2022.
The route remains the same as previous years, with the race beginning at the RV parking lot near Home Hardware and crossing to highway to loop around Old Fort Point Road.
Running the entire distance takes you to Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and beyond.
The event caters to locals, visitors and families looking for a race with distances for all ages and abilities.
The main run is 21.1 kilometres, and there will also be 10-kilometre, five-kilometre and one-kilometre runs, with the one-kilometre event being the Family Fun Run.
鈥淔or an early season event, you know, not everybody would be ready for a half marathon, so we give them variety there for people to come out and enjoy a weekend in Jasper,鈥� Soll said.
MultiSportsCanada has once again joined forces with the Jasper Healthcare Foundation to help raise funds for local health care.
Soll said the foundation has been a great partner for the last five years, and with the half marathon managing to raise $15,000 in 2022, they are hoping to at least reach that threshold this year.
Soll hasn鈥檛 heard anything to be concerned about yet in terms of wildlife or weather, but Parks Canada will inform organizers of any risks.
鈥淎s far as I know, Jasper is snow free, so we don鈥檛 have to worry about ice or any major snowpack this year,鈥� he said.
The half marathon was at 800 registrations as of April 14, which is slightly down from last year.
Soll speculated this may have to do with the poor economy and lingering COVID hesitancy, but there was still time for people to join the fun.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to rebuilt that footing after the COVID delay and get back to where we were and then push things bigger,鈥� Soll said.
鈥淟ast year, we were close to where we were in terms of attendance in 2019, and now we鈥檙e slightly below that at this point but, again, hoping to get back to it.鈥�
Runners can register at up until the day before the race.
The Jasper Canadian Rockies Half Marathon is still looking for volunteers. Anyone interested can contact 780-915-0693 or [email protected]
