October 1, 2022 River Park XC
No hall, no problem. Derek’s 15 th year as RD.
With a forecast high of 21 C and clear blue skies, the conditions were great for the first race of the season. Derek, looking very buff after completing a cross Canada cycle expedition, wasn’t back in time to reserve the hall. Dianne was on hand to conduct finish line in the old school manner, using popsicle sticks. The runners were remarkably prepared for the analogue finish line – only one stick out of 82 wasn’t turned in.
Lots of long time cross country enthusiasts mingled with newbies. Jim Fry, Karen Chugg and Dave I-H began running in the series more than thirty years ago. Volunteers included Donovan Thorkelson, Barry Wheeler, Rob Taerum, Mark and David Wilkinson, as well as a complement of high school students.
Donovan was taking a rest day ahead of tomorrow’s Police Half Marathon. A handful of crazy cross country runners had completed the Five Peaks Enduro race at the Weaselhead earlier in the day, including Isabelle & Philippe, Rebecca & Matt, and Ally Johnson.
Mike Melnick ran his first cross country. The past CRR newsletter editor hasn’t been seen at a XC since he waded in the Elbow River to take race photos at the River Park XC in 2011.
Philippa completed 100 cross country races in a row.
After the last 8K runner finished, the Grand Prix awards for the 2021-2022 season were handed out.
Quite a few pot luck desserts had been placed on the tables and most were consumed with gusto.
Sunday October 16, 2022 Confederation Park Relay
Great day, warm and sunny. This was Matt Jones’ debut as race director.
Lots of youngsters in the kids’ race. In the relay there were six youth teams from Okotoks Track & Cross Country and about ten teams from Foothills Wanderers and Foothills Nordic club. The swift runners of Team Siksika finished first overall, almost half a minute faster than the second team of runners.
For the second year in a row, wee Madison Bliss completed a leg of the relay, this time running with her dad.
Mud at the major creek crossing caused a few runners to sink knee-deep. One of the Wojciechowski family runners lost a shoe when he jumped into the water. He proceeded to finish the race, and then came back to the crossing to grope in the mud and retrieve his shoe.
Ken Park successfully completed the last creek crossing, and then fell face down on the other bank.
The most entertaining ambush by the mud occurred as Trev Williams approached the creek crossing, Trev’s right leg sank thigh-deep in the mud. He was held up for a few seconds, extracting his leg, thankfully with shoe still attached, out of the muddy bank.
After the race, Trev Williams, Peter Kingdon and others returned to the creek to wash off.
Anna Frantz, still nursing a newborn daughter, ran in the relay. A bit of a wardrobe malfunction occurred, but no one noticed that the nursing bra couldn’t sustain itself as a sports bra.
David and Mark Wilkinson were marshaling at two creek crossings, but Derek was not seen on the course. The kitchen was very short of help, and he stayed in the hall, preparing and serving soup to
hungry runners.
October 29, 2022 Okotoks
Great day, mild and sunny for the race. Surprisingly little mud compare to other years, though there is patchy snow on the ground. At least a dozen swift youths from the Okotoks Track & Cross Country club ran the race. Sophia takes the lead in the women’s 8K. Two brothers Joshua and Noah place first and second in the 4K. Rob Arvidson, running the 8K in the 70-79 category, gets lost a few times.
This was Deanna’s last year as RD. She’s been director for since 2016 (6 years, on account of the virtual race in 2020.) Although the Big Rock Runners club has been dissolved in the aftermath of COVID, the same group of Okotoks volunteers will support Jeremy Neufeld as he steps into the race director’s role in the fall of 2023.
November 19, 2022 Edworthy
The Calgary Roadrunners Club really misses Alex Johnston and his family since they moved away from Calgary earlier this year. Philippe and Isabelle have taken over the Edworthy race. Excellent conditions on race day: sunny, good packed snow on the trails. Ludo brought a pair of hiking poles, in anticipation of encountering ice on the steep decline.
Ken Park prefers to volunteer at Edworthy, in order to avoid the steep descent and arduous climb back up from the Bow River Valley. This event was his 100 th in a row.
December 10, 2022 Silver Springs
Kevin and Annamaria Bliss are back after a 4 year hiatus for their 3rd time as RDs and we are glad that they’ve taken the reins again from Philippe and Isabelle. No whining was heard this year on account of the terrific conditions: lots of sunshine and good packed snow on the trails. Oleg ran wearing the red suit of Ded Moroz (a character similar to Santa Claus, “Grandfather Frost”) and he was followed by
Raymond Guan who ran in Santa Claus attire.
January 7, 2023 Nose Creek XC
Oleg’s 5 th year as RD and the best conditions for flagging. Oleg led the kids’ run wearing an outlandish costume of yellow and orange stripes and large multi-coloured polka dots, topped with a wide-eyed clown face. Just before starting the big kids’ race, a brief ceremony was held for the presentation of the Orange Toque award to Isabelle Pageau and Philippe Lagace. Congratulations and thank you, Isabelle and Philippe, for everything you do to support cross country and the Calgary Roadrunners.
Forecast called for a slight cold front before race start, but it never happened. In the sunshine, the temperature rose from about 3 to 6 C during the race. Many runners shed outer layers.
New runner My Nguyen completed the 4K. Looking down the steep slope about ¾ through the course, she quipped that she was convinced that it was just a joke that the flags led straight down the hill.
Barrie Griffiths did his once-every-two-years stint at the finish line. Everyone was eager to get to the hall for soup and desserts. Rob and Kathy returned with the flags from the south portion of the course and found not a soul at the finish.
January 21 Twelve Mile Coulee
Evan’s second year as RD. Warm, dry and sunny. Spikes still helped on the downhill stretches as well as in the shaded coulee. Kim Heinze ran – long time since he last ran a cross country (the 2013-2104 season, by the race photo records.)
We saw dog walkers doing something they’ve never done before. Where flags and arrow signs had fallen over, some of these folks were setting them back up again.
February 4, 2023 Nose Hill
Nose Hill is Trev’s 12th (excluding 2021) and he’s taken the course back to the North Haven area. The start line is just a 2-block jog from the hall.
Both the 4K and 8K start with the long climb up the “wee hill”. The 4K looped on the summit, while the 8K included two loops with a steep descent towards the Winter Club and then back up to the top of Nose Hill again. Wonderful sunny and mild day and that tempted runners to shed their jackets and gloves. One can’t escape the wind on top of the hill though. A few runners had pained looks as they headed into the Chinook gale.
February 18, 2023 Weaselhead
Weaselhead is Alan Lam’s 11th , not including 2021, and probably the best conditions to occur for his race. The Weaselhead portion of the trail was good packed snow, but on the return a few difficult icy patches were encountered.
Large group of (91) runners pre-registered. A colourful couple ran in the 4K. Elzette and Marius Van Schalkwyk, visiting from South Africa, were wearing singlets over their winter clothing. The front of the singlets were comprised of a large flag of South Africa. Steve Dongworth made an appearance at his favourite XC location. As in past years, John Cuthbertson trailed behind the fire chief. Friends Ryan and Raymond, who ran their first XC at Silver Springs, ran the 8K without cleats. Once in a while we could hear cries of, “Oh my God!” as they negotiated the icy sections.
March 4, 2023 Fish Creek
Fish Creek is Karen’s 22 nd as race director (or 23 rd if you include 2021 when a virtual race was run by individuals.)
Although the flagging was done the morning of the race, a flag vandal still had time to move flags three sections of the course. 8K runners were supposed to approach the finish from the south and the 4K were to exit the marshy area and reach the finish line from the north. Quite a few of the 8K finishers did come in from the expected direction, but not all found the intended route.
Fish Creek Park was under a deep blanket of snow and that made for tough slogging. Race finishers were eager to return to the hall for soup and desserts.
Course marshals and finish line volunteers enjoyed the sun, but were chilled by the breeze. That didn’t stop Bre, Alyssa, Rob and Andrew from wearing shorts. Towards the end of the 8K, Andrew took off his shirt. In all of the eight races he ran this season, he wore a singlet or ran shirtless.
Summary
This year nine runners qualified as Iron Persons. In the past 33 seasons, 185 individuals have achieved Iron Person status at least once.
Philippa Hocking (109 races at the end of the season) and Ken Park (106 races) completed 100 in a row early this season. In the history of the XC Grand Prix only eight other cross country enthusiasts have achieved 100 races in-a-row. (If you’re curious, the eight uber-Iron Persons prior to 2023 are: Derek Wilkinson, Les Windover, Dave Callaghan, Nikayla Hopkins, Justin Brant, Ken Brant, Karen Cooksley and
Aleks Johnston.)
October 1, 2022 River Park XC
No hall, no problem. Derek’s 15 th year as RD.
With a forecast high of 21 C and clear blue skies, the conditions were great for the first race of the
season. Derek, looking very buff after completing a cross Canada cycle expedition, wasn’t back in time
to reserve the hall. Dianne was on hand to conduct finish line in the old school manner, using popsicle
sticks. The runners were remarkably prepared for the analogue finish line – only one stick out of 82
wasn’t turned in.
Lots of long time cross country enthusiasts mingled with newbies. Jim Fry, Karen Chugg and Dave I-H
began running in the series more than thirty years ago. Volunteers included Donovan Thorkelson, Barry
Wheeler, Rob Taerum, Mark and David Wilkinson, as well as a complement of high school students.
Donovan was taking a rest day ahead of tomorrow’s Police Half Marathon. A handful of crazy cross
country runners had completed the Five Peaks Enduro race at the Weaselhead earlier in the day,
including Isabelle & Philippe, Rebecca & Matt, and Ally Johnson.
Mike Melnick ran his first cross country. The past CRR newsletter editor hasn’t been seen at a XC since
he waded in the Elbow River to take race photos at the River Park XC in 2011.
Philippa completed 100 cross country races in a row.
After the last 8K runner finished, the Grand Prix awards for the 2021-2022 season were handed out.
Quite a few pot luck desserts had been placed on the tables and most were consumed with gusto.
Sunday October 16, 2022 Confederation Park Relay
Great day, warm and sunny. This was Matt Jones’ debut as race director.
Lots of youngsters in the kids’ race. In the relay there were six youth teams from Okotoks Track & Cross
Country and about ten teams from Foothills Wanderers and Foothills Nordic club. The swift runners of
Team Siksika finished first overall, almost half a minute faster than the second team of runners.
For the second year in a row, wee Madison Bliss completed a leg of the relay, this time running with her
dad.
Mud at the major creek crossing caused a few runners to sink knee-deep. One of the Wojciechowski
family runners lost a shoe when he jumped into the water. He proceeded to finish the race, and then
came back to the crossing to grope in the mud and retrieve his shoe.
Ken Park successfully completed the last creek crossing, and then fell face down on the other bank.
The most entertaining ambush by the mud occurred as Trev Williams approached the creek crossing,
Trev’s right leg sank thigh-deep in the mud. He was held up for a few seconds, extracting his leg,
thankfully with shoe still attached, out of the muddy bank.
After the race, Trev Williams, Peter Kingdon and others returned to the creek to wash off.
Anna Frantz, still nursing a newborn daughter, ran in the relay. A bit of a wardrobe malfunction
occurred, but no one noticed that the nursing bra couldn’t sustain itself as a sports bra.
David and Mark Wilkinson were marshaling at two creek crossings, but Derek was not seen on the
course. The kitchen was very short of help, and he stayed in the hall, preparing and serving soup to
hungry runners.
October 29, 2022 Okotoks
Great day, mild and sunny for the race. Surprisingly little mud compare to other years, though there is
patchy snow on the ground. At least a dozen swift youths from the Okotoks Track & Cross Country club
ran the race. Sophia takes the lead in the women’s 8K. Two brothers Joshua and Noah place first and
second in the 4K. Rob Arvidson, running the 8K in the 70-79 category, gets lost a few times.
This was Deanna’s last year as RD. She’s been director for since 2016 (6 years, on account of the virtual
race in 2020.) Although the Big Rock Runners club has been dissolved in the aftermath of COVID, the
same group of Okotoks volunteers will support Jeremy Neufeld as he steps into the race director’s role
in the fall of 2023.
November 19, 2022 Edworthy
The Calgary Roadrunners Club really misses Alex Johnston and his family since they moved away from
Calgary earlier this year. Philippe and Isabelle have taken over the Edworthy race. Excellent conditions
on race day: sunny, good packed snow on the trails. Ludo brought a pair of hiking poles, in anticipation
of encountering ice on the steep decline.
Ken Park prefers to volunteer at Edworthy, in order to avoid the steep descent and arduous climb back
up from the Bow River Valley. This event was his 100 th in a row.
December 10, 2022 Silver Springs
Kevin and Annamaria Bliss are back after a 4 year hiatus for their 3rd time as RDs and we are glad that
they’ve taken the reins again from Philippe and Isabelle. No whining was heard this year on account of
the terrific conditions: lots of sunshine and good packed snow on the trails. Oleg ran wearing the red
suit of Ded Moroz (a character similar to Santa Claus, “Grandfather Frost”) and he was followed by
Raymond Guan who ran in Santa Claus attire.
January 7, 2023 Nose Creek XC
Oleg’s 5 th year as RD and the best conditions for flagging. Oleg led the kids’ run wearing an outlandish
costume of yellow and orange stripes and large multi-coloured polka dots, topped with a wide-eyed
clown face. Just before starting the big kids’ race, a brief ceremony was held for the presentation of the
Orange Toque award to Isabelle Pageau and Philippe Lagace. Congratulations and thank you, Isabelle
and Philippe, for everything you do to support cross country and the Calgary Roadrunners.
Forecast called for a slight cold front before race start, but it never happened. In the sunshine, the
temperature rose from about 3 to 6 C during the race. Many runners shed outer layers.
New runner My Nguyen completed the 4K. Looking down the steep slope about ¾ through the course,
she quipped that she was convinced that it was just a joke that the flags led straight down the hill.
Barrie Griffiths did his once-every-two-years stint at the finish line. Everyone was eager to get to the
hall for soup and desserts. Rob and Kathy returned with the flags from the south portion of the course
and found not a soul at the finish.
January 21 Twelve Mile Coulee
Evan’s second year as RD. Warm, dry and sunny. Spikes still helped on the downhill stretches as well as
in the shaded coulee. Kim Heinze ran – long time since he last ran a cross country (the 2013-2104
season, by the race photo records.)
We saw dog walkers doing something they’ve never done before. Where flags and arrow signs had
fallen over, some of these folks were setting them back up again.
February 4, 2023 Nose Hill
Nose Hill is Trev’s 12th (excluding 2021) and he’s taken the course back to the North Haven area. The
start line is just a 2-block jog from the hall.
Both the 4K and 8K start with the long climb up the “wee hill”. The 4K looped on the summit, while the
8K included two loops with a steep descent towards the Winter Club and then back up to the top of
Nose Hill again. Wonderful sunny and mild day and that tempted runners to shed their jackets and
gloves. One can’t escape the wind on top of the hill though. A few runners had pained looks as they
headed into the Chinook gale.
February 18, 2023 Weaselhead
Weaselhead is Alan Lam’s 11th , not including 2021, and probably the best conditions to occur for his
race. The Weaselhead portion of the trail was good packed snow, but on the return a few difficult icy
patches were encountered.
Large group of (91) runners pre-registered. A colourful couple ran in the 4K. Elzette and Marius Van
Schalkwyk, visiting from South Africa, were wearing singlets over their winter clothing. The front of the
singlets were comprised of a large flag of South Africa. Steve Dongworth made an appearance at his
favourite XC location. As in past years, John Cuthbertson trailed behind the fire chief. Friends Ryan and
Raymond, who ran their first XC at Silver Springs, ran the 8K without cleats. Once in a while we could
hear cries of, “Oh my God!” as they negotiated the icy sections.
March 4, 2023 Fish Creek
Fish Creek is Karen’s 22 nd as race director (or 23 rd if you include 2021 when a virtual race was run by
individuals.)
Although the flagging was done the morning of the race, a flag vandal still had time to move flags three
sections of the course. 8K runners were supposed to approach the finish from the south and the 4K
were to exit the marshy area and reach the finish line from the north. Quite a few of the 8K finishers did
come in from the expected direction, but not all found the intended route.
Fish Creek Park was under a deep blanket of snow and that made for tough slogging. Race finishers
were eager to return to the hall for soup and desserts.
Course marshals and finish line volunteers enjoyed the sun, but were chilled by the breeze. That didn’t
stop Bre, Alyssa, Rob and Andrew from wearing shorts. Towards the end of the 8K, Andrew took off his
shirt. In all of the eight races he ran this season, he wore a singlet or ran shirtless.
Summary
This year nine runners qualified as Iron Persons. In the past 33 seasons, 185 individuals have achieved
Iron Person status at least once.
Philippa Hocking (109 races at the end of the season) and Ken Park (106 races) completed 100 in a row
early this season. In the history of the XC Grand Prix only eight other cross country enthusiasts have
achieved 100 races in-a-row. (If you’re curious, the eight uber-Iron Persons prior to 2023 are: Derek
Wilkinson, Les Windover, Dave Callaghan, Nikayla Hopkins, Justin Brant, Ken Brant, Karen Cooksley and
Aleks Johnston.)