Deerfoot Trail Cross Country Race

By Bob Dumalanede

The inaugural Deerfoot Trail Cross-Country Race took place on December 20, 1986.  The 29 participants enjoyed the mild weather along with a challenging course.

David Strand showed who was the master but Hein de Vries did not want to let a young buck dictate the pace without a fight and pushed David all the way.  Colleen Stevens [Catley] had a decisive win over Sandra Fuller [Seager] for the women’s division.

The race served its purpose well, showing that cross-country racing could be done during the cold season.  We believe that adverse weather should not be a hindrance to any outing.  An example of this is Norway’s history of long distance ski races held regardless of the elements.  Canada’s climate is no worse, and Alberta has great advantages in its low humidity and its often mild temperatures brought in on the chinook winds.

We know from experience that we will never enjoy a big crowd, but more important is the fact that the athletes who participate have fun running outdoors regardless of distances or personal records.

If these meetings are fun to run, they are even more fun to prepare.  Since the most important part is the choice of the course, you get a kick out of trying to guess what goes through the mind of the runner going uphill or crossing a creek (of course, we do not really want to know).  The course has to be well-marked and simple enough for a runner going at a good pace to figure out (even though sometimes you are faced with runners heading in the wrong direction.)  Particular care is given to the footing so that there is nothing dangerous to step on.

The last word is that cross-country is definitely a part of our racing and training.  Physically it builds up strength, technically it teaches us to change pace (an advantage in distance racing); psychologically it toughens our mind.  Cross-country should be part of the schedule of every nature loving runner.

I like to think that both running and organizing a cross-country race provide an equal sense of accomplishment.

Avoir l’impression d’un travail bien fait.

From the CRR President

By Hein de Vries

On December 20th we had our last race of the year [Deerfoot].  Bob Dumalanede and David Irvine-Halliday, again, put together a superb X-country course.  Thirty-five brave souls registered and made the race a success.  Bob’s wife Paulette, with help of the entire Dumalanede family, concocted a hearty soup enjoyed by all the runners.  The combined efforts of the participants made for one of the best desserts I have seen after a race.  Thanks are due to everyone who made this run a success, but in particular to Bob and Paulette Dumalanede and their family.

The next X-country run will be held on Saturday January 31. … Why not join us, do something different, and try a real X-country run; not that tame golf course stuff with jumping over hay bales.