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King of the Mountain returns this Sunday

The annual King of the Mountain footrace is back this weekend with a new route and new participants

The annual King of the Mountain footrace is back this weekend and past participants will notice some changes to the route, which will take the Terrace Mountain bike loop instead of the hiking loop.

The new route starts at the Terrace Sportsplex and continues past the pool entrance onto Park Ave. From there, it travels approximately one kilometre up  the Park hill road until it hits the Johnstone St. trail head and continues all the way around the bike loop, 7.9 kilometres, until it ends up back at the start of the trail head.

It then runs back down the road the same way runners came from the start.

The total distance is about 10 kilometres, and of that, only about 2 kilometres is road running. Trail running is easier on the knees than concrete running.

“After a lot of thought and input from local runners we decided to change the route from previous years,” said organizer Nadene Butler. “By using the bike loop versus the hiking loop it makes the race somewhat more runner friendly as there are less steep pitches to contend with.”

“This route is much easier on people new to trail running,” she continued, adding that hopefully that will lead to new participants.

The race has been a staple event in Terrace for decades, but its seen its participant numbers dwindle over the past few years.

Under the guidance of Butler, and her husband, Troy, the two are hoping for a resurgence and increase in numbers.

In order to do this, and promote the route changes, the pair led an orientation trail run of the course earlier this summer. About 20 participants turned out for the trail run and they are confident they can get at least 50 people to turn out for the race.

“According to All Seasons they have had a lot of inquiries and a lot of interest,” she said. “We’d like to stress that pre-registration would be nice, so that we can better plan water stations and food,” she said.

Pre-registration forms can be found at All Seasons and Fiori Designs. But pre-registration is not required to participate in the race, which starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26 at the Sportsplex.

Participants are being asked to meet at the Sportsplex at 9 a.m. the day of the race for registration and a briefing of the route before heading out on the trail.