Warmth and sunny skies greeted all of the participants and the cheering crowds at the annual Aspen View Regional Cross Country ski races last Tuesday.
While the temperatures were excellent for getting lots of people out to watch, according to organizer Joe MacIsaac, it made for some slightly slower snow conditions.
“I wasn’t so worried about that as I was the rain that started to fall, just as I sent the email to everyone stating the event was still going ahead,” he said with a bit of a chuckle.
“And there were more than 40 people that came up and asked me if I thought the race would still run after the rain.”
There was 1.5 centimetres of rain that fell in the 16 hours prior to the race and MacIsaac added volunteers put down 20 kilograms of salt on the hill near the school so people could walk up to the starting and finishing areas.
It also took the track groomer 10 passes over the course to work up the trail and field to get it ready after the rain.
However, that didn’t stop the 181 participants from having a whole lot of fun, he said.
“A total of five schools participated,” MacIsaac said, noting though one incredible statistic, “there were 26 kids from Kathy Asfeldt’s two kindergarten classes that participated.”
Taking top spot in the kindergarten boys race was Jackson Jardine from Whispering Hills Primary School (WHPS), while the kindergarten girls race was captured by WHPS Addison Hemmons, which ran about 500 metres around the field.
Adam Giberson won the Grade 1 boys race, while the girls race was won by Sage Korth.
The Grade 2 girls race was taken by Kyra Sheppard with Oscar Woodburn-Elliott winning the boys race.
In the Grade 3 girls race, it was Keira Jardine taking first place in time of four minutes and one second, just a second ahead of the boys winner, Koal Giberson.
For the Grade 4s, it was Liam Day from Landing Trail Intermediate (LTIS) taking top spot for the boys, while the girls race went to Avery Kamelchuk of LTIS.
Taylor Sheppard of LTIS won the Grade 5 girls 1.5km event in at time of 6:27 with the boys race going to Joshua Wiselka of LTIS, who clocked a time of 7:16.
The Grade 6 boys winner, posting a time of 4:37 for the 1.5km loop, was Jake Gerritse.
On the girls side, the winner was Alyssa Olson with a time of 7:10.
For the Grade 7 girls, the race went to Makayla Sheppard with a time of 4:50, while the boys race was captured by Lyndon Joyes in a time of 5:43.
There was only one boy and one girl that took part in the Grade 8 races, both of whom were using the event as to train for their trip this week for the National Age Group Cross Country races in Thunder Bay.
Noah Day, Anna MacIsaac-Jones along with her brother Michael MacIsaac-Jones left the next day for the week long event that began last Saturday and runs until this Saturday.
Day and Anna compete with the Athabasca Nordic Ski Club, while Michael is a member of the Rocky Mountain Racers club based in Canmore, where his sister Maya – who recently won a Canada Games medal – also trains.
