The Spring Trio Trail race was held in Bragg Creek, Alberta on Saturday, May 5th. The race was previously going to be held on April 21st but due to our winter being longer and harsher than usual, the race organizers postponed it a few weeks to allow the venue to thaw out so runners wouldn’t have to worry so much about ice and snow!

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning (thankful that the date was indeed switched) for a trail race. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the temperature was just perfect with it being around 18 degrees Celsius or so. It was nice to get out of town and head to Bragg Creek for the race as it was held at the Wintergreen Golf & Country Club (formerly Wintergreen ski area).

The Spring Trio Trail race is put on by Be There Races and they do a great job of organizing hosting this type of event! For this trail race, participants had the option of running either 3km, 5km, or 8km.

The course at the start was generally the same for everyone. Runners looped down onto the paved golf course trails for a short distance before heading east again out on the trails. After going up a hill, participants were either directed to go left (for the 3km) or right if you were participating in the 5km or 8km race. There was a nice volunteer there helping direct people, as well as the course organizers had placed coloured flags that corresponded to the distance you were running out on the course to ensure you knew which way to go.

For the 3km trail runners after the hill there was some nice trail running through a little bit of a forest, and then it opened right up again to a field where runners picked their way through the brush towards the main entrance road before looping back towards the clubhouse and the start/finish line!

After participants crossed the finish line, there was plenty of snacks, sub sandwiches, cookies, chips, water, beer, etc. for everyone! All runners who participated received a finisher’s medal, as well as a t-shirt. For those who placed in the top 3 for finishers under 40 and over 40, there was a nice extra medal for them as well.

Overall, this is a great season opener or a wonderful option if you’re looking to try a trail race for the first time. It’s a well put on event with terrain that isn’t too difficult and it’s a wonderful excuse to get out of the city and support the local running community!

Spartan held their annual Calgary Spartan Sprint on August 12, 2017, once again at the Wild Rose Motocross Park. Although they may have returned to the same venue as years previous, overall, Spartan did a really good job of changing up the course and made better use of the venue.

The lineups to get your race kit were actually a bit longer the day of the race and it was a bit disappointing that they never released the map of the course before the elite racers raced, but really, not knowing exactly what's coming your way in an OCR race is just another obstacle!

The course was a mix of flat, rolling, and sloping dirt terrain with steep but short ascents and descents, which made for a fun sort of rollercoaster feel for the course of the race. In my opinion, Spartan placed obstacles in a better order this year as to not intentionally make things even more difficult, unlike the year prior where it seemed that there was a mud/water obstacle placed before every grip obstacle.

The only thing that I would change in regards to the obstacles was that the barbwire crawl wasn't wide enough and was placed too soon in the race, which ended up creating a big bottleneck of racers as only a certain amount of racers could viably get through at any given time.

Overall, the course was fun but challenging and it does offer at many points in the race, a wonderful panoramic view of Calgary's downtown. Spartan did a great job of revamping the course and bringing some new obstacles to Calgary, such as Olympus whilst using some of the neat obstacles a motocross track has to offer.

Spartan Race once again brought back their Spartan Sprint held at the Heritage Ranch in Red Deer, Alberta but this time on July 22, 2017, instead of September as years prior.

Holding the race in July proved to be a great choice as the weather was absolutely beautiful the morning of the race and there seemed to be quite the turnout!

The course was completely changed from years previous and I really enjoyed it. The starting line was held in a wide open area, which allowed racers to jostle for position ahead of the single track trail that was ahead. The trail, which opened up to large fields multiple times throughout the race for obstacles, was amazing as it wound you deep through the forest of Heritage Ranch. Spartan also utilized short yet steep, ascents here and there making for a much more interesting run through the trees.

The obstacles were really enjoyable and the Platinum Rig also made its debut in Alberta, (as well as Olympus) which elated many racers as we all finally got to stare it down during a race. Spartan does a great job of utilizing the venue and having a swim across the river as one of the obstacles on a beautiful summers morning was awesome!

Spartan, having moved their start and finish line also moved their festival area to a much wider and open space and overall, I thought this was much better than years prior. More people were able to check out the vendors, cheer people on through some obstacles, (the Platinum Rig, A-frame, Rolling Mud, Spear throw, Barbed wire crawl as well as the fire jump were all viewable for spectators and within a small area!) which felt great as an athlete, and just hang out in general.

Overall, if you are looking to do your first Spartan race or your 100th Spartan Race, the Red Deer venue is a wonderful choice as it has it all and is also really friendly for spectators. Aroo!

Day of the race:

It was a crisp, cool winter's day for a run but at least a bluebird one at that. The race start and finish were located at Eau Claire Market, which provided ample amount of parking for all racers.

I was able to pick up my race kit the morning of, which went pretty quickly and with lots of time to spare I was able to stretch and participate in MEC's little warmup routine before all runners were sent on their way.

The course:

The course actually differed from what was advertised but still kept the route along the pathways of the Bow River, which for the most part were nice and dry with a few icy patches here and there. Pretty great conditions, after all, it is January in Calgary. The course was flat and fast and it was neat that we got to run across (and back) over the Peace Bridge.

Overall:

This is a race series that you just can't beat if you're looking for a well priced, timed run. MEC offers usually multiple distances at each of their events, (5k, 10k, half, etc) and also has a series of trail running events. There was plenty of water, (at aid stations along the course as well) banana and Clif Bars available afterward for all finishers, which was really nice to have. A big thank you to MEC for putting on this event as it was a wonderful way to begin the 2017 race season.