When Canmore’s Adam Campbell and Amy Golumbia dream of the perfect Canadian Rockies adventure race, they envision hundreds of runners bounding through the rugged Kananaskis wilderness on historic trails, soaking in the incredible, pristine scenery while building a sense of appreciation for the land.
Campbell, the president of Skyrunning Canada and Golumbia, CEO of 5 Peaks, want to bring such events to Kananaskis Country, as the popularity of adventure-style trail running is exploding around the world.
They are part of a growing group of for-profit race organizers interested in opening up Kananaskis Country for larger adventure-style races, while raising questions about acceptable use of Alberta parkland.
Currently, trail races on Alberta Parks lands are capped at 150 participants, while events in more rugged wildland areas are capped at 50.
“I get frustrated with the fact logging is allowed in Bragg Creek, but having running races on trails is not allowed. By using existing trails, runners gain respect for the area and connect with nature,” Golumbia said.
Running has slowly moved off of paved surfaces and onto dirt trails, and trail running race registration is up by 25 to 30 per cent. Currently, most trail runs are hosted at the Canmore Nordic Centre, but race organizers said they want more variety.
“The Nordic Centre is a fantastic facility, but one of the beauties of trail and mountain running is you move naturally through the terrain. It’s a more natural route and it really showcases the environment to a much larger degree, and it opens up incredible terrain,” Campbell said.
The Skyrunning president has toured the globe running ultra-marathons, where he was once famously struck by lightning at mile 56 of the Hardrock 100 mile race (he still finished third). He believes Kananaskis Country is perfect for alpine ultramarathons, as it has tons of existing trails in gorgeous locations.
“It would be very easy to host a major international event here with scenery that’s probably more beautiful than anywhere else,” Campbell said.
He believes such a race would bring several benefits to the area, and would put Kananaskis Country on the map.
“We’re talking about using existing infrastructure for human use. There are also broader public benefits to getting people active. If people use these beautiful areas, their respect is larger. The impact of 200 to 500 people may seem significant to some, but if each of those people tries to conserve and preserve that area, there is a much larger difference,” Campbell said.
There is currently no appeal process for race organizers, although they are encouraged to email Alberta Parks with their requests and concerns.
Golumbia said she’s done that, but her proposals have been shut down due to wildlife issues (which she completely agrees with) or cap issues (which she’s not OK with). She’s willing to include trail cleanups, donations or maintenance components in her races for the chance to race in her backyard.
“We’re not asking to put races in areas that will impact grizzly bear habitat. These events are also safer than running on the trail by yourself,” Golumbia said.
“When you put on these events, it makes it more controlled. You have someone checking the trail before the race, after the race and the runners looking out for one another.”
Kananaskis Area Manager Dave Hanna said the 1999 government recreation policy review is the basis for much of the current allowed usages, and its public consultations were loud and clear: people wanted trails kept open for recreational public use.
“They did not want to run into tons of people on the trails. They did not want to fight for parking,” Hanna said.
Races also have the potential to do severe damage to trails, he says, and damage is harder to repair in the alpine than at the Nordic Centre.
Several events were grandfathered in, such as the cross-country ski cookie race, which attracts 600 racers a year, and the K-100, a 100-kilometre running race. Both of those races can’t exceed their current cap. The 150 athlete cap was put in place as “a general estimate for a viable race,” Hanna said.
The race landscape has changed in the past 10 years, Hanna said, and Alberta Parks is trying to decide how to accommodate it. He knows if he makes an exception for one race, he has to do it for everyone, which could have far-reaching consequences.
“Now there’s been a big shift in racing with for-profit events. Prior to that point, the requests were for smaller, not-for-profit events used as fundraisers.”
There have been discussions about how to accommodate for-profit races, but no solutions as of yet.
“We’ve talked about other options. We’ve talked about putting weekends up for competitive bids, had discussions and looked at our options. But right now there is no move afoot to significantly increase those numbers,” Hanna said.
That being said, through the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, and subsequent Alberta Parks plans, special facilities, such as larger washrooms and parking lots, that could handle big groups in Kananaskis Country, will be up for discussion.
“We will be looking at key infrastructure. This is not something that’s going away. But I know right now, I could put a race on trails every weekend, and the public would go ballistic,” Hanna said. “We have to weigh what’s a reasonable disturbance to the public. We’ve heard loud and clear Alberta wants K-Country to focus, really, on the residents of Alberta.”
Kananaskis Country has one of the healthiest grizzly bear populations in Alberta, and several denning sites high on the slopes. Managing that issue also presents problems, however, Golumbia and Campbell argue it’s not much different than hiking the same trail. Golf courses are also permitted on the valley bottom, which arguably has a bigger impact.
Similar races are forcing other jurisdictions to re-evaluate their policies as well.
Aaron McConnell, president of TransRockies, recently hosted a three-day trail running race in Colorado. That event crossed parkland, attracted 400 runners and presented many similar issues to Kananaskis races. In order to get approval, TransRockies had to complete a five-year, $30,000 Environmental Impact Study.
“Most events couldn’t handle that, but in the end, the finding was there was no significant impact, and in fact, it had a positive impact on the communities surrounding the race,” McConnell said.
He’d like to host more races in Kananaskis Country as well, but said improved infrastructure would make a big difference.
“There are opportunities for great events. The problem with the 150 cap is for most things it’s a little below where events are sustainable. There are certainly a lot of people who are keen to do those races in K-country, and I think that presents challenges,” McConnell said. “It has less to do with the trails and more to do with the venues, facilities and parking, and that’s something we’ve run into. One of the best venues we had was the overflow parking at Little Elbow, but it was damaged in the flood. That limits things even further.”
While race organizers push for Kananaskis races, they’re branching out into other areas. McConnell has introduced his SingleTrack 6 races in British Columbia, 5 Peaks hosted a new mountain race in Revelstoke, and Campbell said he’s adding races in Rossland and Squamish, B.C. this year. In the end, they want more people on the trails.
“I respect the need for animals to have areas free of humans, but I want to balance it with the need for people to connect with nature. It’s vital we spend time in nature,” Golumbia said.
