The Sheep River Road Race will live up to its name this year.
A new course has been established for the 34th Sheep River Road Race on Labour Day Sept. 3, and this year the majority of the 10km race will be along the river.
“This is the first time we have had a loop for the 10km race for a number of years,” said Chuck Holmstrom, race committee chairman. “It will be the first time we have been along the river for almost the whole race — it is the Sheep River Road Race and this way we go on both sides of the river.”
The 10km course starts at Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks and works its way east across McAlpine Crossing then along the north side of the river, then across the Southridge Dr. bridge and then back to the high school.
Holmstrom said the committee wanted to have a course that is a loop rather than point-to-point, which has been done in the past.
“A loop is much more interesting and this course provides better scenery,” Holmstrom said. “There are no large hills on the course.”
The change to the 10km course was supposed to take place last year, however, flood damage to the running trails pre-empted it for a year.
The 5km race will be the same as last year, which has the runners on the south side of the river running to the pond in the Sheep River community and back to the high school.
Once again there will be a kids race before the 5km/10km run. The run will begin at the field at Foothills Composite at 8:30 a.m. The children’s course is roughly two-kilometers long and parents, grandparents or older siblings will have plenty of time to cheer the youngsters on before participating in the 5km or 10km run which starts at 9:15 p.m.
The run is organized by the Big Rock Runners, whose aim is to promote the life-long sport of running in Okotoks. The group meets every Saturday at 9 a.m. for a recreational run. There are various runs taking place on Saturdays to match a runner’s ability.
For information about the club or to register on-line for the Sheep River Road Race go to www.bigrockrunners.com
Entry forms are also available at Classic Source for Sports.
The cost before Aug. 27 is $35 for the adults and $20 for youths under the age of 18.
The price goes up $5 after Aug. 27.
Runners can also register the day of the race between 6:30 and 8 a.m. at Foothills Composite.
