By Sarah Newton
Over 500 people attended the Fifth Annual Kootenay Sufferfest, choosing from among 16 events over the long weekend.
There were kids’ running races, off-road duathlons, mountain biking, and trail-running races of every distance. The showcase event is the 200 km trail running race that spans three days and is aptly named the Loonie Toonie.
Revelstokian Rory Luxmoore won the event in 22 hours and 20 minutes, hours ahead of the second-place finisher Gary Williams from Calgary Alberta.
The course included summiting Idaho Peak near New Denver and Buchanan Mountain overlooking Kaslo, scenic off-trail alpine running, creek crossings, endless miles on abandoned wagon roads, steep descents and even the 50 km rails-to-trails stretch between New Denver and Nakusp. The Loonie Toonie is only held every second year and the last athlete to win it was fellow Revelstokian Madeleine Martin-Preney.
Here are some photos from the event:
