The Stony Mountain Run made a triumphant return to the Quarry Trail last Saturday, with 151 racers competing in eight renditions of the event.
This year’s run marked a return after not happening in 2023 for the first time since the race began in 2016 due to having no race director.
This year, Stony Mountain Community Association’s Tony Hoess stepped into the role of race director.
Hoess, a runner himself, wanted to bring back the event to Stony Mountain’s 2.5km quarry loop to help provide runners with a scenic and hilly running experience that can’t be found in most parts of the province, along with raising money for the SMCA’s new memory garden they intend on building.
“It’s a great feeling, a feeling of accomplishment,” said Hoess. “It’s great to be part of the team that did it. There is a lot of great volunteers. A lot of the money we raise goes toward the SMCA events. We’re building a memory garden this year, so the money we raise will go toward that. It’s great being part of the team and the community, supporting runners and fitness. It was a great experience.”
Hoess said he had around 10 volunteers help out with the race,, doing everything from food setup to course management, registration, and cleanup.
Hoess spent most of the time leading up to the event promoting it and settling all the registration and setup kinks.
This year’s event had the second-highest total of runners since the first run in 2016.
The run began with the 10km starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the 5km and 2.5km runs 15 minutes after each other. This allowed all the runners to conclude their race around the same time, so the awards ceremony could happen with everyone in attendance following the race.
This year’s first-place winners were Colin Gamble in the male 2.5km, Maeve Millard-Hales in the female 2.5km, Darcey Harder in the male 5km, Renata Doerksen in the female 5km, Jonas Pazer in the male 10km, and Candace Kosack in the female 10km.
Hoess said he received plenty of positive feedback from race participants.
“It’s been very positive; everybody really liked the event,” said Hoess. “It was a little hot and humid on Saturday but what can you do. Otherwise, people really liked the course and the event and I got a lot of compliments saying if we have it again next year they will be back.”
Hoess confirmed he plans to return as race director in 2025. He said he would pay attention to other races going on in Manitoba at the time but would aim to hold it again in late August.
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