The 2020 Reckless Raven 50-mile Ultra and Relay will be going ahead after getting the green light from health officials.
John Carson, the program director, spoke with the News on June 25 to go over what the Reckless Raven will look like.
Organizers completed a risk mitigation plan that was submitted to the Chief Medical Officer of Health, which was approved allowing the race to go ahead.
The race will look different this year to allow for precautions designed to protect people from COVID-19. The pre-race briefing will be done on a one-on-one basis as participants pick up their numbers and gear checks are done.
It will have a staggered start at 6 a.m. on June 28 from the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.
The 50-mile ultra will be conducted in groups of nine people, to minimize the amount of people on the route. Each runner will be in a type of corral and have a timing stick. The runners will have to remain two metres apart.
Once they approach the finish line, the timing stick will be plugged into the timing control unit.
“We should be able to get off of the start line within a 10 minute window,” Carson said.
There have also been changes to the relay race. To avoid large groups gatherings, there will be a spotter that announces the incoming runner at the halfway point of Jackson Lake.
The teammates will be waiting in cars for the race partners to be called, and there will be a bucket of disinfectant for the timing stick.
The post-race celebrations have also been modified. Normally there is a big celebration in a beer garden but not this year.
“We’re basically having people take their finishing medal and award and go post a celebration somewhere on Facebook,”Carson said.
He explained that the Reckless Raven is lucky to be in an area with a lot of outdoor space.
“A lot of races have thousands of people, convention centres and international travel, so it’s a small enough race to be able to offer a kind of in-territory race,” Carson said.
The race is set to have 75 confirmed participants, Carson said. Approximately 20 people are doing the solo race and 30 teams will be doing the two-person race.
Organizers were set to welcome 30 participants from outside the territory, but those racers are unable to compete. Organizers offered the chance to roll their registration forward to 2021 or 2022.
Contact Gord Fortin at gord.fortin@yukon-news.com