The annual Winter Solstice Run will be held on Dec. 16 in Whitehorse.
The race is organized by Athletics Yukon. Runners will take off at the upper parking lot up Grey Mountain Road at 10:30 a.m.
Kelli Anderson, sports administrator and events planner at Athletics Yukon said the furthest distance is 12 kilometres, but runners can choose to do a shorter distance and turn around at any point along the route.
“It is a very relaxed race day,” she said.
The race is free for Athletics Yukon members who pre-register. At press time, more than 25 runners had registered to participate in the race.
A post on the Athletics Yukon website said runners should wear their most festive gear and bring a donation to the Whitehorse Food Bank.
Per cold weather policy, organizers said the race will be cancelled if wind chill temperature is -25C or colder at 9 a.m. on the Environment Canada website. Cancellation notices will be posted on Facebook and Instagram. Anderson said she is very hopeful the event will go ahead this year. She said it’s been cancelled in the last two years because of cold weather.
“If it’s very cold, then we have to cancel it for safety reasons. But I’m hopeful that we will actually get to run it this year officially,” she said. “This is a run that we’ve done for years now. The route is set. You just run up to the towers along the road and you run back down. So it’s a pretty easy route. But it’s not easy in terms of running because there’s a lot of elevation.”
Anderson said the race is one of the low key events in terms of planning. She noted it’s going to be an informal race and there won’t be winners or placements.
“We actually don’t even time it or keep it official. It’s more of an informal event. If you want to time yourself, that’s OK. All the runners have to sign in with us at the start of the race for safety reasons. They have to sign back out.”
Anderson told the News that more runners are expected to register in the morning of the race.
“I’m just excited to see it happen this year, because it looks like the weather will be cooperating,” she said.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com
