This weekend saw the largest turnout ever for the Mt. Pope Adventure Run and Walk, a 22km trip to the top of the mountain and back.
There were 45 runners who left from Cottonwood Park, summited on Pope and ran back to town,” said Keith Gordon, one of the organizers. “And there were 17 walkers that walked from the trail head.”
Two of the runners managed the distance in under two hours, which is an elite threshold. The top runner was Matt Scace of Prince George with a time of 1:55.33 and top female was Carly Maage of PG who managed a time of 2: 13.19 – one of the fastest times ever for a female runner.
Three Fort St. James runners participated including David Nutbrown with a time of 2:12.35. This was personal best time for Nutbrown who has now done the event four times. Ryan Hill finished with a time of 2:14:31 and first timer Layla Morrow also had a good run with a time of 3:14.08.
Seven Vanderhoof runners also participated. The top finisher among that group was Jaret van der Giessen, with a time of 2:38.59.
Support for the race came from several local community members who took on vital roles including Travis, Misha and Luka James, Sean Houghton, Dagan Boschmann, Randy Rawluk and Ann and Cam Mccormick.
The top five finishers were: 1, Matt Scace, Prince George, 1:55.33; 2, Mark Isaacs, Prince George, 1:59.06; 3, Cam McNamara, Prince George, 2:10.01; 4, Leland Johnson, Prince George, 2:10.15; 5; Simone Lamarche, Prince George, 2:11.25.