With a Facebook post, an email to a mailing list and two paragraphs posted on a website, the highly-publicized two-day Athabaska Ultra 100 run has been cancelled.
In a release dated May 29 and posted on the event’s website, the Athabaska Ultra 100 Trail Run Association board of directors stated the decision was “due to unforeseen circumstances and logistical challenges.”
“The board apologizes for any inconvenience that this may have caused,” the statement continues. “We believe in the importance of community collaborations between our regions and hope that the collaborations begun here will continue in the future.”
The 176-kilometre run – set to take place July 27-29 – had been promoted locally and provincially as the “longest Ultra in Alberta” and was featured in the May/June edition of Canadian Running Magazine. The Ultra would have run along the Athabasca Landing Trail from Fort Saskatchewan to Athabasca, with stops in communities along the way.
Tourism and economic development officer Robert Buckle, who had also been working with the Athabaska Ultra 100, said he had no comment.
When approached June 2 and asked if she would speak about the Athabaska Ultra 100, race director Brenda Reynolds said no.
After Athabasca County council’s May 31 meeting, Coun. Kevin Haines said it was “too bad.”
“A project of that scope is nothing but good for a community like ours, because of the spinoff effects of all those people,” he said. “All those people that are running, they have their support teams, so they have their family and friends that are driving here and supporting them.”
The cash
In an interview before the event was cancelled, Buckle said he received a letter from the Minister of Culture and Tourism April 13, approving the Athabaska Ultra 100 marathon for a Community Initiatives Program grant of $75,000.
At that time, Buckle said the grant helps organizers with one-time purchases associated with inaugural events.
On June 22, 2017, members of the Athabaska Ultra 100 board accepted the $75,000 cheque from Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette at the Pine Valley Resort in Tawatinaw.
In an email, county communications co-ordinator Karl Kopan confirmed that the county, through the Tourism and Economic Development Committee, granted the Athabaska Ultra 100 board $5,000 in seed money to assist in mapping the trail and to conduct a training workshop.
“We are not able to answer questions about Ultra staff members, and those dealing with the cancellation of the race itself,” he said. “They will have to be directed to the Athabasca (sic) Ultra 100 board.”
City of Fort Saskatchewan culture services director Diane Yanch said council agreed to support the Ultra 100 in trail development, as well as providing a cash donation. She said that to date, no cash has been sent by the city, and the board had not yes come to collect it.
“It’s sad the Ultra 100 is not going through after all,” she said. “It sounded like a great event for communities going up the Athabasca Landing Trail.”
The Athabaska Ultra 100 Trail Association had also advertised in the Athabasca Advocate that they were hiring an administrative assistant in October, as well as a logistics team member and an event planner in May.
Local council requests
The Town of Athabasca is set to discuss the cancellation at their council meeting June 5.
Town CAO Robert Jorgensen also said the town had spent no direct cash on the Ultra.
“We were going to provide a peace officer for the event, as well as what we usually provide for the annual River Rats program,” Jorgensen said. “But at this time, we had spent no money yet for the now-cancelled race.”
Athabasca County councillors addressed some concerns regarding some requests made during a presentation made by race co-ordinator Brenda Reynolds at their May 8 council meeting.
Some requests included asking for staff help on permits and volunteer recruitment, some protective services, traffic control, grading gravel roads along the race route, sponsorship for the awards lunch, and having a representative at the media lunch.
“We really need to ask some questions first, because I don’t know the answers,” county manager Ryan Maier said May 8 after the delegation had left the meeting. “For example, how much has the county invested in this to date, and what is the cost of the request. I think before council makes any decision, we need to know those things.”
“We’re saying we’re going to pay for lunch, how many people?” Coun. Dennis Willcott said at the meeting. “Is it 100 people, 500, 1,000? That’s going to be a big one for me.”
“I’d like to see, before we make any decisions, that we do the research,” Coun. Larry Armfelt said at the meeting. “I would like to see a general budget that they’ve got in mind. They must have an estimate, number of people they feel would be at some place for supper.”
After discussion, councillors passed a motion made by Coun. Travais Johnson to have administration seek more information on the Athabaska Ultra 100 and report back to council.
Now that the event has been cancelled, deputy reeve Warren Griffin – who sits on the Tourism and Economic Development Committee – said in an interview the county does not have the answers.
“We simply do not have the answers as of yet,” Griffin said. “All we can confirm at this time is that we did give them seed money. Other than that, what we know is on the Athabaska Ultra 100 website.”
– With files from Joseph Quigley and Allendria Brunjes
