By Sarah Wallace

First Winter Ultra held in northern Sask.

Feb 9, 2015 | 10:17 AM

On Feb. 28 Saskatchewan will host its first 60-kilometre (km) Winter Ultra.

The event is being organized by the Prince Albert Triathlon Club after Alana Cassidy brought the idea forward to the group.

“I actually brought it up to the club because I’ve been wanting to do one myself and I haven’t been able to get to any in other parts of North America. So I thought maybe we can organize one here and (the club) said ‘sure,’” Cassidy said.

A Winter Ultra sees participants do one of three events: running, biking or skiing 60 kms.

The event will start at the Elk Ridge Resort on the Feb. 28 with participants hitting the halfway point at Anglin Lake and then turning around and heading back to the finish line at Elk Ridge.

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Cassidy said they have 28 people signed up for far, but there is still time to sign up through their website. 

“They need to read through everything on the website and make sure that this is something they want to do because they have to carry gear with them. It’s mostly self-supported, there will be three checkpoints, but this isn’t something to be taken lightly,” she explained.

The event is not a timed event or a competition.  Cassidy said for those coming out just finishing the course makes them winners.

“This is a big challenge, so I’m not handing out prizes … it’s to complete it.”

The weather could be a challenge, but Cassidy said they have a cut off of minus 40 (with or without the wind chill), so if the temperature reaches that point the event will be cancelled.

“But otherwise we’ll go ahead and it’s up to participants to decide if they want to race or not. They need to be prepared for different weather conditions and also different trail conditions because it could snow on the trail and that could make it go from a six-hour event to a 12-hour event.”

She said they will have people at the three checkpoints along the route and will have snowmobiles patrolling the course, so if anyone runs into difficulty they can flag down someone.

“Another reason I’m creating this is to encourage people to embrace winter rather than to try and escape it. The start line with all the different disciplines is really going to be a neat place to be whether you’re racing or watching.”

Cassidy will also be taking part in the race, she will be doing the cycling portion of the event.

“Because we’re on snowmobile trails you have to have a fat-bike. The fat-bikes have four to five inch tires, so much bigger than a regular mountain bike. It can be slow, you average, depending on trail conditions, the average fat-biker would average between eight to 12 kilometres an hour.”

She said it’s tough, but also a lot of fun.

“It’s a really beautiful route and I’m so happy Lakeland Snowmobile Club gave us permission to use their trails.”

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid