With the eleventh-annual Round the Mountain just around the corner, the Bulletin checked in with Kimberley Trails Society (KTS) executive director James Miles to see how preparations are going for this huge event.
Described as “Kimberley’s premier multi-discipline adventure event”, Round the Mountain this year takes place on Saturday, June 22 and will draw around 550 participants, who will choose from five hiking, running and mountain biking challenges around Northstar Mountain.
The options are a 10-kilometre run, the kids races, the Round the Mountain Half Marathon Trail Run, 20-kilometre Trek and the mountain bike half marathon.
Round the Mountain was first established 11 years ago and after a hiatus caused by the Covid pandemic, the Kimberley Trails Society took over the running of the event, so this is also the third year Miles has been involved.
“It’s definitely back and we’re still have no problem selling out pretty much every year, there’s a big draw of people coming in,” Miles said. “It’s a great celebration of all trail users in Kimberley. We cater to the trekkers, we cater to the kids, we’ve got the runners, we’ve got the bikers, so it’s a real community get-together.
“We have community food vendors up there as well, so we’re the event is supporting the local businesses as well. All the KTS sponsors are involved, so a good reflection of the community.”
The weekend begins with the opening of the Registration Centre on Friday, Jun 21 at the Platzl Gazebo.
Saturday kicks off bight and early with the registration centre and shuttle bus firing up at 6 a.m. The free shuttle runs every 20 to 30 minutes and takes people from ski hill’s south end parking lot up to the Nordic Centre in order to keep that parking lot from getting packed.
The 20-kilometre trek begins at 7 a.m., followed shortly by the 10-kilometre run at 8:30 a.m., the 20 kilometre bike race at 10 a.m. and the 20-kilometre run starting at 10:45.
The kids' check in is from 10:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and the Kid Zone opens at 10:30 a.m.
“The kids’ area is growing, there’s stuff up there for kids and families to be up there all day,” Miles said.
The event attracts a ton of people from Kimberley, but also from all over the East Kootenay and even further afield. Miles added the event has garnered the nickname, “The Kimberley World Championships.”
The event tends to sell out every year, but there are a few last-minute spots available if you’re interested. Miles also said they try to grow and expand the event ever year, though they are limited in how much they’re able to do so, do to permitting issues and things of that nature.
This year they are hosting a movie night at Centre 64 on the Saturday and on Sunday all participants are invited to a party at the Kimberley Nordic Centre to celebrate last year’s completion of the massive Electrify the Mountain trails project.
There will be group rides on the new trails, hosted by the Kootenay Freewheelers, shoes demos and more events in the works still.
The event is still looking for more volunteers to join their team, and you can get involved by visiting roundthemountain.ca
“Thanks everyone for supporting the event, it wouldn’t be what it is without all the people that have participated in the past, the previous volunteers, the previous organizers and the groups that support it,” Miles said.
