BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra
Racer\'s are ready, Yellowknife is ready. It\'s Go Time
Dane Gibson / 22.03.2008
It doesn’t stand out because of flashy lights, nor does it span a busy roadway or track. It stands out primarily because it’s not something you see on Great Slave Lake on a normal day. With an enourmous Ice Castle built by the infamous Snow King on one side and a smattering of houseboats frozen in the lake on the other, a race banner with “Start� suspended above the ice acknowledging the second annual BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra Race seems out of place to the dog sled mushers on their way home. The starting gate will make sense though when local runners from Yellowknife as well as extreme athletes from around the world are huddled under it ready to take their first strides in what, after only one year, has become known among the most hardcore competitors as a race that will test even the most hardened racer.
When asked at a media conference on Friday if he expects a large percentage of the field of about 100 to drop out before finishing any of the three BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra races , front man Scott Smith admitted he wasn’t prepared to speculate. The question was no doubt based on last year’s results that had world champions who planned to run the longest race dropping out on the first day, and hearty northerners, weekend runners who had perfected a system of cold running gear designed for the minus 30 conditions, cheerily trucking through to the finish line.
“All I can say is, you will be surprised who stays in and who drops out,� said Smith.
The media conference was held to go over rules with the many international representatives from publications such as Endurance Magazine, represented by Gerard Verdnet of France, Marc Perrier from the Belgium magazine Zatopec, Canadian Running Magazine’s Michael Kapral, and of course Sleepmonsters very own Rob Howard to name a few.See All Event Posts
