NACAC Mountain Running Championships returns to Canada this weekend – by Nancy Hobbs (photo by Richard Bolt)
The 2015 NACAC Mountain Running Championships will take place at Cypress Mountain, located just north of Vancouver, BC, Canada, on Saturday, July 18. Cypress Mountain Ski Area was one of the venues at the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympics.
This is the twelfth consecutive year that the NACAC Mountain Championship have been held, with the event rotating being the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This is the fourth time for Canada to serve as host, having been the venue for the championships in 2007, 2010, (at Canmore, Alberta), and 2012 at Cypress Mountain.
The course will be an up-and-down course to mirror the format of the World Mountain Running Championships which are up and down in odd-numbered years and uphill-only in even numbered years. The route will include loops at the top of the ski hill, rather than running from Horseshoe Bay to the top – the route in 2012. The proposed course can be viewed at this link.
According to race organizer Adrian Lambert, “The course features some excellent terrain and should be a challenging course.” Both individual and team competition are staged, with nations competing head-to-head with one another. Teams are comprised of up to four men and four women with the top three finishers scoring for their respective country. There will be a prize purse of $3000 distributed to the top five men and women with $500 for first, $400 for second, $300 for third, $200 for fourth and $100 for fifth.
The Canadian team was announced earlier this month with one substitution of Marianne Hogan replacing Megan Franks, and Team USA is listed here.
ATRA Executive Director Nancy Hobbs will represent the WMRA on site at the event.
Pictured above are members of the 2012 US NACAC Mountain Running Team. For more photos of the 2012 NACAC Mountain Running Championship in Vancouver click here.
