Creemore Vertical Challenge

On Saturday, nearly 200 ultra runners will descend on Creemore for the ninth annual Creemore Vertical Challenge (CVC).

There will be three different races run along a combination of private trails and roads – a 25-km, 50-km or 75-km.

The 25-km is part of the Ontario Trails Series and the 50-km and 75-km races are part of the Ontario Ultra Series and are designated Bronze Races for the International Association of Ultra Runners.

Race organizers, Pierre Marcoux and Lee Anne Cohen have been Ultra runners since 2002 and according to Marcoux, the Creemore race evolved from his own training.

“The races in the series were very tough, but I found many of the courses were easier than my training runs in Creemore. I thought that other runners should be sharing my pain so I linked three of my hill training runs together and that became the beginning of the CVC course.”

The course is demanding with varied terrain and lots of hills and because it is in August, it can be extremely hot and humid.

There are eight landowners who allow the race to be run on their properties and the remainder of the course takes place on country roads.

This year, there will be several international competitors from Nepal, Texas, England and Scotland.

Run entirely by a team of 28 volunteers, the CVC takes place over an entire day, with the different distances having staggered starts from the home of Marcoux and Cohen. “This race has a different vibe from the others in the series because it starts and finishes from our home, it takes place throughout the countryside and competitors finish their day by soaking in the Mad River, eating pizza and drinking a pint of Creemore Springs.”

The race is also known for its great SWAG – there are 60 age category prizes that include pottery made by Cohen and jugs of maple syrup produced by Marcoux in his sugar bush near Singhampton.

For more information on the CVC and other musings on the running life, check out Marcoux’s blog runnningchallenged.blogspot.ca.