Running News Daily

TransRockies announces 2021 race schedule, plans for in-person races

The team at the TransRockies Race Series has announced that they have a couple of events set to run this summer and fall. One event in the U.S., the TransRockies Run, is confirmed, and the team is optimistic that B.C.’s Golden Ultra, which was recently added to the series lineup, will be able to go ahead as planned in September. After COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 series, trail and ultra athletes will be excited to get back onto the race course. On top of the races scheduled this year, the full TransRockies Race Series will return in 2022.

TransRockies Run

The only running event on the series schedule that has been confirmed so far is the TransRockies Run, a six-day stage race that starts in Buena Vista, Colo., on August 2 and finishes in Beaver Creek, Colo., on August 7. As organizers noted in their race confirmation, they have received approval to hold the run from each of the race’s host communities, which is great news for American trail runners. It could be good news for Canadians, too, as organizers note that they are hopeful that the Canadian government will eliminate quarantine for fully-vaccinated individuals in time for the race.

Anyone interested in competing in the TransRockies run will have to provide race organizers with proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of race day or proof of immunity from a previous COVID-19 infection. This race is sold out, but anyone who hasn’t registered and wants to race can add their name to a waiting list.

Golden Ultra

The Golden Ultra takes place in Golden, B.C., and it’s scheduled for September 17 to 19. The race, which TransRockies acquired in 2020, is a three-day event with stages titled Blood, Sweat and Tears. The first stage is 88K, the second is just under 60K and the third is 22K, but runners don’t have to run them all, and they can choose to run as many as they like. The event was founded in 2015, and it has been extremely popular among Canadian and American runners ever since.

As TransRockies organizers noted in their announcement, if B.C.’s “Restart Plan” goes as scheduled, the Golden Ultra should be able to run without any issues. While they acknowledge that things could change in the coming months, organizers said they’re confident that the race will go ahead as planned. The final call for the Golden Ultra will be made by July 9. Unfortunately, this race is also sold out (all 500 spots in the race were filled within the first five hours of registration back in November 2020), but like the TransRockies Run, anyone interested in racing can request to be added to a waiting list.

The other Canadian race on the TransRockies Race Series calendar is the TranSelkirks Run in Revelstoke, B.C. This race was set to run in August, but it has been cancelled. Runners registered to race the TranSelkirks will have their entries rolled over to the 2022 event