Harper Drescher leads a group through the first obstacle at the 2019 Conquer the Coulee event at Kin Coulee Park. This year's event is set for Saturday with a new course for all levels of fitness.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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Athletes up for a challenge will look to Conquer the Coulee this weekend.
Union Races is hosting Saturday its second rendition of the obstacle course race since taking ownership in 2019.
Union Races owner Randy Siedlecki says organizers had a successful race last year and are looking to build off it this weekend.
“We’re really trying to promote kids’ fitness and family fun and, and our whole motto is bonding family and friends together through fitness,” Siedlecki said Wednesday. “That’s what we have written on our medals and what we believe in.”
Siedlecki says the course changes year over year and said she designs the new course herself. She says anyone 13 and under runs the 7.3 kilometre obstacle track for free.
“We have 300 competitors so far coming and 125 of them are 13 and younger,” Siedlecki said. “It’s good to see.”
The cost to Conquer the Coulee for anyone over the age of 13 is $70 and they can register at unionraces.ca until midnight tonight. After that, registration can be done on site Saturday. Races get underway at 9 a.m. with groups split in 15-minute intervals based on competitive levels and spacing. Anyone interested in spectating the event is free to do so but must enter Kin Coulee park on foot as roads will be gated off.
Siedlecki says racers can choose between more competitive heats with exercise punishments for not completing obstacles, or more non-competitive ones which allow for obstacles to be skipped. She says racers are encouraged to at least try each obstacle and embrace the challenge.
“We have a monkey bar thing and people say, ‘Well, I can’t do monkey bars,’ and I’ll say to them, ‘OK, well try it.’ Then they’ll maybe get three monkey bars and then they fall off. And I say, ‘Well your goal for next year is to make it to four,'” Siedlecki said.
Siedlecki says the Bulldog track and field club will be volunteering by supervising each obstacle, and in return Union Races will make a donation to the local club. She says the same goes for bag check, as that money is given to pet rescue.
On top of challenging themselves, Siedlecki hopes people in the fitness community can get back into their routine with the race after being interrupted by COVID-19.
“I hear a lot of people are, say, I’m just not in shape this year to do the race and they’re just not feeling good about themselves,” Siedlecki said. “I wish they would just go and do it and challenge themselves.”
Union Races is also hosting 5K/10K trail races Sunday at Kin Coulee park. Interested runners can register the same way as they would for Conquer the Coulee.
