BEDEQUE – It’s almost time for the Callbeck’s Home Hardware Dunk River Road Race.
The 41st annual event will take place on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. The start and finish for the 7.2-mile (11.6 kilometres) run will be at the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge, located at the junction of Highway 1A and Route 171 in Bedeque.
The course proceeds counter-clockwise via Route 171 (Dunk River Road) and Route 110 (Mill Road) to Highway 8 (Freetown Road), with a short out-and-back section on Route 110. From Highway 8, the run continues left onto 1A until the finish. There will be two water stations at the two- and five-mile marks, along with refreshments at the finish line.
Post-race medals and other awards will be presented at the Bedeque and Area Recreation Centre at 11:15 a.m.
A total of 50 runners competed in the 2017 event. Mike MacKinnon of Miscouche was the overall winner in a time of 42 minutes 38 seconds (42:38). MacKinnon joined Shawn McCardle and Alex Coffin as the only three-time winners of the Dunk River race.
Stephanie Barry-Benedik grabbed her first Dunk River female title with a time of 58:38. Barry-Benedik finished 19th overall in the 50-runner field.
Course records
The current course records have been in place for over a decade now as the male mark of 37:42 was established by Matt Sheffield in Halifax in 2006. Fellow Haligonian Janice Ashworth set the female record of 42:57 in 2005.
The popular mugs bearing the race logo will be presented to the first 64 runners to register. Registration will take place at the Bedeque and Area Recreation Centre from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. There will be no online pre-registration. The entry fee is $20 per adult, and $15 for youth 19 and under.
For more information, please contact longtime race organizer Paul Wright by email at [email protected], or call 902-888-9831.
