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SOO 200

Eastern Canada's Only 200-miler

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SOO 200 UPDATE


Hi |*FIRST_NAME*|,

Thanks for everyone who joined us last Tuesday for the live meet-up. We reviewed where we are with the course, and what has changed.

To recap, we have received an enormous amount of support and encouragement from the local government, stakeholders, many landowners, and avid adventurers in Sault Ste. Marie. Organizing a long event is always a complicated, but SOO 200 has posed a lot of challenges we did not anticipate, so we continue to work through these issues as they come up. That does, unfortunately, hold us back from publishing information; it's hard to push out information when details are still in flux.

At the end of April, as we were finishing up our stakeholder engagement, which went on about four months longer than planned, we had a curveball thrown at us with regard to land use. There are several trail networks in the Sault and Algoma area, which often cross private land. We were originally told by various stakeholders that the access agreements were in place, so using these trails would not be a problem. In fact, we were encouraged to use these specific trails. Unfortunately, not everyone is on that same page, and one trail management organization determined that we do not meet their criteria as a "pedestrian use" and they have asked us to not use these trails. We spend a few weeks trying to reason with them and come up with a solution, but this appears to be a decision by one or two people in the organization, and they will not reconsider. Every other stakeholder we asked about this stated that they are shocked by this stance. Based on some of the correspondence we have received, it also appears that someone has been contacting landowners, attempting to change their minds about our use of different trails, which just compounds the problem. I do want to stress that the vast majority of people in "the Soo" who we've met are exceptionally supportive and helpful.

We are diligent and determined, and we always rise to the top in situations like these. So we have made another change to the race route. It does, unfortunately, remove the coastal running from the race, which has always been a big part of the draw for me, personally. We spent a lot of time reconnoitring the course over our different visits, and talked with a lot of people in the area who know these back country routes. We always promise to provide an incredible race experience, and it will be an exceptional athletic challenge. That is still our promise now. If the new course doesn't align with your expectations, please feel free to reach out and we can discuss it. The staff to racer ratio in this event will be high, so hopefully you get some personal attention out there! :D

In a number of ways, this course is better because it allows your support crew, and our own resources, to stay in a more confined area. I know how important it is to keep support crews and volunteers happy, so we want this to be a positive experience for them as well.

RACE DETAILS

With the new course being finalized, we are ready to publish more information about the event.

What's new:

  • The first two main loops are the same, but the third stretch between CP5 (Searchmont Resort) and CP7 (Stokely Resort) has changed a bit just at wee bit the very end in order to use a more obvious route. We also changed the CP6 location.
  • The loop around the Stokely area has changed from a 30km loop to 11km, and now you get to go up King Mountain, which is where you will collect your race coin. There is no CP per se, but this coin will be contained in a secure box, and when you bring it to me, I will add it to your plaque at the finish line. This has been a wildly popular addition to a few of our races.
  • Instead of heading west to the coast, you now do a loose loop through the Wabos and Achigan Lake area, then return to Searchmont. This means your support crew, if you have one, can enjoy easy drives between the two main locations on the first 2/3 of the race.
  • From Searchmont, you will now head south and west towards Sault Ste. Marie, which is the big, final push. This will lead you past Thayer's Acres, then into the city.
  • The following pages are now online:

Next Steps:

  • Add the CP food list to the website – this will simply give you greater detail on what you can expect for supplies
  • Driving directions for support crews, pacers, and volunteers

You can view the course in RunGo or Google Maps via the website: https://www.sinistersports.ca/soo200/course

Thanks again for your patience; we had to hold off on publishing some of this info due to course changes, but we feel ready. As I mentioned in previous updates, this has been the most challenging race to organize in my 23 years as a race director, but we like challenges (up to a point). ;)

WELCOME, WANDA

John R, our recent pick for Race Director, who I mentioned in a previous update, unfortunately had to leave for family reasons. We miss him already, but his gave us the opportunity to bring on our new RD, Wanda Prochazka. I first met Wanda about 20 years ago while sitting on the board of the Canadian Adventure Racing Association. We have been friends ever since, and I look forward to working with her this summer.

Hi, I’m Wanda.

I was always an active kid, having trained in rhythmic gymnastics and Slovak dancing. However, outdoor sports were new to me until about 16+ years ago when I became aware of endurance sports such as Adventure racing and Ultra running.

I began to do short orienteering events in Ontario, which soon grew into longer and longer events and eventually doing solo mountain bike races and ultras. After my first 58+km ultra race in Quebec after only running one half-marathon, I wondered why anyone would do this sport. Three days later, I was registered for 3 more ultras. I was hooked. I have raced almost every endurance race in Ontario.

I have also raced many ultras and staged around the world in Slovakia, Portugal, France, Italy etc.

My educational background is in Biophysics and Business. I worked many years as a Financial and Operations Manager with a focus on Process Management, in various sectors, but focusing largely on not-for-profit.

About 10 years ago I realized I needed a change and became a Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. This has allowed to bring my passion to others and have more time to travel to races. I love the feeling of exploring a new place and talking to all the international races and test out my multiple, but limited language skills.

I look forward to bringing that same feeling to all the races hosted by Sinister Sports.

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WELCOME, MARSQUEST

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BONUS: MarsQuest sunglasses will be awarded at each race awards ceremonies!

Learn more about the awesome Canadian brand MarsQuest at www.marsquest.com - helping your goals become possible on the quest to reach your greatest potential.

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LIGHT UP YOUR RACE WITH FENIX

FENIX is back as our lighting sponsor, and they are offering all of our competitors a 16% discount on your next online order. I'm an industrial designer by trade, so I love innovative products, and I cannot say enough good things about these headlamps. The discount is available in Canada only. We will also have a few on hand at the race if you want to pick it up there.

Use code sinister2025 at https://everythingfenix.com/ to get the goods.

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See you in three months!


Kind regards,

Brian Gallant
Event Director

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Gold Sponsors:
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