Prince George winter enthusiasts will be out all over town Sunday.
The 26th annual Prince George Iceman begins at the Otway Nordic Ski Centre at 10 a.m. and wraps up for soloists and teams at the Prince George Aquatic Centre. The deadline for entries is Wednesday at 9 p.m. As of Monday there were more than 330 people registered online to compete in the 2013 Iceman.
The cost to register for the Iceman is $80 for individual competitors, $45 for team members and $25 for junior team members.
The competition begins with an eight kilometre or two ski laps at Otway before the athletes embark on a 10 km run from the ski centre to the Prince George Ice Oval where the five km (12 laps) skate will commence. After the skaters finish, the five km run through the Pinewood subdivision will begin, with the course ending at the Prince George Aquatic Centre for the 800 metre swim.
The defending men's and women's solo champions from 2012 are Mike Smith and Anita O'Brien.
Jim Van Bakel, one of about four new members of the Iceman organizing committee, said the course is the same as last year with a few minor changes to the the ski course.
"The course is basically still the same except the ski route will be a little bit different due to all the construction out at Otway," said Van Bakel.
At the end of the day competitors and volunteers are invited to gather at the Civic Centre for a post-race meal. The doors to the Civic Centre will open at 1:30 p.m. with a hot meal being served at about 2:30 p.m.
Van Bakel said it's been challenging for him and the other newcomers to the organizing committee taking on an event of this magnitude.
"It's been a bit of a learning experience getting to figure out how everything works but it'll make it all better for next year," said Van Bakel. "We're very excited to get going."
