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Iceman weather Sunday should be ideal

Conditions should be close to perfect for competitors and volunteers involved in Sunday's 33rd Prince George Iceman.
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The pandemic has canceled the Prince George Iceman multisport endurance race, which normally would have been staged this time of year. After a week of cold weather and only a few snow flurries, conditions should be near-perfect at the volunteer-maintained outdoor ice oval at Exhibition Park.

Conditions should be close to perfect for competitors and volunteers involved in Sunday's 33rd Prince George Iceman.

There plenty of fresh snow on the ski trails at Otway Nordic Centre, city crews have had time to clear the running routes, the ice built by volunteers on the Exhibition Park oval is smooth as glass, and the water is warm at the Aquatic Centre for race-ending swim segment.

This time, the weather gods are on board, an abrupt change from last year's cold-shortened race.

"It's going to be ideal, by the looks of things," said Iceman registrar Jim Van Bakel. "It's supposed to be minus-8 C overnight and up to 1 C or 2 C (on Sunday). We couldn't plan it any better."

The 2019 Iceman was nearly canceled when it was -25 C at 10 a.m., the usual start time. The race was pushed back one hour and started when it was -20 C, right at the cutoff temperature. To compensate for the cold, the ski course was shortened from the usual eight kilometres to five km.

Tuesday was the deadline for registration and 47 soloists signed up for the race, nine more than last year's 38 solo racers. There are 84 adult teams (anywhere from two-five competitors on each team) and 20 junior teams of five or six. Close to 500 racers are entered, about the same as last year.

"We're up a few soloists, which is kind of nice, the numbers are holding steady," said Van Bakel.

 Among this year's entries is last year's overall Iceman champion, Rob McDougall and he'll have some strong competition from Cam McNamara, who won the race in 2016 and 2017, and 54-year-old Iceman veteran Mike Buchanan.

None of the top-three female soloists from last year are on the entry list. Shar Balogh is a solid bet to recapture the Icewoman crown she wore in 2016.

The race starts with an eight km ski at Otway which leads into a 10 km run to the ice oval. After five km on the rink, skaters will get back into the running shoes for a five km run through the Pinewood subdivision to the Aquatic Centre for the 800-metre swim.

Now in his seventh year as Iceman registrar, Van Bakel also handles the duties of the vacant committee chair but he says this will be his last year covering the chair position. He works as a ski technician at Stride and Glide Sports and he's recommending violet glide wax for the skiers on Sunday.

There will be free shuttle buses running every 20 minutes between the Aquatic Centre and Otway.

Race packages will be available for pickup Saturday between 5 and 7 p.m. at The Courtyard by Marriott. The post-race Iceman banquet at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre starts at 2 p.m. Results will be posted by about 2:30 p.m.