It might be a little bit slushy on race day and there could be a few puddles to avoid but it's all systems go for the Prince George Iceman.
The 29th annual multisport endurance race, a grueling test of cross-country skiing, running, skating and swimming, starts Sunday at 10 a.m. at Otway Nordic Centre.
With 568 competitors expected, there's plenty of snow on the ski trails, road conditions are ideal for runners this time of year and the pool temperature at Prince George Aquatic Centre is a balmy 26 C. Far less predictable are the ice conditions on the 400-metre outdoor oval at Exhibition Park.
"We did have contact with (Ice Oval maintenance volunteers) and they said conditions may not be fantastic, but the plans right now is we're going to be skating on Sunday," said Iceman registrar Jim Van Bakel. "The hope is it that it keeps doing what it has been doing lately and it gets colder than what they predict overnight."
Environment Canada is predicting an overnight low Sunday morning of about -1 C , with a high of 3 C and rain or snow showers expected on race day. To help preserve the ice, the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club has postponed a club meet scheduled for Saturday morning.
Weather woes have plagued the Iceman the past two years. In 2014, the event was canceled due to cold weather when the mercury plumged to -30 C. The only other time extreme cold shut down the race was in 1996.
Last year it was too warm to skate on the ice oval and the skating leg was cancelled to try to preserve the ice for the Canada Winter Games. As it turned out, unsafe ice conditions on the second day of the Games forced the long track speed skating events to be moved indoors to Fort St. John.
Race registration closed Tuesday night and Van Bakel said 83 adult teams, 30 junior teams and 35 soloists (18 female, 17 male) have signed up. The team numbers are up slightly while the number of solo competitors is down from last year's total of 47.
"We're down a fair bit in soloists but I guess that's kind of understandable, with people not knowing the exact conditions," said Van Bakel. "But we're pushing the 600-person mark in total registrants so we have good participation."
To avoid congestion on Otway Road, Van Bakel recommends racers and race watchers use the free shuttle bus service to Otway from the Aquatic Centre, which starts at 8:30 a.m.
For skiers on the eight-kilometre course at Otway, the route has been altered slightly. Near the end of the course, racers will now be diverted off the final hilly segment of the Antlers trail and instead will follow a flatter, wider trail which leads into the stadium area.
The new entrance to the ice oval on the west side of the ice surface will separate the 10-kilometre runners from parked traffic near the Kin Centre. Leading out of the oval, after a five-kilometre skate, a snow-packed trail will lead competitors into the five-kilometre run.
The race ends with an 800 m swim in the Aquatic Centre pool. An awards banquet follows Sunday afternoon at the Civic Centre.
