Last year it was too cold to race and it was canceled.
This time around, warm weather and rain have wiped the ice out of the Prince George Integris Iceman.
There will be no skating in the 28th annual race on Sunday, but other than that the Iceman will go ahead as planned.
After several days of above-zero temperatures, combined with rain showers Tuesday and Wednesday and no cold relief in the weather forecast for the rest of the week, the Canada Winter Games committee informed the Prince George Iceman Society on Wednesday the five-kilometre skating leg would have to be canceled to help preserve the 400-metre ice oval at Exhibition Park for the Games competitions, which start Feb. 14.
"We knew even before the season began that if the conditions were bad, the Canada Winter Games had the ability to prevent us from going on the oval," said Iceman registrar Jim Van Bakel.
"We were keeping our fingers crossed for good weather, but similar to the cold of last year there wasn't much of a choice. Even now, there's a lot of standing water out there."
The race still begins at the same time, Sunday at 10 a.m., and the first two events – an eight-kilometre ski at Otway followed by a 10km run to the ice oval – are unchanged. But with the elimination of the 5km skate, solo runners will proceed through the timing station at the oval, then continue on with the 5km running route, which ends at the Prince George Aquatic Centre. The final leg is an 800-metre swim in the pool.
For team competitors, there will be a transition area where the 10km runner will tag the 5km runner. Although the skating leg has been eliminated, Van Bakel said those who don't get to skate on teams won't be refunded their registration fees.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do," said Van Bakel. "We feel badly for them but you can't control the weather. I know they are calling for a chance of rain and warm temperatures for Sunday and on the bright side it will be fairly comfortable conditions for everybody else."
A total of about 550 people registered for race, with many of those signing up in the final week leading up to the deadline Tuesday evening. About 230 registered before Jan. 1 to take advantage of cut-rate fees.
Van Bakel said while it's never ideal to have to cancel any part of the Iceman, at least the conditions won't be dangerous like they were last year when it was -32 C at race time, forcing organizers to completely cancel it for the second time since the Iceman began in 1988.
"Last year was worse, we look at it as an improvement over last year," he said. "At least the event is going to happen this year. Hopefully next year it will be back to normal."
Race packages are available for pickup Saturday from 5-7 p.m. at the Civic Centre. After the race, the competitors and volunteers will gather at the Civic Centre for the awards banquet.
For more updates, go to the society's website at pgiceman.ca or find the Iceman Twitter or Facebook pages.
