Fall Colours Duathlon hits Cumberland
Posted Oct 8, 2011 12:20:21 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The 12th annual Fall Colours Marathon takes off from Cumberland Sunday morning along with races ranging from 1km to the half-marathon and on Saturday hundreds of cyclists hit the road for a duathlon.
It’s a run, bike, run event and this year competitors did either a sprint or a long version of the race. The sprint is made up of a 3k run, 16 k bike and another 3k run. The long race has a 3k, 37k and 5k make up.
Sunday’s races will see more than 2,000 runners competing in 1,3,5 and 10 km races as well as the half- and full-marathons (21.1 and 42.2km respectively).
Organizer Christine McKinty says this is a new record for participants in the Sunday runs.
“I think mother nature and the sunshine had a lot to do with that, but we’ll take it,” she said.
Participants like Mark are drawn to the race east of Ottawa partly because of the legendary scenic route.
“It’s a beautiful area and it’s a great time of year to be doing it too with all the fall colours changing,” he said.
And for others like Francois the appeal lies in the more laid-back feel of the final race of the season.
“It’s just fun, right, it’s just a family event so I’m with my girlfriend,” he said.
And there were lots of families and friends out supporting racers on Saturday.
The Sunday races include a 1k for children, many of whom are doing kids’ marathons which mean they’ve accumulated 20 km and finish the last kilometre of the half-marathon on race day.
There are no spots left in the shorter distances but it’s not too late to register for the half- and full-marathons.
