It’s Relay Season!

June 20 Update

I wrote this piece to celebrate the relay races we enjoy here in the mountain parks. We’ve had a reminder in the last few days of the awesome power of Mother Nature. Heavy precipitation and strong winds are expected over southern Alberta this weekend, and that has led to the cancellation of the 2025 Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay. A tough call, but the right one by Cheryl and her team at Be There Races. It’s a shame that we’ll be deprived of this classic race this year… see you in 2026!

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While we tend to think of running as a solitary activity, some of my fondest memories are from races where I competed as part of a relay team. I’m not referring to just any relays though. We are fortunate to have some world-class multi-stage relay races in Canada. And some of the best races take place in the Rocky Mountains—perhaps not surprising given the majestic scenery available here. 

With our variable weather, June is the unofficial start of road relay season. Here’s a short personal history of my connection to the best mountain relays. I’ve also mentioned a couple of other major road relays in Canada and the US.

History of Multi-stage Relay Races

The Japanese have a long tradition of races based on the ekiden, which is an age-old method of staged courier transmission across long distances. “Eki” translates to “station” and “den” means “to communicate, to convey”. For more than 100 years, ekiden has been a popular sport in Japan, and this may have been the origin of similar races in Canada. The popularity of multistage road races has grown, and there are now events around the world. Of course, relays can be on roads or trails, although my focus is on road races.   

Jasper Banff (later Banff Jasper) Relay

I’m not a historian, just an amateur athlete with a long resume and a keen interest in the sport. I think of the Jasper Banff Relay (JBR) as the grand-daddy of Canadian distance relays. Much of the race course follows the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93), so it certainly offers the most magnificent scenery.

The original race (contested from 1980 to 2000) started at noon in Jasper on the first Saturday in June. It ran continuously towards Banff, over 258 km and 17 stages of varying length and difficulty. Needless to say, there were some tough stages, like the climbs up to the Columbia Icefields and the high point at Bow Summit (2,088 m).

My research suggests that this is the oldest multistage race in Canada. I might be wrong—I don’t know of any others with such longevity. The race had a hiatus from 2000 to 2005 before it was relaunched in a new format. 

My first experience of multistage relay races goes back nearly 40 years, to the 1988 JBR. I wrote about this specific race in Stroke of Luck, because that weekend in the national parks made an indelible impression on me. The JBR was a huge event in its heyday—just the sight of 120 teams of 17 runners converging on the small mountain town of Jasper was awesome.

I ran stage 13 in 1988. Bad luck? Well, yes. I coped with a bear warning and a drenching nighttime thunderstorm while running 20 km in pitch darkness. It was daunting, but also one of the most memorable running experiences of my life. Our team of 12 men and 5 women battled hard for 19 hours and 10 minutes to a 2nd-place finish in the mixed category and 15th overall.

I went on to run the JBR twice more, in 1990 and 1991. Then, in 2008, I was asked to run in Stage N14 of the revamped Banff Jasper Relay. (The race now consists of simultaneous South (S1-S6) and North (N7-N15) races to avoid overnight running.) We placed well that year, but I was NOT in race fitness. While these were all thrilling and exhausting races, none could match the 1988 race for sheer excitement.

Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay

The success of the JBR spawned competitors, and the most prominent of these is the Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay (known to all as the “K-100”). The K-100 has run annually since 1987. It starts in the foothills, in the small town of Longview, Alberta early on a Saturday in late June, and follows Highway 40 to the Nakiska ski lodge. The race covers (surprise!) 100 miles in 10 stages, including one trail stage. There was an individual 50-mile ultra on the same route for a few years.  

My records are a little sketchy when it comes to the K-100. I think I’ve participated eight times. I’ve run on club teams and corporate teams, going back to the late 1980s: first the Fort Saskatchewan Kilomilers, then a couple of Shell Canada teams, and more recently for Adrenaline Rush Athletics. I last raced in 2017, a couple of weeks before my hospitalization for strokes (and that is definitely a story for another time!) 

At its peak in the early 2000s, the race was limited to 180 teams. Now, the race is capped at 80 teams. There were 40 finishers in 2024. I remember the corporate and open divisions being intensely competitive. I will venture a guess that the decline in race numbers is due to the fortunes of the Calgary business community, and limitations imposed by Alberta Parks.  

Over the years, I’ve run stages 2, 4, 8 and 9 of the K-100. I like stage 8 best. It’s kind of a Goldilocks stage—not too long or too short, not too flat or hilly. I’ve had many good memories and a good track record at the K-100, coming home with a podium placing several times. I like the race a lot, not least because it wraps up in one long day. There’s lots of variety and challenge over the 100 miles, including a summit of the Highwood Pass. Here are a few pictures:

Other Road Relays

There are other multi-stage road relays. Some have come and gone, and new ones are popping up. The following races have endured:

• Cabot Trail Relay, Baddeck, NS: 276 km, 17 stages, late May
• Klondike Trail of ’98 International Road Relay, Skagway, AK to Whitehorse, YT: 175 km, 10 stages, early September
• Rum Runners Relay, Halifax to Lunenburg, NS: 100 km, 10 stages, late September
• Wintergreen Ekiden Relay, Bragg Creek, AB: 42 km, 5 stages, late October
• Hood to Coast/Portland to Coast, Portland, OR: 315/206 km, 36/24 stages, late August

Concluding Thoughts

I’ve had many great adventures and some success as part of road relay teams. If you haven’t tried one, I would highly recommend that you do. There is something special about sharing a race experience with a group of friends, adding a team dynamic and plenty of unknowns to your ordinary running. Long, unbelievably beautiful and sometimes lonely stages (think time trials), and daunting course profiles intensify the experience. You can feel the anticipation (and exhaustion) build as the race carries on. It can be especially exciting if you are locked in a tight competitive battle. In short, it’s a lot of fun!

Until next time, be well and BE FAST!