The Cariboo Gold Rush Marathon is just a little more than a week away and organizers remain optimistic there will be enough snow to make the event a go.
British Columbia, in general, has received less than normal snowfall this season and the South Cariboo is no exception. The latest wrench to be thrown into the works is the threat of warm weather and rain in the forecast and both could pose a problem.
The final decision on whether the 2012 marathon will take place is to be made today (Jan. 25), but organizers have pressed ahead regardless, getting everything ready for the proposed Feb. 4 race at the 99 Mile Ski Trails.
Marathon committee chair Nicola Maughn says most everything else is looking good, right down to nearly a full compliment of volunteers. The only thing amiss, she says, is a group of people to man the Beanstalk Cabin checkpoint on the Jackrabbit race course. The cabin is 2.5 kilometres from the start point and requires whoever mans it to have a snowmobile. The youngest of marathon participants will ski as far as the cabin where refreshments will be available for them to refuel on. From that point, they will proceed another 2.5 km back to the race stadium and the finish line.
Maughn invites anyone with an interest in manning the checkpoint to contact her by e-mail at maughn@telus.net.
The remaining checkpoint refreshment stations are being supervised by the 108 Lions Club, 100 Mile Lions Club, local 2887 Rocky Mountain Rangers Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corp and volunteers from the Ministry of Forests and Range office in 100 Mile House.
Maughn says many of last year's volunteers have returned to help this year and several new faces have appeared as well, which is encouraging.
Low registration is also a concern at this point, according to Linda Peterson, co-chair of the race.
"People are waiting to see how much snow we get," she says, adding that despite the outlook, they have one registration from Prince Edward Island.
Something new this year, resurrected from the past, are Cariboo Marathon "I Did It" pins, which will be handed out to participants at the finish line.
Race information and registration forms can be found on the Nordics website at www.100milenordics.com. Online registration is open until Feb. 2 and it can be found on that site under Zone 4. People can also register in person on Feb. 3 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Nordics lodge.