This year’s RCMP Road Race was certainly one to remember, as 37 teams from schools throughout the area, and as far as Cold Lake and Vermilion, braved the cold weather and brisk wind to take part in the 30th edition of the race.
Although 41 teams had registered for the event, only 37 teams managed to show up, but even still, that made this year’s RCMP Road Race the biggest yet, says Hank Smid, athletic director at St. Paul Regional High School.
The local high school has won the race for the past nine years, and after making an impressive showing on Tuesday, the school would claim its 10th consecutive victory. But in no way was this race a runaway.
St. Paul’s Racette Junior High School was close behind the Regional runners, which Smid says he was very impressed to see.
“Racette had a really strong team,” says Smid. He adds that in the end, Regional did “prevail,” but he will be excited to welcome the young runners from Racette to Regional in the years to come.
The RCMP Road Race is put on by the local RCMP detachment and acts as a way to create a positive relationship between the St. Paul and Saddle Lake RCMP members and local youth.
Each year, the Lakeland Rural Crime Watch donates $900 towards the RCMP Road Race. That money goes to the winning teams and is then directed to the schools’ athletic programs, according to RCMP.
Overall results from this year’s 30th Annual RCMP Road Race are:
Junior High Schools
1st – Racette Jr. High School (St. Paul), 1:14:02
2nd – Mallaig School, 1:17:00
3rd – Nelson Heights School (Cold Lake), 1:18:44
Senior High Schools
1st – St. Paul Regional High School, 1:13:22 (top team overall)
2nd – Glendon School, 1:17:15
3rd – Bonnyville Centralized High, 1:18:40
Open Category – top finishes according to time (winners drawn randomly)
1st – Ecole Voyageur (Cold Lake), 1:16:43
2nd – Ashmont Secondary, 1:18:65
3rd – St. Paul Regional High School, 1:20:36