The ice road connecting Yellowknife and Dettah will turn into a raceway this weekend for anyone who wants to walk, run, ski, bike or kicksled along it.
The Yellowknife Multisport Club is holding the Dettah Ice Road Run from 10am on Sunday, April 6.
It’s a family-friendly event. Anyone is welcome on just-about any means of active transportation. You can do the whole 13-km distance (it’s 6.5 km each way) or any part of it you like.
Organizer Chantelle Masson said groups like Ecology North have held a similar event in the past, but Ecology North was “happy to pass it off” to the multisport club. Masson believes this is the first staging of the race since 2021. She’s hoping it becomes an annual event from now on.
It’s a fun event designed not to be competitive. Entry is $20 or free for participants aged 17 and under. Turn up at the Rotary Park ice road entrance – the Yellowknife end of the road – any time before 10am on Sunday to register.
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There will be hot drinks and snacks at Rotary Park. The aim is to wrap up the event by 1:30pm.
Masson told Cabin Radio she wanted to introduce this event because most Yellowknife Multisport Club events take place in the summer. While the city has events like the Frostbite 55 ski race in winter, she saw a gap for the ice road race to make a comeback.
“I wanted to run this event to celebrate spring arriving, to get on the ice road before it closes down, but try to line it up when hopefully the weather is a little bit more favourable,” she said. (That appears to have worked this year: the forecast is for the temperature to creep above freezing on April 5-6.)
The Yellowknives Dene First Nation Spring Carnival is happening at the same time. Masson hopes people might take the opportunity to “run over there, hang out for a little bit and run back,” or find another means of combining the two.
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“If people want to come out and do five kilometres or two kilometres, that’s totally encouraged and welcome. If people want to bring their kids and just do a little walk, that’s more than welcome,” she said.
“People can bike. People can kicksled. Anybody can join, however they would like.”
If you’re unsure about the prospect of running on an ice road, Masson is happy to encourage wearing anything from shoes with little ice picks to helmets for safety.
“I’ve done it before and I didn’t find it was too-too slippery,” she said.
“There seems to be some pretty good grip. People can definitely wear the ice picks that give you better grip. I have run on the ice road with just my regular running shoes, and it was OK for me.”
If you take part, organizers ask that you bring a phone and the food and water you’ll need, that you dress for the conditions with bright, visible clothing and adequate footwear, and that you don’t wear headphones.
Shenay Williams contributed reporting.
