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Bold: Ski the giant

This year’s Sleeping Giant Loppet will be a little different.

THUNDER BAY -- Get ready - the Sleeping Giant Loppet will go ahead on Saturday, March 5.

The loppet, which started as the Thunder Bay Ski Tour in 1978, has been a highly popular annual event since its inception, attracting hundreds of both amateur and elite athletes every year. Last year, the event had to be cancelled due to pandemic restrictions.

This year’s event will look a bit different, but it’s still a great day to enjoy the trails, says loppet coordinator Peter Gallagher.

There are no registrations for this year, so the only expense is a day (or seasonal) pass from Ontario Parks, or, if you are a member of the Thunder Bay Nordic Trails, you can display your membership card on the dash of your car.

We’re spreading people out with three different start locations, and flexible start times,” explains Gallagher.

There will be no timing, and skiers can choose their distance. There will be a website where people can record their start locations and distances. “The trails will be as best prepared as we can get them,” he says.

The three start locations are at the Marie Louise Lake Campground, Bay’s End Trailhead on Sare Road, and Rita Lake on the Thunder Bay Lookout Road. The first location has the most parking available, he says, as well as easier trails for families to ski on.

There will be a map on our website, showing what the distances are for certain destinations from that start location,” he adds.

One of the strengths of the Sleeping Giant Loppet in previous years has been its large number of volunteers, with well over 200 people pitching in every year to make the event a success. This year, the volunteers will be scaled back as well, and skiers will be on their own to look after their own nutrition and hydration.

Gallagher has been volunteering at the loppet for 42 years now. “I just love seeing that many people out, enjoying cross country skiing as an activity,” he says. The most popular event in the past has been the 8 kilometre Mini Loppet, where people of all ages challenge themselves.

In the past few years, the race usually attracted about a hundred skiers from the U.S., 300 from Ontario and about 500 locals.

“For me the history of the event is significant; the fact that it’s been able to continue since 1978. It’s a tradition that I know people really missed last year, and [they will] miss the normal format this year,” Gallagher says. “But for most people, it’s still an opportunity to come to the park and ski in what I think is Ontario’s most beautiful provincial park with some family and friends.”

Over the decades, Gallagher has seen three-year-olds participating in the race, as well as people in their 80s. Some parents ski with young children in carriers. “A few years ago, we started to permit skiers to pull children in what’s called a pulk; a little sled. So lots of families do that.”

“That’s the great thing about cross country skiing, the whole family can participate at the same time, so if they are too young to ski, they can be carried in a backpack or pulled in a pulk,” he says.

Details will continue to be updated on the website.

There will also be a Fat Bike Loppet the next day, on Sunday, March 6.

For details and registration, go to https://www.blacksheepmtb.com/2022/02/17/fat-bike-loppet/

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