The Festival of the Grape in Oliver is a popular event at the start of October. This year Baldy Mountain Resort is holding a Baldy Marathon that allows participants to “pair” their experience with Festival of the Grape. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Baldy Mountain Resort is seeking to engage with the local community with its first ever Baldy Marathon paired with Oliver’s Festival of the Grape on Oct. 1.
Despite a superficial similarity to the popular Half Corked Marathon – both events feature wine and running – the Baldy Marathon promises to be a unique event.
“The Baldy Marathon will be like no other event in the world,” said Baldy Mountain Investor Victor Tsao in a news release. “The race will start and finish at the Festival of the Grape, bringing a big celebration feeling to the start/finish area.”
Stephanie O’Brien, who does publicity for the resort, said the hope is that the Baldy Marathon will become an annual event.
In late July, prices for the marathon were dropped significantly and the event was capped at 750 spots.
The new prices are $139 for a full marathon, $99 for a 20-kilometre run, and $79 for a 10-km run.
A one-kilometre run for children aged three to 12 is free.
Prices include entry into the Festival of the Grape and access to roving shuttle transportation all day between Oliver and Osoyoos.
O’Brien said the price reduction was a response to concerns received that the race was too expensive.
“We originally promoted it as a destination marathon and we were doing a bit of marketing overseas for that,” she said. “But there really seemed to be a lot of local interest and community support and the community piece is the real reason why we created the marathon in the first place – we wanted to engage with the local community and get the word out a bit more about Baldy Mountain Resort.”
O’Brien is the daughter of “Snowy” Joey O’Brien, who was instrumental in relaunching the ski resort last year after it emerged from bankruptcy.
Her father, however, has left Baldy to pursue a new position with Pass Powderkeg Ski Resort in Crowsnest Pass, which is closer to the family hometown of Canmore, Alta.
Stephanie O’Brien runs her own Canmore-based Carmella Consulting, which does marketing for Baldy Mountain Resort.
She’s also a runner and was the race director for the Banff Marathon for three years.
O’Brien is excited about the Baldy Marathon, in which runners will take the trail on a loop along the Okanagan River channel between Oliver and Osoyoos and back.
“We are providing such a cool experience,” she said, noting that the shuttle will pick people up in Oliver and Osoyoos and drop them at the race start.
“You’ll be able to run your race, jump on the shuttle, go back to your hotel or home, have a shower, get cleaned up and then come back and enjoy the Festival of the Grape,” O’Brien said.
The setting of the run will make it unique.
“There’s a certain experience you have when you go for a run,” said O’Brien. “It’s an opportunity to disconnect from your phone, everything that’s going on around you. That can happen when you run anywhere, but when you are running in nature, like that pathway, and you’ve got the Okanagan River right beside you, the sounds of the songbirds in your ears and you have the beautiful backdrop of the Okanagan right there, where else would you rather run?”
Running on dirt rather than pavement is also better for you, she added, pointing out that it’s a fast and flat course with no real elevation changes.
O’Brien said the resort hopes to hold its Festival of Colours earlier this year to coincide with the Marathon and allow runners and others to visit Mount Baldy, check it out and ride the chairlift.
Last year the event was held later in October and it served as an open house before the ski hills opened for the season.
“We were fighting the clock in terms of getting the lifts approved last year,” O’Brien says. “I think we’re a little further ahead than we were last year, so that’s great.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
