Haliburton Forest Trail Run celebrates 20th anniversary

The Haliburton Forest Trail Run in Ontario’s cottage country is celebrating its 20th anniversary on Sept. 7.

“The course is jaw-dropping beautiful, but the race isn’t for the faint of heart,” five-time 100-mile ultra runner and regular Canadian Running contributor David Carroll told the Haliburton Echo. “Running through a forest at night is kinda like running through a Grimm’s fairy tale. There’s magic all around, but there’s danger too.”

Carroll says of all the races he’s run in the last eight years of competition, the Haliburton event has the best volunteers and the best aid stations. “The ladies at the 75-mile turnaround serve lasagna and chicken noodle soup until the final runner goes past at around 3 a.m. I love them!” he said. They’re also good at motivating cranky runners and dealing with all manner of body breakdowns,” he said.

Runners who aren’t up for the full 100-miler can take part in shorter races that range from 12K to 50 miles. This year, organizers introduced a new four-person relay for the 100-mile race with each relay runner covering 25 miles.

Race founder Helen Malmberg, who still acts as the race director after 20 years, says she ran her first ultramarathon in 1992 and decided to put together the Haliburton races as a way to give back to the sport. It began with a 50K and a 50-miler. Two years later, Malmberg added what became Canada’s first 100-mile race.

More than 300 runners have signed up for this year’s runs, including 60 brave runners in the 100-miler, which has a 30-hour time cut-off to complete the out-and-back course.

For more information visit haliburtonforest100.org.