Twenty-four hours. To most typically there are not enough hours in the day, don’t tell that to those that take part in the Twenty Four Hours of Adrenalin as that is just how much time there is to have one of the best mountain biking events you can be a part of!

Canmore, Alberta was my stop for the Trail Care Crew’s sixth visit to work with the team from Twenty4 Sports Inc. in preparation of the Twenty-Four Hours of Adrenalin race that takes place annually at the Canmore Nordic Centre. This year marked the 19th for the event, which really speaks to the quality of not only the event itself but also the course and trails used as well. This event is a very special one as it combines the best of what mountain biking has to offer and creates a true mountain bike community on site for the weekend. The entire Canmore Nordic Centre is converted into a small mountain biking village with all riders and teams camping out on site. That along with sponsor and vendor tents, live music, beer gardens, the Twenty-Four Minutes of Adrenalin Kids Race and the likes of Ryan Leech and his Trials Riding Show make for a truly amazing event for riders, families and spectators alike. Weekend warriors and new riders are able to share the course with seasoned vets and sponsored athletes like Kona’s Cory Wallace, which gives it a true grassroots race feel. The race takes place from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday with riders completing as many laps of the 18.7km course as possible during the day and throughout the night.

While the race itself might only be twenty-four hours long, the lead up and preparation takes the entire year in order to be able to pull off a great event of this magnitude. For my role, I was brought in a few weeks in advance with the team from Twenty4 Sports Inc. to assess the course itself and provide recommendations for where funding and trail work should be focussed in the future to ensure that the course can stand the test of time and be a truly great ride experience. With a certain portion of race entries going back into the course for upgrades and improvements, it speaks to the commitment that Twenty4 Sports Inc. has for the event and the trails at the Canmore Nordic Centre. It was great to be able to lend my advice and expertise on an event that I have followed for many years to ensure that the funds are going to the right place. Along with that, I was lucky enough to work alongside Brad Freer, the course and trail manager, to help prepare the course itself leading up to the event. His years of experience and expertise were great to work with and it was great to be able to offer my insights and fresh eyes to help make the course the best it could be leading up to race day.

For the event itself, I was lucky enough to be joined by our Executive Director Lora Woolner and past IMBA Canada legend Mark Schmidt to help run our booth for the race. It is a great opportunity for us to talk to riders not only from the area and across the country about their trails, but also met riders from as far away as South Africa and Ireland to name a few. We were also lucky enough to partner up with Velofix Calgary and Racks Unlimited for a second year in a row to offer a fundraising raffle for over $3000 in amazing prizing with funds coming back to support IMBA Canada. That along with a very generous donation from Twenty4 Sports Inc. for the One Percent for the Planet helped us raise over $6000 over the entire weekend!

We would like to extend our thanks to Velofix Calgary and Racks Unlimited for their partnership and support in helping us raise some amazing funds over the course of the weekend. I would personally like to extend my thanks on behalf of IMBA Canada to the entire team at Twenty4 Sports Inc. for their amazing hospitality and generosity leading up to the event. As well, we would like to thank them for their continued partnership and support for what we do at IMBA Canada and look forward to being at next year’s race for the 20th anniversary!

For more photos of my visit to Canmore for the 24 Hours of Adrenalin click here!

-Justin Truelove