The winner of the 40th annual Sheep River Road Race isn’t quite as old as the event, but he did grow up with the annual fall run in Okotoks. Aaron Swanson, 37, crossed the finish line at 34:51.6 to take the first-place medal overall in the 10km race. “I was probably 10 or 11 years old the first time I ran it,” Swanson said with a smile. “I did the 5K and I remember it being a pretty big deal. I don’t know how many times I have ran it, but it’s been a lot.” The road race was like a good neighbour when he was growing up in Okotoks. “We grew up across from the triplex and the race started from there, it was always a big deal – I did grow up with the race,” said Swanson, who now lives in Calgary. “The first-place prize used to be a wildlife painting and my mom always wanted one of those. “It was my goal that one day I would win one of those, and sure enough I did – and we kept having all these pictures around the house.” Swanson, a Foothills Comp grad, proved he retained what he learned in his previous Sheep River Runs. He finished two-minutes and 10 seconds ahead of second-place Kevin Lindland of Calgary. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree at the Swanson household. Aaron’ dad Larry, was eighth, in the men’s 60-plus division, in just over 50 minutes. “I gave dad a high-five on the way back,” Aaron said. “He really wanted me to come out and run. I think it meant a lot to him to have him come out.” The 60-year-old Larry ran 60 kilometres on his birthday earlier this year on the Okotoks pathway system. “I think I did 12kms with him – that’s too far for me,” Aaron said. “It was great. Just a reminder that you can have all sorts of goals.” The top female runner in the 10km was Barb Bryan of Calgary in 43:12.5. Last year’s 10k champion, Charl Volsteedt, was the top male Foothills area runner in the 10km. The top local female was Michelle Weigel. A fleet-footed Falcon flew up from High River to stun the 5k field. High River’s Erika Cunniam, a Grade 10 student at Foothills Composite High School, had the fastest time at 17:14. “I was excited to run a 5km on a flat course because I only have run that on a cross-country course – I usually run at Nose Hill Park,” she said. “The conditions were good and I was excited because I ran it last year for fun. “I felt good and I had a strong finish.” Cunniam was in second place until taking the lead with about 1.8 km left. The Heuver brothers, Jacob and Joshua, from Okotoks were second and third, respectively. The Sheep River Road Race is organized by the Big Rock Runners, with the proceeds going to promote running in Okotoks and area. They are doing a good job. Many of the winners in the youth categories were wearing yellow jackets, signifying their membership to the Okotoks Track and Cross Country Club, a non-profit, practically free club for youth, which was started and coached by the Big Rock Runners. Taylor Nevins-Layte, who won the girls Under-20 10km, is a member of the OTCC. “I just joined the running club this year,” said Nevins-Layte, a Grade 12 student at Holy Trinity Academy. “The coaches are great. They encourage us 100 per cent in everything they do. “They teach us how to run uphill, downhill, how to catch or breath – how not to give up.” (Prior to Saturday’s race, ageless coach Richard Ellum, who has been part of all 40 Sheep River Road Races, was ensuring the young runners were warming up properly.) There were approximately 200 runners who participated in the 40th edition of the race, including many small athletes in the 2km run. To see the full results go to zone4.ca The Big Rock Runners meet every Saturday at the Recreation Complex for a leisurely run. For information about the Big Rock Runners go to bigrockrunners.com [email protected]
