VANCOUVER – For the first time in more than 30 years, the UBC Thunderbirds Cross Country program has the opportunity to host a meet as the inaugural Farm Fest takes place Saturday, October 10.
Held on the scenic grounds of UBC Farm, the varsity races – part of a larger slate of youth and community competitions – will be a critical opportunity for T-Bird athletes, as well as a real-time dress rehearsal for next year's Canada West Championships.
The two-kilometre course – run in four laps for the eight kilometre varsity races – features a blend of open field, crop pasture and wooded sections for a truly rare cross country aesthetic.
"I have not seen anything like this before and I think it's a really cool opportunity for our athletes to race on campus," said UBC head coach,
Laurier Primeau. "This course has its own challenges with respect to narrowing in places and some of the footing maybe not as firm as we'd like it, but some of the advantages are the scenery and the fact we're able to race at home for the first time in over 30 years at UBC."
Just as this year's Canada West championship will be held at the Calgary course used in a test event in 2025, the UBC Farm course will host the 2027 Canada West meet next October.
"From a competitive perspective, our athletes have been able to use the course for training, getting to know it a little better and actually improve it by using their own power to flatten out some of the areas," Primeau added. "It gives us a bit of an advantage over other schools who may come in and just see this once, or not at all. And selfishly, from an organizational perspective, learning from this year's inevitable mistakes, we will learn and be ready for the real thing next year."
In addition to the UBC athletes competing this weekend, seven other Canada West schools will be represented Saturday.
"It's a nice opportunity to be able to sleep in our own beds, have teammates and friends come and cheer," said UBC lead endurance coach,
Steve Weiler. "And in this case it's nice to have other teams from outside the province coming in to compete."
"We're looking to bridge the gap from our low key season opener at the Spirit Run towards important championships coming up later in the year. We're continuing to work on running together in packs and executing well. A key thing for us too is just becoming more familiar with the eight kilometre distance, whether that's for younger athletes where this is their first varsity season or older athletes who may have not participated much over the past couple years."
Following her strong second place season opening performance at the Vancouver Spirit Run,
Grace Beach leads the UBC women's team into the Farm Fest while the men's group will get a boost from the addition of veterans
Maximilien Filion and
Calvin Brain, both of whom mark their season debuts on Saturday.
The partnership with the UBC Farm and their staff has been a terrific experience for the T-Birds and will provide a marvellous backdrop come Saturday afternoon.
"Anna, Tim and Yoshi have just been phenomenal in setting up the course and going through multiple iterations of tracks that both respect the crops that are being grown, the farmer's market that will be going on at the same time and allowing us to deliver a competitive experience," Primeau said. "I am thankful for their contributions and I think they're looking forward to this as much as we are."
The varsity men's race kicks off the Farm Fest with a 2:00 p.m. start while the women's race will follow shortly after at 2:45.
UBC Farm Fest Live Results
