Popular trail races in Whistler, B.C., permanently cancelled

The Whistler Alpine Meadows (WAM) races, a weekend of trail running events popular in the running community and set to take place in Whistler, B.C., in September, have been cancelled.

On Friday, Coast Mountain Trail Running (CMTR) co-founders Gary Robbins and Geoff Langford sent out a statement on behalf of the entire race organizing team that thanked the resort municipality and the local tourism board.

"Our time in Whistler has come to an end," it said.

The group organizes trail races on Vancouver's North Shore and B.C.'s Sea to Sky corridor.

"We will not be pursuing any further events within the township going forward," the statement said.

"After six successful editions of the race, it has become crystal clear that there is simply no path forward for us to produce races of this magnitude along the alpine terrain within the confines of Whistler."

Though events were put on pause during the pandemic, Ellie Greenwood, an ultra-marathoner, online running coach and former 100-kilometre world champion, said the WAM events attracted competitors from all over the world.

Greenwood said it offered a rare opportunity to race in the Fitzimmons Range, where Whistler Mountain is the most famous summit and home of the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort owned by American company Vail Resorts.

"Obviously Whistler is an iconic destination," she said in an interview. "The trail running community was super excited. I really felt the momentum was just getting going."

Greenwood ran past editions of the 25-kilometre WAM race and also worked as a volunteer. The weekend included an ascent race, as well as 25-, 50-, and 100-kilometre races and a 160-kilometre race, all spread across three days.

The event also hosted a "triple whammy," where contestants run an ascent race on Friday, a 25-kilometre race on Saturday and a 50-kilometre race on Sunday.

'Angry, disappointed, frustrated'

Greenwood says race organizers recently told runners that Whistler Blackcomb resort owners, Vail Resorts, still hadn't confirmed whether they would be getting a permit to operate the 2023 events. Putting together a major competition requires months of preparation, Greenwood said, and runners who want to participate also need plenty of notice in order to train.

"People are angry, disappointed, frustrated," she said, adding that CMTR is known for putting on well-organized and welcoming events. She said she and other runners would often make new friends and see familiar faces from races over the years whenever they competed in Whistler.

"You just know you're going to get really well looked after. And get really cool, beautiful, challenging courses," she said.

In its statement announcing the cancellation, CMTR said it was proud of what was accomplished throughout its tenure in Whistler, donating $70,000 back to the local community and area trails.

Organizers said an economic impact study recently completed by Tourism Whistler estimated the spending of participants, staff, spectators, volunteers and visitors for the races had an economic impact of nearly $1.9 million in B.C. and almost $1.5 million specific to Whistler.

In a statement to CBC on Monday, a spokesperson for Vail Resorts said the company was looking for a detailed safety plan and a reworked course route for this year's races before giving organizers its approval.

"Following the 2022 event, we identified a number of safety issues that were compounded by the lack of a medical plan that would adequately meet the needs of a race of this size and scope," said Dane Gergovich.

Gergovich said those requests were relayed to WAM leadership on Thursday, Feb. 9.

"Unfortunately, WAM declined and asked us to approve the race in its full proposed scope that day with a required reworked safety plan to be delivered at a later date — something we were not willing to do," he said. 

"At that point, WAM organizers made the decision to cancel the event for 2023."

Gergovich says Vail Resorts is still open to working with WAM and feels there are "reasonable compromises" that can be made to host a condensed version of this year's race, with a focus on returning to the full scope of the event in 2024.

"We remain committed to improved communication with WAM and sincerely hope they will reconsider their decision," he added.

CBC News has contacted Coast Mountain Trail Running and Gary Robbins for their response.