Athleticism.

The past few editions of The Fitzhugh have been loaded with stories of athletic prowess, and today’s edition is no different. After a week of fantastic results posted by Jasper athletes in the 24-hours of Adrenalin in Canmore, including a top place finish by the Jasper Source for Sports team, a group of mostly middle-aged Jasperites delivered a drubbing of epic proportions at the Grande Cache death race, conquering 125 kilometres, three mountain peaks and a river in under 12 hours. In the toughest land race in North America, they beat everyone. At one point, their lead was 12 minutes on second place. No one was faster on the day than those five Jasperites.

This from a community of 5,000.

These are not olympic calibre athletes. They have jobs and families and must pay the bills and take out the garbage just like the rest of us. The team is no collection of prima donnas or steroid-ripped professionals competing for major dollars. They won the race for each other. The fear of letting the team down drove them to victory. The team grabbed first place after the third leg of the run, surprising even themselves, and refused to let go. The entire team refused to let each other down.

When asked how the team won, captain Dave MacDowell simply replied ‘Run faster than you’ve ever run before in your life.’

It’s the essence of amateur sport.

There is an infectious quality to the accomplishments of Jasper’s athletes. Living here pushes others to test themselves against such difficult terrain. It’s a triumph of mind, body and spirit that so many from such a tiny community can accomplish so much. And the benefits don’t stop with the individual.

The benefit for the community is awesome. Athletics is a strong economic driver. They buy gear for their obsessions, eat well and tend to take pride in their community. Health care costs are kept down, as incidents of heart disease and diabetes drop. Compared to many Canadian towns, Jasper is young, slim and sporty.

That being said, the athletic disposition isn’t necessarily inclusive. Running up mountains isn’t for everybody, and those who don’t may feel excluded. It is up to the community to ensure a wide array of services are available to the public, and not simply to the athletically inclined. It’s encouraging to see library expansion finally occurring in town and it will be interesting to see how the arts community will continue to develop within the mountains.
But one doesn’t need to be an athlete to appreciate the accomplishments of Jasper’s weekend warriors. They provide lessons of endurance, perseverance and teamwork applicable to all aspects of life.