Dozens of competitors will attempt to bike, ski, run, snowshoe and skate their way to victory as Jasper’s third annual Winter Pentathlon returns this Saturday, Jan. 21.

Organizer Jocelyn Nadeau said the event is modelled after the famous Pentathlon des Neiges in Quebec City, where he’s originally from. After moving to Jasper four years ago, Nadeau figured a similar race would be a perfect fit for this town, too.

“I thought it would be a good event for January, because there’s not a lot going on besides the ski hill, sports-wise,” he said. “We figured Pyramid Lake is the best venue for the event.”

The pentathlon is set to begin from the Jasper Activity Centre, where cyclists will set off on the first leg of the race, riding seven kilometers up the road to Pyramid Lake Resort. From there they will hand off to teammates who will cross-country ski twice around a 2.5-kilometre loop on Pyramid Lake, then tag off to snowshoers who will follow the same loop once. The fourth participants will then skate along an ice ring and tag the fifth and final racers, who will run along a trail to the nearby stables and back to the finish line at the resort.

Nadeau said each leg of the pentathlon is designed to take about 30 minutes and though it’s technically a “race” the term is used loosely.

“Most of the teams come dressed up in costumes,” he said. “So it’s not competitive.”

That said, there will be a medal ceremony for the top teams, but Nadeau said every participant gets a prize thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses.

The race is hosted by l’Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) and participants can pre-register at the ACFA offices in the train station or at Totem Ski Shop.

Jasper being Jasper, however, Nadeau said most participants simply register the morning of the race. Registration is open from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the starting gun is set to be fired at 11 a.m.

“We’ve had about 100 participants the first two years,” Nadeau said. “A lot of families came to watch and even people from out of town were there to watch.”

He added that Pyramid Lake Resort is also a partner in the event and will be open for people to come in and warm up.

More information is available at the Jasper Winter Pentathlon Facebook page.