Running from the Big Bend below Sunwapta Pass to the Icefields Centre might not be many people’s idea of a good way to spend a few weekend hours, but Dick Ireland can’t wait to hit the road.

“As a matter of fact, I am looking forward to it,” Ireland says of his leg in the Banff-Jasper Relay, the epic road race that hits the highway this Saturday (June 3). Ireland has run in the relay “14 or 15 times” and while he’s run a variety of legs during that time, this is his first crack at the 15.7 kilometre stretch that gains more than 1,000 feet in climbing from the chasm containing the Saskatchewan River to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier.

“I was hopeful that I would get to run every leg, but that hasn’t happened,” Ireland says. In fact, since the relay was reinstated last year after a five-year hiatus, he’s looking at a whole new series of legs to conquer. The new and improved race is run from Banff to Jasper, and features simultaneous starts that avoid the all-night running that the race was known for in the past. These measures were necessary in order for the race to be approved by Parks Canada and while Ireland admits that its not the same, he’s still glad that the relay is back on the race calendar.

“It’s a phenomenal race. We’ve had such great times participating in the past.”

Blair Shunk, the Calgarian runner who took the lead in organizing the relay’s comeback in 2005, is happy to have the support of long-time participants like Ireland.

“It’s a totally different race than it was before,” he says. “But it’s growing already, and we’re happy with that.”

In its heyday, the relay attracted teams from across North America and around the world. So far, the updated relay has been run by Albertan runners, but Shunk has high hopes that the race will return to international prominence.

“We want to get it back there, you bet,” he says. “I think everyone understands that we’re really lucky to be running in the park.”

Ireland and his local teammates certainly do.

“We’ve always took the position that we want to have the best time, not the fastest time,” Ireland says. Although injuries and work commitments have depleted the ranks of the team, Ireland is eager to get racing.

“Running is a pretty solitary sport for the most part, so having that team camaraderie is one big part of what makes the relay special. I found that I ran harder because I had teammates who were counting on me.”

The race teams will make it to Jasper before nightfall on Saturday, where they will be feted with a celebratory dinner and ceremony.

The winning time in last years race, after the northern and southern sections were combined, clocked in at a little more than 23 hours.