Emperor’s Challenge went live on April 7, and by April 23, 374 people had registered.
There are 1000 spots available for the race.
Registration has been slower post-Covid, and this year is no exception.
The Emperor’s Challenge is a 20 km race, originally up and over Mount Roman, and gained 671 m on the climb up before descending back to the start/finish line.
These days, the route goes up and over Babcock Mountain (506 m). The race starts and ends on an industrial road, but the heart of the race passes through some beautiful wilderness areas—alpine ridges, scenic valleys and past small lakes and tarns—making it one of the most beautiful races to run.
Registration is limited to the first thousand entries, and in 2019, the last year before covid, the race filled up in under four hours.
The race didn’t happen in 2020 or 2021, and when the race finally came back in 2022, only 635 people finished the race.
Last year, 845 people registered for the race. This year, the Emperor’s Challenge committee is hoping to get close to filling up.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.