WAR and PEACE competitions to be held in Whitehorse

The route will be mostly on trails; feature a series of check points and is approximately 21-km in total length. It will also begin at Whitehorse's Shipyards Park.

The route will be mostly on trails; feature a series of check points and is approximately 21-km in total length. It will also begin at Whitehorse’s Shipyards Park.

As for any remaining details about the course, well that’s classified information, which isn’t presently known by anyone other than the organizers of the 2008 Whitehorse Adventure Run (W.A.R.) competition.

The W.A.R format involves a two-person team who compete in a race by using their skills at cross-country running, basic navigation and map reading.

The courses used in W.A.R. are always suitable for any cross country runners. This year’s event is an all-terrain half marathon and appropriately titled “Urban Assault.”

“It’s a lot a fun,” said Forest Pearson, one of the recruiting officers at this year’s W.A.R. “We keep calling it W.A.R. and we have all of these paramilitary themes, but it’s very much tongue and cheek. So it’s kind fun, but it is a competitive event. It’s probably one of toughest races in Whitehorse, so if you are up for a challenge that’s the event to go to.”

W.A.R. will be held on June 8 at 9 a.m. Participants are encourage to be at Shipyards Park ahead of time for the pre-race briefing and the equipment check, which will happen around 8:30 a.m.

Teams will also be given a sealed brown envelope the day of the event, which they are allowed to open 20 minutes before the start of W.A.R. The contents in the envelope include mission orders and a map.

Any teams made up of previous W.A.R. competitors for both members are classed as veterans and will be given a one-minute head start at the competition. A mass start format is used for all competitors in the W.A.R. event.

There are no age stipulations for participants interested in competing in W.A.R., but due to the physical nature and overall length of the course, the event is geared more towards older teens and adults.

Mandatory equipment is also required to participate in the event. The equipment includes a whistle Sport-ident stick, which is used for timing.

Both the whistle and Sport-ident stick will be provided at the registration.

Among the equipment that is required per person is a 1L bottle of water, two energy bars and a jacket.

Also stipulated is a First Aid Kit with triangular bandage, gauze, medical tape, tensor bandage, along with one digital camera (for the mandatory team photo check point on the course), one knife and one working cell phone.

Using a GPS is also permitted.

The registration deadline is Sunday, but teams can still sign up until one hour before start time. However, all late registration won’t be guaranteed a T-shirt, which is awarded for the successful completion of the course.

Each team must pay $100 to register. All cheques must be made payable to Yukon Orienteering Association, who have hosted this event since 2005.

The winning team at W.A.R. is given 25 per cent of all entry fees and the pair that comes in first among the mixed teams (or women’s team) is also given 25 per cent of the total amount of entry fees generated at the event.

In 2007, the team of Sara Neilsen and Nathan Doering won the full purse by finishing the race as the top co-ed team and placing first overall as well.

Seven teams competed in last year’s competition.

What makes W.A.R. special is how it provides a balanced competition that pits the skills and strengths of traditional runners against competitive orienteerers.

It also allows adventure racers, both new and experienced, a great opportunity to hone their navigation skills in the sport.

In the past, the event has included a few surprises or twists along the way, such as the Chilkoot Climb, which involved an arduous hill ascent.

The climb has been a popular aspect of the race and in previous year awarded gift certificates to the fastest team who completed that specific portion of the W.A.R. event.

The W.A.R. course traditionally takes around four hours to complete, but because this year’s event will be a little more urbanized, teams are not expected to need as much time to conclude the race.

Also being held on June 8 at Shipyards Park by the Yukon Orienteering Association is PEACE.

PEACE stands for People Enjoying Adventurous Competitive Exercise and is the recreational version of W.A.R. The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

PEACE is a fun event and participants can signup as individuals or as a team.

The event will be about 10-km and it will include a little bit more of an orienteering component than W.A.R.

However, the orienteering portion of PEACE is optional, so an individual or team could choose to do the basic run and ignore the orienteering aspect.

There are no prizes awarded for PEACE and the event is essentially a miniature, more recreational version of the W.A.R. competition.

Electronic timing (Sport-ident) will be provided as well as a whistle.

Registration Deadline for PEACE is on June 6 and costs $15. Individuals and teams can register up to one hour before start of the event, but a $5 late fee will apply and the pre-printed map is not guaranteed.

All cheques must be payable to the Yukon Orienteering Association.

Recruitment (entry) forms for W.A.R. and PEACE can be found at http://www.yukonorienteering.ca/war.

Official registration for both events can be made at Sport Yukon.

Interested individuals can also contact Forest Pearson at or 393-3301 regarding any registration details for either event.