Trail festival celebrates eighth year
PRESQUE ISLE – Despite the constant threat of thunderstorms and rain showers, the eighth annual Nordic Trail Festival took place Aug. 2-4 with record numbers turning out at the Nordic Heritage Center for the event.
Contributed photos/Dave Allen Graphics
DREW BATES of Presque Isle takes a jump while participating in the downhill race at the Nordic Heritage Center Aug. 4. The action was part of the Nordic Trail Festival held in Presque Isle. Bates finished second in the junior boys’ division with a time of 2:28.33.
ANNA HEALEY of Fredericton, New Brunswick shows off her muddy look at the Nordic Trail Festival. She was part of the winning co-ed team in the 12-hour mountain bike race. 
More than 160 racers and over 250 spectators attended the festival, formerly called the “Nordic Fat Tire Festival,” which consisted of both mountain biking and trail running events held throughout the three-day event.
The premiere events of the weekend were the running and biking relay races held Saturday. On the running side, the event lasted for six hours with individuals competing in teams of up to six people working together to see which group could complete the most laps on the 3.5-mile course. And although the team atmosphere brought out the masses, a number of runners showed up to take on the event solo, seeing how many laps they could manage alone.
Meanwhile mountain bikers had the option of competing in a parallel six-hour race on Saturday or a full 12-hour event. Competing as teams or individuals, cyclists battled to see who could ride the most laps on the eight-mile singletrack course. The rain on Aug. 2 and the occasional showers on race day provided an extra challenge for riders dealing with the slick conditions.
The maximum number of laps completed on the running course was 10. This was achieved by the six-person corporate team of Barresi Financial, led by Nate Berry, and also by solo runner Paul Dionne. The team’s time was 5:47:19 while Dionne’s time was 5:56:52. Both won their respective divisions.
In the bike race, the six-hour event saw the most laps posted by the men’s duo of Dean Roberts and Mike Turnbull of New Brunswick. The team completed eight laps in a time of 5:27:53. In the 12-hour event, two teams were able to complete a full 16 laps to take their respective divisions. In the two-person co-ed field, Anna Healey and Joel Bragdon of Fredericton, New Brunswick finished in 11:53:20, while in the two-person men’s field, Daniel Breau and Jason Legace, also of New Brunswick, won in 11:37:03.
Along with the relay races, the festival also played host to youth mountain biking and trail running races, a biathlon event and a downhill mountain bike race.
In the downhill competition held Aug. 4, Keegan Ennis was the junior boys winner in 2:20.85, Josie Lawrence took the junior girls event in 5:27.8, Eli Shank claimed the men’s victory in 2:15.18 and Healey was first for women in 2:32.07.
A crowd favorite was a new event dubbed “short” track, where adult competitors raced around a small obstacle course on kids’ bicycles.
With the popularity and hilarity of this event, it is expected to return in 2014. Local food vendors, live music and games for the entire family added to the success of this year’s festival.
The Nordic Trail Festival is organized and hosted by the Nordic Heritage Sport Club, which also manages and maintains the Nordic Heritage Center — a world-class venue used for international competition as well as local community recreation. The club is celebrating its 10th anniversary and as such took the weekend as an opportunity to thank the many sponsors that have made the first 10 years a success.
The festival will be back in 2014 with even more racing, games and good times to share with the community. For full results and a gallery of photos from this year’s event, visit www.nordictrailfestival.com.
