Tegan Legge, general manager of tourism and recreation at Haliburton Forest, said they got a call from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s people about two weeks before the Haliburton Trail Race – saying Carney and his wife, Diana Fox-Carney, wanted to compete in the 26km race, Sept 6.
However, she said the planning didn’t take a lot of Forest time. She said his detail came for a couple of visits to check out the trails. She toured them around, showing them the aid stations.
“And that was it. They were very noninvasive. They wanted him to just be able to go out and be Mark Carney (and Diana FoxCarney), not the prime minister that day.”
One of the Forest team members was on hand to make sure the Carneys knew where they were going, otherwise, she said without the black Suburban’s being everywhere, nobody would have had a clue.
Legge said it was “incredible, super slick.” She said she was giving her briefing to 120 runners, knowing he was coming, but nobody else did. About half way through, people started noticing the Carneys were there and stated taking selfies with him. “But everybody was respectful. Nobody stopped anything. And they all hit the trail.
“It was like planning a surprise party, but for 650 people.”
Legge has been co-organizing the 30-yearold-plus race with Cameron Ferguson for about five years, but she said this one was the most memorable for her.
“For multiple reasons. It’s great the prime minister was there, but it’s the largest one we’ve ever had. We were sold out at 650 runners. The most we’ve ever had is 600. Pre-us taking it over, they might get 350400 so it’s pretty incredible.”
She said the weather was ideal for running. For the 100-milers, they typically see 15-20 of 50 finish. This year, they had 35-40 finishers out of 80.
Legge added in previous years, there were hardly any Haliburton County racers, “but in the last two or three years, a lot of locals are coming out to support the event, which is nice.”
