The original race was held from 1980
until 2000. The race ran from Jasper to Banff and the later stages of the event were even run during the darkness of night. However, in 2000, the race was discontinued – for safety and environmental reasons. To honor friend and fellow runner Garth Huck, who sadly passed away of a brain tumour in 2004, the relay was resurrected in 2005. The organizing team reconfigured the race structure, dividing it into two segments allowing runners to complete the race before nightfall. This important change mitigated the two key concerns — nocturnal bear encounters and traffic safety.
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