Organizers of Actif Epica have announced significant course changes for the 10th annual ultra-endurance bike and run event.

Scott Wiebe is race Co-Director. He says the event, which starts Friday evening, will not begin from Emerson, as has historically been the case.

Actif Epica is a journey that will see cyclists travel either 54 kms, 120 kms or 200 kms. At the same time, runners are racing either 54 kms, 120 kms or 162 kms. Wiebe says for the first time ever, this year's race will be an out-and-back event, starting and ending at The Forks in Winnipeg.

Wiebe says it is not that they did not like starting as far south as Emerson in past years. He notes they quite liked the idea of using the historic Crow Wing Trail and says the optics of starting at the Canada/ US border and ending in Winnipeg is also "kind of cool." However, it was not all positive.

"Some of the nice terrain often proved to also be the most difficult, especially if we had a high snow year and it would take people hours to just get through a handful of kilometres," he recalls. "There was safety concerns with it being remote as well."

Wiebe says the decision to move the start and finish line to The Forks means the furthest south any racers will travel is St. Pierre before making the turn back north.

The first competitors to take their marks will be the runners in the 162 km event. They will set off Friday at 8 pm. Then, on Saturday at 6 am, competitors from the 120 km run and the 200 km bike race will take off. The next start time is Saturday at 10 am when the 54 km runners and the 120 km cyclists set off. The final group takes off on Saturday at noon, which is the cyclists racing 54 kms.

This year's race will feature about 78 participants. Wiebe says this equals their previous high total, set a couple of years ago.

"The race has built up through the years and I'm happy to see that we're maintaining the high numbers," says Wiebe. "And we're still thinking about ways to continue to grow it in the years to come."

According to Wiebe, a little more than half of all participants would be considered residents of southeastern Manitoba. He notes the fact they are part of a triple crown series attracts a few more entrants. With two other similar events in the United States, those who compete in all three earn bragging rights and a separate medal.

The event has several CheckPoints at various locations, including ones in Niverville, Crystal Spring Colony, St. Adolphe and St. Pierre. Wiebe explains these CheckPoints serve several purposes. First of all, they keep competitors honest by ensuring they are following the correct course. CheckPoints also give opportunity for organizers to keep an eye on participants to make sure they are doing okay. But, the CheckPoints are also a spot where spectators and family members can track the progress of competitors.

"We do have crowds and people come out to some of the more populated CheckPoints like Niverville or certainly as you get closer into the city," notes Wiebe. "There are a lot of areas of course where it's just desolate and racers are all by themselves and as odd as it sounds, to some people that's really part of the feature and the attraction."

Wiebe says ideally, the participants prefer weather that is not too warm on race day. He says they desire daytime highs in the -10 to -15 degree range and then not colder than about -20 at night. And, he says they do not want much snow just before the race or lots of wind.

"When things get too warm, they get slushy, competitors get wet, it's harder to regulate their body temperature with what they are wearing," he says.