Bike-shop owner Kim Steed calls the Dirty Duo the most challenging running-and-cycling race on the North Shore. In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Steed said that he has competed seven times, including three solo races. As part of a relay team, he has won in two of the last three years.

“It is an incredibly gruelling event,” Steed said.

Scheduled for Saturday (March 13), the event offers competitors a range of options. The solo race begins with a brutal 25-kilometre trail run through rough terrain followed by 30 kilometres of mountain biking. Others form teams in the relay race, with one person running the trail and the other doing the cycling portion. People can also choose to do only the mountain-bike route or run 15, 25, or 50 kilometres.

The route begins at Jaycee House, which is on Lillooet Road across from Capilano University. The route goes through the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, and, at times, runners and cyclists share the same trail. There are steep inclines along with spectacular scenery along the Seymour River.

“You can’t pull off the five hours of exertion [for the solo] without properly training for the event,” Steed said. “This year, I’m doing it as a team, and I’m the biker. I actually had knee surgery three weeks ago, so I can’t run.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Dirty Duo, which was created by Mike Wardas. Heather Macdonald, owner of a trail-running training company, took over the race in 2005. She told the Straight by phone that the original race involved a few friends; this year, there will be almost 300 participants.

“There are amazing people who do solo,” Macdonald said. “They’ll run 25 kilometres over a fairly challenging trail, and they’ll come back, get on their bikes, and do the loop.”

The event has attracted some of B.C.’s best outdoor competitors over the years, including top adventure racers Jen Segger and John Markez. (Adventure racing involves four people racing as a team over periods ranging from a day to more than a week, often kayaking, running, and cycling through some of the world’s most rugged terrain.) Markez has won the solo competition in the Dirty Duo. Macdonald said that Segger, who isn’t in this year’s race, has competed in the running portion of the Dirty Duo.

Macdonald noted that trail running still isn’t as popular as road racing. However, she has noticed an increase in the number of people taking up the sport. “It might be this concept of biophilia—longing to be one with nature,” she commented.

The Dirty Duo is one of eight races in the British Columbia Ultra Trailrunning Series. The next competition is Diez Vista, a 50-kilometre race in Port Moody on April 10. It’s followed by races later in the season in Victoria, Kelowna, West Vancouver, Squamish, Kamloops, and Manning Park.