Teams from Scotia Bank, RBC, Chinook Financial and Bank of Montreal participated in the first big bike ride which left the BCF parking lot around 5:30 p.m. 

Teams from CIBC, ATB Financial and Freson Bros. participated in the second big bike ride which left the BCF parking lot around 6:30 p.m.

The Big Bike for Heart and Stroke rolled into Drumheller on Monday August 10. 

The 30-seat bike has been coming to Drumheller for four consecutive years and this year raised over $6300 for heart and stroke research. 

There were seven teams participating in the event including CIBC, Bank of Montreal, Scotia Bank, Chinook Financial, ATB Financial, RBC and Freson Bros. 

The event began at the Badlands Community Facility (BCF), headed south towards Railway Avenue and the downtown area, and then looped back along highway 56 to Riverside Drive and then returned back to the BCF.

“We do (this event) to bring awareness to our cause,” Erynn Biggar, fund development coordinator told the Mail. 

“It is a great team builder as well. It is great for any team to get out and do something fun together and get their own heart rates up and of course raise money for heart and stroke,” she said. 

Scott Ouellette chose to participate in the event this year because it has helped him in the past. He participated on the RBC team called the Royal Riders.

On April 24, 2008, at the age of 28, Ouellette suffered a massive heart attack. With the help of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Ouellette was able to get a heart transplant on August 15, 2008. 

“The doctor, while I was waiting for my transplant, put me on a ventricular assist device machine that was basically running the left side of my heart. The doctor who did the surgery for that machine, his whole career is funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation,” Ouellette told the Mail. 

“Without the Heart and Stroke Foundation funding his research, that kind of technology might not have been in Calgary when I had my heart attack and I probably wouldn’t be here. It is all kind of a snowball effect for me. I do a lot of stuff for the heart and stroke and that is part of the reason why I participate in these kinds of events,” he said. 

“There is a lot of personal involvement for me because I am actually a survivor of a heart attack. I do a lot more with my time, than with dollars but it is near and dear to my second heart,” Ouellette said with a chuckle. 

Ouellette said he has done a few events with the Heart and Stroke Foundation including speeches and participating in the Heart and Stroke Foundation Lottery commercial with his wife last fall.

“It really has effected me in a personal manner more than most, but I almost guarantee that every person in this town knows someone, somewhere that has either a heart issue or (has had) a stroke,” he said. 

The countdown has begun for one of the biggest events to take place in the Drumheller area.

Tough Mudder, a 18-20 km obstacle course, will be taking place for the second year on September 5 and 6 at the Drumheller Stampede Barn.

“We are really excited to come back to Drumheller,” Nick Cogger, Director of Operations for Tough Mudder, said. 

“We had a really successful (year) last year, and for us the challenge is building on that success and moving forward,” he said. 

He told The Mail that in the off season the organizers at Tough Mudder have spent a lot of time innovating and re-developing many of the obstacles that were part of the course last year and creating some new obstacles. 

“This year we are going to see some old favourites, but a lot of new stuff as well. Some of our innovation team has redeveloped our classics and put a new spin on things,” he explained. 

“Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I am not really at liberty to be specific about what it is, we like to keep that element a surprise for our participants,” he said. 

Dead Ringer, a new obstacle for 2015, will require Mudders to sideways climb along a giant truss structure on a series of ascending and descending pegs using loose heavy-duty rings the Tough Mudder website says. This will be just one of the new obstacles ready for Alberta. 

“You can look for our Arctic Enema 2.0, Everest 2.0. It has grown by three feet and has got a round cap at it now so it increases the difficulty,” he said continuing by saying that the focus on the obstacles this year was teamwork. 

“It has always been a really important element for Tough Mudder that these obstacles are designed to be conquered as a group. This year more than ever the innovations we put into place really emphasis that,” he said.

This year sponsor Shock Top will be bringing beer gardens to the event as well as other sponsors such as Skull Candy who will have a fitness challenge open for everyone and will have lots of prizes. 

“In year two you know the landscape a bit better, so we have been able to draw some of the elements closer into the base area. It is a very tricky venue for us, for spectators because of the (steepness). The Valley’s are very, very steep so there is quite a risk factor for our spectators, so what we have done is pulled our showcase obstacles to the base area,” Cogger mentioned.

“Our spectators are going to have a greater experience because everything is going to be closer and within walking distance,” he said continuing by saying that spectators will get to interact with the people they know on the course and enjoy people going through the obstacles that will be right in front of them. 

He said the event is a “real crowd pleaser” because of the landscape being “so dramatic and unique. It got a lot of attention online last year through our social media posts. We are seeing people come from out of province more than we did last year, which is really great.” 

For more information, or to register for the Tough Mudder Alberta event visit www.toughmudder.com/events/2015-alberta.