After eight years, the Dinosaur Valley Half Marathon continues to buck the trend with strong attendance.

The annual road race, which features the Family 5K Walk and Run, the Encana 10K and the Half Marathon went Sunday morning, September 10. It was another great year and going into the race, event chair Morgan Syvertsen said their registration was the highest ever for the half marathon.

“We had 156 signed up,” Syvertsen told the “Mail”.

There were 109 signed up for the 10K and 166 signed up for the 5K Family Fun Run. Once again, McDonald’s in Drumheller offered free registration for the family run and 55 took advantage of the opportunity. Syvertsen said there was a healthy crowd of walk-ups that signed up for the race.

McDonald’s was also on site with its McCafe trailer and Freson Bros. had a barbecue for racers. There was also face painting and massages, making a festive atmosphere for the athletes.

The weather cooperated beautifully as smoke-free blue skies were abound with virtually no wind.

“That (smoke) was a real concern, there were some people who said they weren’t going to race,” said Syvertsen.

He is grateful for the strong volunteer support that did everything from manning aid stations to working as course marshalls and ribbon presenters.

He was very happy with the race. This year the proceeds from the races went towards the Canadian Badlands Aquatic Club and members of the swim team were on the course, manning an aid station.

The overall winner of the 21K race was Jeffrey Nicol of Lethbridge and Nick Sereda had the top local time. In the 10K, Jackson Frantz of Calgary was the top finisher, and Cam Morrison of Drumheller finished third. In the 5K, Erik Amwlinckx finished first, and the top Drumheller finisher was Braydon Berdahl. Kate Messom of Drumheller was the top placing female with a blistering 24:01 time.

The Senior Titans are sporting a 2-1 record after a convincing win at home versus Olds.

The Titans started the season rolling with a win over Pincher Creek but lost to Canmore 15-25. Last Saturday they hosted Olds and trampled the Spartans 41-6.

Coach Ken Fournier likes his team’s progression. In fact, he felt that the Canmore loss was in reach.

“We fumbled the ball five times and turned over three times at our own 30-yard line. So when you look at the score that makes all the difference,” said Fournier.

They cleaned up some of those mistakes versus Olds last Saturday night. Derrick Carrier led the team with three touchdowns. Despite this, Fournier says there is still room to improve.

“We still racked up penalties,” he said. “We had two touchdown plays called back and a few drives that were halted because of penalties.”

“We have the ability to score, we just have to be more disciplined on retaining position to be able to strike.”

One boost the team has had of late is a longer bench.

“We went into our first game with 18 dressed. At this game (Olds) we had 33. We have had a large jump in players and it helps improve the quality of practice,” said Fournier.

“With these type of practices that are more structured, we can move young players forward, and add depth to key positions.”

The Titans will have their work cut out for them this coming weekend as they travel to Taber to play W.R. Myers. They are currently ranked third in Tier IV.

“They are always a strong team and had a very strong running game last year. We are going to have to potentially look at eliminating their large runs,” said Fournier.