Ain’t No Mountain High Enough for Lanny Mann

Lanny MannPeople hike up mountains all the time for fun. Not many people run up them though—Lanny Mann, Bkin’01 is one of the few who does. A new sport has emerged over the last few years called mountain running, and Mann has been quick to get caught up in the latest extreme sport.

Mountain running is just as it sounds: competitors line up at the bottom, and when that starter’s pistol blasts, they race up to a designated finish somewhere near the top. They don’t take off in any direction, however, a pre-set course has been determined and it usually takes runners to their peak on a variety of terrain that can include ski runs, fire roads, cat tracks, and mountain biking trails.

Mann had heard about the sport while he was competing for the U of C Dinos in track and field and cross-country events. Running had been a passion since he was a kid. Like most people born after 1965, he was introduced to long-distance running in school through Terry Fox runs or Participaction tests. But it was in junior high that he started to compete more seriously. “I love the purity of the straightforward foot race,” says Mann. Attending U of C permitted him to compete on a national level with the Dinos, and it also allowed him to study his other passion, outdoor pursuits.

It was the combination of his two passions that took Mann to Canmore and competing in mountain running. “The distance is similar to cross-country racing; but there’s rougher terrain and steeper climbs, and that extra challenge appeals to me,” he explains. “Plus, it’s got the whole ‘wilderness’ feel to it that I love.”

This has been Mann’s first season in mountain running competitions, and he’s off to a roaring start. At the national competition in Whistler, BC, earlier in the summer, he earned a spot on the Canadian team. It will be racing at the World Mountain Running Championships in Italy in early September, and Mann’s excited for his first international competition in the sport. It’s also his first trip to Europe. But it’s a good guess that with his early and strong success, it won’t be his last.

By Leslie Strudwick