Hiom is where the dirt is
Phil and Grace Hiom get their feet dirty for a living.
The couple has been growing their business — the North Face Dirty Feet Trail Series — since arriving in Kamloops two-and-a-half years ago.
“We’re building exactly what we wanted — a big community of like-minded people who enjoy running, biking and snowshoeing through the winter,” Phil said.
“We’ve now got it up to 12 events for this year and we plan on adding a few more next year.”
The series features races across the Okanagan, including Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops.
Next up on the series is the Mountain Run at Sun Peaks Resort on Saturday, Sept. 8.
The Hioms — who have worked in outdoor retail for more than a decade — are still in the process of making Dirty Feet a “full-time thing,” Phil said.
When the couple moved to the River City from Cow Town, they wanted to start their own business, but discovered Kamloops had plenty in the way of outdoor retail.
“There wasn’t a lot of local racing off-road throughout the Okanagan,” Phil said.
“We race on dirt all the time and we decided, if there’s not a lot of it going on, we should start up and see if we can get people out here having fun in the dirt.
“The response has been great and there’s been so many people coming out.”
The best place to learn more about Dirty Feet is online at dirtyfeet.ca.
Phil can be reached at phil@dirt4life.com, Grace at grace@dirt4life.com.
“We absolutely love what racing is and the community it brings together,” Phil said.
Mountain Run
The Dirty Feet Trail Series will feature a five-kilometre fun run and a 16-kilometre course for the more experienced.
Runners who choose the five-kilometre race will traverse cross-country trails and paved paths in the city.
“You’re still getting to know what trail running is all about, but you’re not having to run up a mountain,” Phil said.
The 16-kilometre race will follow the same five-kilometre course, used as a warm-up of sorts, before heading up the mountain.
There will be 45 switchbacks (hair-pin turns) on the course, which will take runners to mid-mountain.
It costs $30 to enter the five-kilometre, which starts at 10:45 a.m., and $40 to enter the 16-kilometre, which gets underway at 10 a.m.
Register online at dirtyfeet.ca.
The next Dirty Feet race in Kamloops — with five-, 10- and 21-kilometre options — is slated for Sept. 23 at Kenna Cartwright Park.
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