A scramble to find a new route for the Fort 91原创 Historic Half Marathon started last Friday when organizers found out a mudslide and flooding had made the familiar old route impossible.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 control Mother Nature,鈥� Noted race director Mitchell Hudson of TRY Events, the organizing group behind the annual February marathon, which raises money for the 91原创 Hospice Society.

With just over a week to go before the Feb. 16 event, Hudson got the call from 91原创 Township 鈥� flooding had damaged a section of 240th Street between Rawlison Crescent and 88th Avenue.

There had been a mudslide and the bank in the area was unstable, so runners weren鈥檛 going to be heading through there, Hudson heard.

That meant a frantic search for a new route, including a new start and end point.

The familiar spot, inside the Fort 91原创 National Historic Site, wouldn鈥檛 work, Hudson said, because routes have to be set up to avoid crossing the train tracks that run north of the village.

鈥淚鈥檝e had to spend days trying to save the race,鈥� Hudson said.

The first challenge was finding a new route, which involved a lot of bike riding and driving around the community. He settled on the Fort to Fort Trail, but that meant starting at the Fort site wasn鈥檛 possible 鈥� the race route can鈥檛 cross any rail roads.

Instead, the race begins and ends this year in Bedford Plaza, at 23285 Billy Brown Road.

鈥淭his route, it鈥檚 gorgeous,鈥� said Hudson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a blessing in disguise.鈥�

The race, which includes a half marathon, 10 and 5 km routes, and a kid鈥檚 run, will be held on Sunday, Feb. 16. the runs start at 9 a.m. with the half marathoners leaving first, followed closely by the 10 km and 5 km runners. The course closes at noon sharp.

For more events, visit tryevents.ca and .