IRONWOOD, Mich. (WLUC) – Ironwood is trying to bring more athletic exposure to its community. Saturday, Copper Peak is playing host to hundreds of runners and fans from all over the country and the world for the Red Bull 400.
While 400 meters doesn’t sound like a huge distance, it is a lot when it involves a ski hill that hasn’t been used since 1994. Since August, Copper Peak has been putting in a lot of preparations to host the international event.
“Just recently we got the ramp built. The ramp will get from the top of the landing to the scaffold, so they can run up another 469 feet of scaffolding which is very steep and challenging. And the last thing we did was replacing some of the planks on the scaffolding, maybe 140 two-by-twos,” says Paul Belmas, Secretary of Copper Peak’s Board of Directors.
Saturday it will all come together to allow for at least 470 athletes to run up the hill and ski jump at the venue.
“Our area has been dying for a number of years. We lost our last mine in 1962, and we need something to turn this area around, and the one big positive we have is this ski jump. It’s so unique,” explains Jim Durkee, Vice President of Copper Peak Board of Directors.
Racers will run up a 35 to 39 degree incline for 400 meters to the finish at the top of Copper Peak. People from 30 different states are coming to take part in the event, and 703 people are on an extra list hoping to compete. Copper Peak estimates that a couple thousand people will also be watching at the venue.
“This will be a big exposure for us worldwide, we’re really excited about it,” Belmas says.
There are three worldwide Red Bull events like the one at Copper Peak Saturday. Copper Peak’s is the steepest, and board directors say the fastest competitors should finish the race at around five minutes.
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