Inaugural triathlon delayed one year, to debut in 2027

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A triathlon event slated to take place in Fort St. John will be delayed by at least a year.

The 2026 Northern Lights College (NLC) Triathlon was announced via Facebook earlier this year, with registration and track layout “available soon.”

However, organizer Karen Mason-Bennett has now confirmed to Energeticcity.ca the race has been delayed until 2027, with the event’s Facebook page being taken down. 

Mason-Bennett, administrator at NLC’s Fort St. John campus, stated in an e-mail that 2026 “has been off to a wild ride.” 

She told Energeticcity.ca logistical issues with registration led to the cancellation of the 2026 event.

“We ran into some registration challenges that we just couldn’t surmount in a timely fashion,” said Mason-Bennett. “It was a technological challenge on our end.

“We literally need to get a system together that people could register in. There were some unique challenges just because we are a post-secondary institution. We wanted to make sure we had lead time that was enough for people to get ready and were able to host a high-quality event. The timeline ran out on us this year.”

Mason-Bennett said the triathlon was being organized to create connections between the institution and the community.

“[NLC has] talked a lot about ensuring that the community sees NLC as part of the community,” said Mason-Bennett. 

With the 2026 event now postponed, Mason-Bennett said the first NLC triathlon at Fort St. John’s campus is scheduled to happen on Sunday, June 6th, 2027.