Airdrie Mayor flush with victory after annual Cochrane Outhouse Races

Mayor Peter Brown came away with a decisive victory this past weekend. He was the winner of the Mayor's Challenge as part of the annual Cochrane Outhouse Race that took place on Sunday.

"The vindication for me was not only did I win, we actually completed the race. I was excited about that," Mayor Brown said.

Mayor Peter Brown got back onto the cart - so to speak and won the 2023 Cochrane Outhouse Race over the weekend. (Photo provided by Mayor Peter Brown)

Members of the Airdrie Thunder hockey team were on hand to give the Mayor a good push at the beginning, as well as a man from the crowd. 

"We got out of the gateway faster than the other guys - it was a perfect start," he said. "None of the kids actually pushed me before so it was brand new to them."

During the 2019 Outhouse Race, Mayor Brown's cart ended up losing its wheels, which catapulted him onto the concrete, sending him into an ambulance, instead of the finish line. But this year, no such malfunction happened, with Mayor Brown crossing the finish line. He estimated that he was a good 30 feet ahead of Cochrane's Mayor Jeff Genung.

And although there was a bit of ribbing prior to the weekend event (well perhaps quite a lot of ribbing) on the part of both Mayors, Mayor Brown said that it was all in good fun and good sport.

"We had lots of people from Airdrie [come to Cochrane] as well. It was just a lot of fun, and you know what? It wasn't about the race. It was really just about supporting my friend [Mayor Genung] and his event."

However, Mayor Brown had some critiquing of the Cochrane Mayor's cart this year.

"I knew what cart Jeff had when we last raced and he had a different one this time and his cart didn't function very well. It was tipping."

Mayor Brown credited the craftsman behind his cart, Trevor Petrow - the mechanic mind behind the Mayor's cart. Petrow, designed and built the cart which gave Mayor Brown his victory.

Trevor Petrow was the mechanical mastermind behind Mayor Brown's cart in the 2023 Cochrane Outhouse race. (Photo provided by Mayor Peter Brown)

Although Mayor Brown said there was a bit of trepidation going into the race on Sunday, considering that in the last race, he ended up with significant injuries, he underlined that he was willing to come back to let the spectators; especially the youngest ones know that this day is meant to be fun and full of laughter.

Although Mayor Brown had mentioned he might retire from the outhouse racing days to his wife, he said he would be back for another competition next year.

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