Would you like to receive GVMC
mail outs? To register simply fill in the form below:
Your privacy is important to
us. Any information given
to us, by you, is for our internal use and
will under NO circumstances
be shared with, or sold to a third
party.
75th Annual GVMC Piston Run Hare Scrambles Saturday May 31st, 2025 and Sunday June 1st 2025
History of the Piston Run
In 1948, Trev Deeley seized his Harley 45 racing the National at Daytona Beach. The damaged piston and rod were mounted on a shield to form the perpetual Piston Run trophy. There is, on the clubhouse wall, a small Piston Run trophy, engraved “1942”. This suggests the event has an even longer history, but in any case, the perpetual trophy dates consecutively from 1949.
The event was originally an enduro, where riders had to average given speeds to arrive at checkpoints by a certain time. There were no dirt bikes before the 1960’s, and riders often took the saddlebags and lights off their daily transportation (few riders were rich enough to afford a car), rode the event, then washed the bike and bolted the lights and bags back on for the ride home. The course was traditionally challenging, with riders on 400 to 600 pound bikes charging into mudholes, logs and streambeds. Many riders of heavier bikes took a passenger along to help push.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s the Piston Run was one of the toughest enduros in the Province. The courses were mostly rocky hillsides and undeveloped land that we could access. The riders were supposed to ride two laps, but many would make it through one lap and call it quits. The diehards really had to work to finish the course.
By the early 1980’s, timekeeping had fallen out of favour, so the format was changed to a hare scrambles race. It was one of the original five events when the PNWMA started the Off-Road Series in 1984. In 1985, the first of the souvenir beer mugs was given out to finishers. This started a new tradition of collecting beer mugs, which continues today.
Current Information On The Piston Run
75th Annual Piston Run Hare Scrambles presented by the GVMC
Mark these dates Saturday May 31st & Sunday June 1st, 2025 on your calendar for a great off road adventure.
