We are racers first

“It’s ironic, the more races we create the less we get to race!”  Race director Mark Arnold when asked about his love of the sport. Mark & Heather were racers long before they became race directors.  Coming from various backgrounds, they each found a love for the sport of Adventure Racing.  

Mark Arnold, a police officer for 8 years before changing careers to become a professional firefighter.  Mark had the idea that an adventure race for police, fire and paramedic personnel would be just the thing and voila! The Emergency Services Adventure Race was born. Now in it’s sixth year, it sells out. Mark’s background in risk management and his previous experience in developing and teaching training programs with the police department helps Hark Events develop safe and exciting races and programs. 

Heather Korol, a business owner and a graduate from Northern Arizona University attended college on a track and field scholarship.  After throwing in the track spikes and having a turn at triathlons she found adventure racing.  She then found Mark and they have since been creating races and babies in their spare time.

Mark and Heather run Hark Events as a family business and are dedicated to putting on high quality race and event experiences. Hark Events is responsive to the needs of event sponsors and participants and hires the best people in the field to work with them on their ventures.  Mark and Heather are able to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy to get things done. 

Sean Roper – Storm Events

As his friends and family will attest, Sean has been obsessed with the sport of adventure racing since he first volunteered at an event in 1998. After the highly successful launch of the inaugural STORM the North Shore in North Vancouver, BC, Sean brought the STORM race concept back with him to Ontario in 2002, and has since grown it into Canada’s largest multi-sport adventure series. An avid racer himself, you can usually find Sean at various events throughout the province, or across the country and beyond.

Hark Events/Storm Events 

In 2007, STORM Racing and long-time friends and colleagues Hark Events formed a race organizers “alliance”, in an effort to pool resources towards the common goal of creating high-quality race experiences. Hark Events owners Mark & Heather Arnold and ESAR Race Logistics Manager Vin Lee are among the country’s most experienced adventure racers and race managers, and play a key role in event Day operations.