BUTLER TWP — When a sweating, exhausted Norman Locke finally, mercifully crossed the finish line after coming in first at the grueling, 15-mile 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games Mountain Bike Race, he got a scare from race official John McLaughlin.

“One more lap,” McLaughlin said nonchalantly as Locke passed the finish line.

When Locke responded that he was sure he completed all the laps required in the race, McLaughlin quickly realized he had misspoken.

“I was like ‘You’re killing me,’” a panting Locke said to McLaughlin as the two shared a laugh.

Locke, who is the police chief in North Versailles, Allegheny County, and an avid cyclist, was happy to compete in the annual games, which sees emergency services personnel from all over the U.S. and Canada compete against each other in various sports.

“I think it’s just a great way to spend an afternoon with colleagues, and it’s nice to win,” he said.

He said Alameda Park’s mountain bike trail through the woods is challenging and fun, with uphill and downhill sections as well as multiple jumps.

“It’s a great event where you can build unity with first responders; and Alameda Park is awesome,” Locke said. “This mountain biking course if fantastic.”

He said the course has 100 feet of climb per mile, which is the average in Pennsylvania for mountain bike trails.

“In the Midwest, that’s unheard of,” he said.

Steve Klimpke, an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, said his home turf is flat with streets laid out in a grid fashion.

“The hills were pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s a very good mountain biking course. Lots of fun.”

His wife, Amy, said she, her husband and three children visited Fallingwater in Fayette County, the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County and took a hike at Moraine State Park since they arrived in Butler after a 15-hour drive that included two stops.

“It is so hilly,” Amy Klimpke said of Western Pennsylvania. “We are so amazed by the hills, the steep hills.”

Paul Dobos, an officer with the Ontario Provincial Police in Ontario, Canada, came in third overall and first in his age group.

“The course was excellent,” Dobos said. Other than the jumping sections, it was pretty much like the trails I ride.”

He has participated in two other Can-Am Police-Fire Games, in Windsor, Ontario, in 2022 and London, Ontario, in 2004.

He and his wife, Tamara, rented a kayak at Moraine State Park a few days ago.

The irony of seeing Canada geese among the wildlife on Lake Arthur was not lost on the Dobos.

“We just laughed,” Tamara said.

The couple are enjoying Butler County and trying various restaurants.

“It’s so pretty,” Tamara said of the county. “It’s the forest and terrain and rolling hills.”

Gerry Pflug, of Connoquenessing Township, came in second overall in the mountain bike race, and first in his age group.

“The course is beautiful,” said Pflug, who retired in 2020 as office commander at Rivers Casino with the state police. “I’m going to have to do more riding up here.”

Cycling suits Pflug’s personality and lifestyle, he said.

“It’s the freedom of it,” he said. “Just getting out and seeing the countryside. I’d rather not go to a gym. I’d rather be outdoors.”

Henry Dimmick, who coordinated the mountain bike race, the bicycle road race and the time trial race with McLaughlin, is a founder of the mountain bike trail at Alameda Park and a longtime avid mountain cyclist.

He said mountain cycling is akin to interval training in a way.

“It’s zigzagging around trees and around rocks, but the worst is the chipmunks we kick up,” Dimmick said. “They dart out in front of you, then start running down the trail in front of you.”

Lance Welliver, the county’s director of parks and recreation, praised the work put in by Dimmick and McLaughlin in coordinating the three cycle races, and for planning mountain bike races in Alameda Park.

He also was excited to have the 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games in Butler County.

“It’s great exposure for the county as a whole and it’s more exposure for our mountain bike trails,” Welliver said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for Butler County to host and be a part of these special games.”