It was a two man see saw battle for most of the race but in the end Victoria's Adam Campbell edged out Squamish's Jason Loutitt to win the second annual 麻豆社国产50.
Campbell, who won the event's 21 kilometre race last year, stepped up to the 50 mile challenge this year and said part of his strategy was to keep pace with the notoriously fast starting Loutitt.
Jason has a history of taking it out hard, Campbell said after the race. You have to respect that as a runner and you can't let him get too far ahead or it could be over.
He said Loutitt got out to an early start but he chipped away at it.
After the first climb he put three minutes on me, Campbell said. And I thought I was done.
But he recovered and the two traded leads several times along the way. Campbell finished the race with an unofficial time of 7:36:00, beating out Loutitt by a few minutes.
It's an honour to be here to run and I have to give credit to Adam he's one tough SOB, Loutitt said at the finish line. We passed each other three times during the race and I knew it would be a battle.
Loutitt grabbed an early lead but said he noticed Campbell catching up near Alice Lake.
He passed me for the last time just before the Smoke Bluffs a horrible part of the race, he joked.
North Vancouver's Ed McCarthy placed third with a time of 8:38:52. For the women, it was Seattle's Kristin Moehl in first with a time of 9:37:13. She was closely followed by Vancouver's Lisa Polizzi at 9:39:27 and North Vancouver's Kathy McKay at 10:25:23.
This year saw the debut of a 50 km race at the 麻豆社国产50 the winners were: Squamish's Eric Carter for the men with a time of 5:27:20 and Victoria's Catrin Jones for the women at 5:51:52.
A local runner also took home the top time in the 23 km race, as Squamish's Brad Schalles was the first to cross the finish line. He was also the only runner to complete the course in under two hours.
It went really well for me today, he said. Gary [Robbins, race director] always puts on a great race.
Schalles said he took control of the race just after the first aid station one and cruised to the win. He didn't participate in the 麻豆社国产50 last year and said he hopes to defend his crown in 2014 but hoped for a little more competition.
The shorter trail races don't seem to be all that popular for the really good athletes, he said. It's good to have someone there to push you and that would have been nice.
Schalles, who is a member of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Team, said he hopes to participate in the 5 Peaks Whistler race on Aug. 24 and continue training for the mountaineering season that begins in December.
The top female in the 23 km was Vancouver's Anne-Marie Madden, who also finished third overall in the race. Last year Madden was the top woman runner in the 麻豆社国产50's 21 km race.
According to Robbins, there were nine countries, 23 states and seven provinces represented at this year's 麻豆社国产50 and the majority of feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Plans for the 2014 麻豆社国产50 indicate a three day festival with the 23 km, 50 mile and 50 km races being held on separate days. Tentative plans include a two day trail running film festival and ultra running guest speakers. It's scheduled to occur from Aug. 8 to 10.
Complete results from the event are not yet available but organizers expect to post full details from the race on Monday (Aug. 12) evening.
