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Squamish鈥檚 Nick Elson came up five seconds short in 2013, but he made no doubt about his victory in the 2014 Loop the Lakes trail race on Saturday (May 24).听
Elson set a new record for the 21-kilometre race with a time of one hour, 23 minutes, 19 seconds, besting the previous mark set in 2013 by 23 seconds. He beat out second-place finisher Vincent Pagot of Whistler by more than 15 minutes.
The top female in the 21 km race was Whistler鈥檚 Laura Bestow, who posted a time of 1:40:09. Bestow was also the third-fastest racer overall in the 21 km distance. The fastest 麻豆社国产female was Zoe Dawson, who placed sixth overall and second among females with a time of 1:42:39.
Other locals in the top 10 for the 21 km race included Daryl Wood (fourth) and Jeff Thompson (eighth).
麻豆社国产also came out on top in the 15 km race as local runner Chris Taplin took home the top prize with a time of 1:24:57. Taplin beat out Furry Creek鈥檚 Peter Drysdale by 94 seconds for the win.听
The top female was another local as Squamish鈥檚 Jenna Stoner posted the fastest time at 1:31:31. She edged out Whistler鈥檚 Jennifer Demard by 26 seconds to secure the victory. Other locals in the top 10 included Brad Warkentin (fourth), Jason Ross (fifth) and Kevin Leaker (sixth).
In the 8 km race, Squamish鈥檚 Eric Goodwin ventured off his bike and posted the top time of 38:33. Goodwin beat second-place finisher Jacob Hiom from West Vancouver by nearly six minutes. Squamish鈥檚 Karen Willis led the way for the females with a time of 50:31 and she edged out 麻豆社国产resident Susan Hollis by 19 seconds for the win.
The 8 km also featured strong performances by a number of young 麻豆社国产racers. The top 10 featured U19 racers Korbinian Geisser (third), Nathan Romanin (fourth) and Linnea Uunila (10th). The top 10 also included local runners Alana Parrett (eighth) and Julia Niles (ninth).
The 2014 edition of the event featured a total of 140 racers, down from 175 in 2013 and 144 in 2012, but poor weather might have been a factor. One aspect of the event that didn鈥檛 see a lower turnout was the kids鈥� race, which again saw dozens of youngsters run the one km course.
For complete results from the race, visit www.racedaytiming.ca/results/2014LoopTheLakes21K.
The next big local trail running race is the inaugural edition of the Skyline Ridge Run on June 21. The race is the first trail run on top of the new Sea to Sky Gondola and is being presented by Challenge by Choice, the same group that has run the Loop the Lakes event for several years.
For more info, visit www.challengebychoice.ca/events/skyline-ridge-run-race.
