The scorching temperatures of the Canada Day long weekend were not the most ideal for an ultra trail run, but organizers of the fourth annual Tenderfoot Boogie were prudent in getting the race started pre-dawn at 5 a.m.
The guys coming in a few hours from now might have a different story, but for me (the temperature) was good, said overall 50-mile winner Jonathon Garnett, who crossed the line with a personal best of seven hours, 41 minutes, 25 seconds more than two hours ahead of Roy Kok, who came in second at 10:03:27.
It started off nice and cool, about 16 degrees with a bit of rain. By the time the sun crested the ridge, it was half over.
Garnett, originally from Victoria, is no stranger to running in heat and humidity being based in Hong Kong.
Training in Hong Kong has good crossover benefits. You come back from a run in 30-degree heat and you're soaked. For me, this is actually really nice.
The 50-mile course started at the 麻豆社国产Adventure Centre and wound its way past Brackendale, Brohm Lake and the Paradise Valley before following the Sea to Sky Highway. Several more trail diversions at Lucille Lake and Brandywine Falls Provincial Park kept runners on their toes until the finish at Whistler's Meadow Park.
The first half of this 50-miler is pretty flat, so it gives you the opportunity to really put the pedal to the metal and get some fast kilometres in, Garnett said.
Obviously that brings in the risk of overdoing it. You have to hold it back a little bit so you can keep some fuel in the tank for when the hills do start. It's actually quite nice because you get a bit of ebb and flow with the hills. It undulates, it flows, it's a good mix. It only goes on the road when it has to.
Ten of the 12 50-mile competitors finished, with the last of the competitors coming in at just under 15 hours. The only woman to finish was 30-year-old Erin Donnely with a time of 10:42:47.
In addition to the 50-mile ultra, organizers had staggered starts for 50-kilometre and 28-km races starting at the Tenderfoot Fish Hatchery and Brandywine Falls, respectively. The range of distances kept the event accessible, with more than 70 runners registering. While most were from Vancouver and the Sea to Sky, some travelled from across the province just to run the Tenderfoot Boogie.
The fastest 50-km time was 5:42:57 by Jean-Michel Lechevallier followed by Paul Schrimpf who timed just two seconds short of six hours. Tod Cooper placed third at 6:25:41. Christina Nilsen was the fastest woman for the 50 km at 6:06:09, followed by Natalee Peters at 6:28:53. Isabelle Julien, Adrienne Wilson and Jacqueline Wind tied for third overall by crossing the line together at 8:10:51.
Mark Bertoia (2:43:08) led all runners in the 28-km race, followed by Daryl Wood and Scott McCardle. Farah Fahimi (3:30:43) was the quickest female over the distance, beating out fellow women's top-three finishers Kathryn Svenson and Amanda Stone.
Visit www.trailwhisperer.ca for full race details.
