Squamish's Jason Loutitt continued his strong running season with a win at the first ever Salomon 5 Peaks trail running race on Saturday (June 9).
Loutitt cleaned up in the 11 kilometre Enduro race with a time of 48:47, beating out second place Nathan Detroit-Barre by nearly two minutes.
The course was really nice and I love the technical parts of this race, he said. Mid-way through I started to pick up my speed a little bit but early on I was a little surprised that a couple guys just took off at the start. I managed to pass them after one of the inclines.
It's been a good past few weeks for Loutitt, who placed second at the Whistler Half Marathon on June 2 but he told The Chief that it's all in preparation for the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB) at the end of August. He'll also take part in the Canadian Mountain Running Championships (CMRC) in July.
Jim Sandford from Garibaldi Highlands was the next best local with a time of 57:30, good for 14th overall. While Ryan Robertson, also from the Highlands, was 16th with a time of 58:29.
The top female time in the Enduro was Lauren Babineau from Belcarra, who posted a time of just over an hour.
It went really well for me today obviously, she said. It's a gorgeous course and I think I maybe had an advantage because I'm strong on hills.
Babineau said she plans on competing in the next 5 Peaks race in Cypress in July, as well as the two other races in the series later this summer. Squamish's Megan Illingworth was the top local female with a time of one hour and six minutes, good for seventh amongst all women and 62nd overall. Garibaldi Highlands resident Christina Rice also had a strong showing with a time of one hour and 13 minutes, finishing in 104th place.
Meanwhile in the 6.8 kilometre race, Marcus Ribi from Richmond grabbed first place with a time of 32:18. He said it was a fun day on the trails.
It was a pretty good race and the weather was really nice, he said. The course is quite technical at some points but I did know beforehand that there's quite a bit of uphill running.
Ribi added he plans on competing in the three other 5 Peaks races and that he's enjoying the competition on the series. A.J. Ballou from Bowen Island placed second, with a time of 32:37.
The top female time was posted by Sara Treloar of Vancouver. She crossed the finish line at 37:53, beating out Emily Van Ooyen from Maple Ridge by nearly four minutes.
Jody Parry had the top local time, as the 麻豆社国产resident finished in 35:43, good for 5th overall. Jessica Palmer was the top local female with a time of 50:15 and finished 81st overall.
For more details and complete results from the race, visit www.5peaks.com.
