Apr 5 - 11: Canadian Ultrarunners Shine

Ok, I admit it, I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to finding race results. And there were some great ultra results on the weekend, with Canadians continuing to shine.

Diez Vista 50km:
This Port Mody race attracted a fantastic field of ultra runners this year. Last years winner Gary Robbins was out out to break his own course record of 4:15, but would have to content with ultramarathon newcomer (though not new to mountain or trail racing) Phil Villeneuve, and Chris Downie. Gary and Phil hammered each other early on, with Gary eventually pulling away to a new course record of 4:10. Phil struggled a little after 3hrs, but gamely hung on to finish in 5th place. Chris Downie ran a great race to finish in 2nd place in 4:25. Gary and Chris will both be running Miwok 100km next month with a qualifying birth into Western States on the line. Gary and Phil will then hook up again at the Canadian Death Race later in the summer.

Mt Si 50miler:
Ryne Melcher of BC also had a great race on the weekend setting a new course record at Mt Si 50miler near Seattle with a time of 5:54. Ryne seemed to be hampered by a knee injury for much of last year, but it seems like he's off to a great start in 2010.
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Bull Run Run 50miler:
Adam Hill from the Orillia, Ontario kicked off his 2010 season in fine form again with another strong showing at the Bull Run Run in Virginia. Adam finished 4th in a time of 6:52, which I believe is his fastest time on the course.

American River 50miler:
Tracy Garneau of BC won the womens race at AR50 in a time 6:43. The men's winner was 2010 ultrarunner of the year, Geoff Roes of Alaska in a time of 5:49. You know that the popularity of ultrarunning is really taking off when you see the finish being streamed live online. Great to see.

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Training Summary:
Personally, my training continues to go well. After a bit of a scare last weekend with my knee, I took a couple of light days early in the week and then continued with a pretty solid week to end up over 16 hrs again for the second time in three weeks. Highlights of the week included another great run with Sara and my daughter Heather on Wednesday, seeing a wolf on a run on Saturday, and then a nice steady run with Keith at Frontenac Park on Sunday. My body felt a little tired after the week, but I am pleased especially with how much stronger I felt on the hills on Sunday. I've been including more hills into my daily runs, which seem to be helping. It's getting to the point now where I feel I can honestly start thinking about hitting a race sometime in May. I'm not really sure yet on the date or distance, but I'll probably decide soon now.

Total # of hours last week – 16:18
Total # of hours this year – 140:16
Streak – 7,412 days of running in a row
Training Log Details