Arguably the toughest series of all the many sporting events in Squamish wrapped up this weekend as the final runners crossed the finish line of the Squamish50.
Squamish and the Sea to Sky were well represented in the standings.
The annual trail running races, which include a 50-mile, 50-kilometre, a combined 50/50 race, a 23-kilometre and a kids’ run, took place over Aug. 17 and 18th.
50/50
Some runners compete in both the 50-mile and the 50-kilometre races.
Of the 134 racers who took on both to cross the finish line on Sunday, Quebec City’s Jean-Fran Ois Cauchon was first with a time of 13:59:35.
North Vancouver’s Alexandre Campbell came second, coming in at 14:07:07.
Rounding out the top three finishers of the gruelling feat was Squamish’s own John Dean, at 15:25:49.
For the women, North Vancouver’s Jennie Labrie crossed the finish line first with a time of 17:20:36.
She was seventh overall in the 50/50.
Nicole Thomas, also of North Vancouver, took second place—and ninth overall—with a time of 18:21:53.
Kimberley B.C.’s Jocelyn Winny took third home—and fourteenth overall—with a time of 18:52:50.
50-mile
Tops of the 50-mile race of 366 participants on Saturday under the sun was Marcus Ribi, of Vancouver, with a finish time of 7:17:54.
Coming in second was Chris Balestrini, of Penticton, with a chip time of 7:33:29.
Victoriaville, Quebec’s Dany Racine took third place, with a time of 7:36:57.
Of the 108 female racers, Edmonton’s Priscilla Forgie placed first with a time of 8:27:46.
She was eighth overall.
Our own Sara Beargen, of Squamish, came second, with a time of 8:39:02.
She was 11th overall.
Kristina Randrup of Berkeley, California, came in third with a time of 8:57:09.
She was 12th overall.
50-kilometre
For Sunday’s 50-kilometre race, with some showers to add to the experience, Squamish’s own Alexandre Ricard came in first out of 487 racers, draped in the Canadian flag, with a time of 4:32:58, setting a new course record.
(He already holds the 23K course record.)
In a post-race interview, Ricard, who is a running coach with Ridgeline Athletics, told the Squamish50 interviewer that it was his first time running the 50k.
He said he wasn’t sure during the race exactly how far ahead he was.
“You run scared the whole time,” he said, barely sounding winded seconds after completing the race.
“I was just pushing hard all the way to the end, and it felt great.”
Second place went to North Vancouver’s Joshua Potvin, who had a time of 4:40:37.
Taking third place was Canmore, Alberta’s Sam Hendry, running across the finish line, with a time of 4:56:57.
Langley’s Jade Belzberg set a course record when she topped the 203 female racers crossing the finish line on Sunday with a time of 5:16:07, making her ninth finisher overall.
Montreal’s Elisa Morin crossed second with a time of 5:29:52, and a 14th-place overall finish.
Third place in the 50k went to Stephanie Ryall of Hamilton Ontario, who had a time of 5:43:27, placing her 21st overall.
23-Kilometre
In the 23-kilometre race, New Westminster’s Ross Reilly came first out of 411 runners with a time of 1:58:08.
North Vancouver’s Peter Nowicki was second, with a time of 1:59:02.
Third place went to Squamish’s own Vincent Roseberry, who crossed the finish line with a time of 2:02:53.
First place of the 235 female runners went to Lauren Andrews of North Vancouver, who had a time of 2:21:41, which also placed her 15th overall.
Second place went to Vancouver’s Justine Pendergast, who raced across the finish line at 2:27:17, making her 23rd to finish overall.
Third place was taken by Tamara Harris, of Burnaby, with a time of 2:28:17, placing her 25th overall.
All the finishes can be found on the Squamish50 website.
