There was a strong turnout for the second annual Whistler Spirit Run at Whistler Olympic Park this past weekend, with a huge number of entries for the younger age categories, and a team from UBC dominating the open category.
In Grade 2/3 Boys, Joe Davies was first on the 1 km course in 9:01, followed by Max Edwards in 9:53 and Connor Berezan in 11:01.
Jennifer Lafrenier was first in Grade 2/3 Girls in 10:25, followed by Isabella Galat in 10:38 and Alexandra Apedaile in 13:19.
In Grade 4 to 6 Boys, Whistler's Finn Isles was first on the hilly 3 km course with his time of 16:13. Michael Murdoch was second in 16:33 and Noah Wilding third in 16:48.
In Grade 4 to 6 Girls, Marie Louise Forsyth was first in 15:59, followed by Katie Brougham in 16:28 and Eleni Walt in 17:15.
Jack Iles won Grade 7/8 Boys in (5 km course) in 24:56, followed by Grant Iles in 25:38 and Braden Metza in 25:58.
In Grade 7/8 Girls, Marissa Woods completed the 4 km course in 18:11, followed by Anne-Sophie Walt in 19:00 and Katie Weaver in 19:59.
The Grade 9/12 Girls category was huge with 33 runners taking on a 5 km course. Lindsey Butterworth of Handsworth Secondary was first in 22:12, followed by Courtney Roskelley of Oak Bay High School in 22:32. Kansas Mackenzie of the Thunderbirds team was third in 22:45. The top Whistler runner was Katie Madden in 23 rd .
Grade 9/12 Boys had 50 racers, with Christian Gravel and Will Cliff of St. George's School placing first and second on a 7 km course in 25:16 and 25:31. Kyle Zosiak of Oak Bay was third in 26:11.
In the University/Open Women category (6 km course) Lisa Brougham of Bowen Island held off a team of strong UBC runners with her time of 24:58. Jenny Strong and Heather Sarsons of UBC were second and third in 25:24 and 25:30.
In University/Open Men, Carl Johnston placed first on the 8 km course in 26:36, with Shane McCluskie of UBC a distant second in 27:20. Alistar Hardy-Poirier was third in 27:27.
Whistler's Mike Edwards was ninth in 29:45.
In Masters Men (40-plus) Arthur Boileau was first on the 6 km course in 22:09, followed by Herb Phillips in 24:20 and Neil Wakelin in 26:57. On the women's side it was Darcie Montgomery on top in 23:29, followed by Cindy O'Krane in 24:17 and Dawn Lasley in 31:56.
In total 157 runners took part in the classic Cross-Country Festival component of the Whistler Spirit Run, a roughly 50 per cent increase over the first year for the event.
On Sunday many of the same athletes went head-to-head in the 10 km Whistler Spirit Run. More than 130 people took part in the solo event, as well as 24 teams of four in the 4X2.5 km relay.
Whistler's Ashley McMillan placed second in the men's 20 to 29 category with his time of 39:50, while Steve Mattina of Vancouver placed first in 37:13. David Tonge of Vancouver was third in 41:41, followed by Squamish runners Jordan Ellis and Laurent Brisebois in 42:54 and 43:33 respectively.
In Men 40-plus, Peter Ladner of Vancouver was first in 42:16, followed by Cameron Ross of Chilliwack in 43:11 and Jonathan McKinney of West Vancouver in 44:49. The top Whistler runner was Bart Ross in 49:13.
Karen Warrendorg of Vancouver was first in Women's 20 to 39 in 43:37, followed by Tricia Hines of Vancouver in 47:23 and Jill Bekar of Maple Ridge in 48:38. Yoko Ukai was the top Whistler runner in 49:19, placing seventh out of 49 racers.
In Women 40-plus it was a Whistler sweep with the top four spots out of 28 racers. Lynn Grenier was first in 43:11, followed by Debbie Welsh in 48:16, Gail Brooks in 50:31 and Bianca Matheson in 50:31.
In the relay, Team Carson Graham posted the top time of 35:40, followed by Crossfit Whistler Team 1 in 36:07, and Team Unarads in 40:24.
All proceeds from the event go towards KidSpot B.C.
Complete results for the event are online at www.whistlerpiritrun.com.
