Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Maple Ridge resident wins first ever Meet Your Maker

Ultra marathon trail race attracts 50 solo runners and 22 relay teams
smymmikemurphyjfrench-web
MEET YOUR WINNER Mike Murphy was happy to be greeted by his family at the Meet Your Maker finish line in Whistler Olympic Plaza. Photo by John French

The race started at 6 a.m. and for event winner Mike Murphy, 41, it ended at just after 2:30 p.m.

Murphy’s Meet Your Maker (MYM) finish time was eight hours, 31 minutes and 10 seconds. His closest competitor in the 50-mile race was Banff's Phil Villeneuve, who finished the race in a time of 8:35:56.

The inaugural MYM 50 mile trail run took event participants from Whistler Olympic Plaza up Blackcomb, across the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, down Whistler and throughout the Whistler valley to finish back where it all started.

Kathy McKay was the fastest female runner with a finish time of 9:52:26. She placed sixth overall and her closest competitor was Marieve Legrand, who ran the course in 10:52:54.

The ultra-marathon and relay event was 86k long with an elevation gain over the full course distance of 3,600 metres.

A total of 50 solo competitors entered along with 22 teams.

Murphy, a resident of Maple Ridge, said after the race that he was helped along by a quote her remembered from professional cyclist Jens Voigt, who said when he was tired he would tell his legs and feet to shut up and keep going.

“Everyone out there today, you have big highs, big lows and you just need to keep going,” said Murphy. “Luckily, I hit my lows at the right spots so that my highs were at the end.”

The fastest team of the day was a mixed group called Witness The Fitness and the overall team time was 9:04:09. A Helly Hansen team came second about 12 minutes behind the winning team while the third place team was anchored by Whistler’s Duncan “Munny” Munro. Munro was running for a Salomon team that finished in 9:18:12.

Relay competitor Peter Watson did the first two legs of the course and he said he enjoyed the race route.

“Lots of climbing, lots of downhill, lots of technical trails,” said Watson. “Its definitely the best that Whistler has to offer.”

Check Thursday’s edition of Pique for more Meet Your Maker details.