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Local downhillers in inaugural Adruum Challenge

One of the most challenging downhill races of the season took place in Mission last weekend, as local riders organized the inaugural Arduum Challenge.
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Fast Approaching The third annual Halloween Loonie, hosted by WORCA, takes place this Thursday.

One of the most challenging downhill races of the season took place in Mission last weekend, as local riders organized the inaugural Arduum Challenge. The race was held to celebrate the connection and reopening of two extremely technical trails on Red Mountain.

The course including everything from drops to steep fall-line sections through the trees, made tougher by the rain and mud. A video of the course is online at www.Arduumchallenge.com .

Registration for the inaugural race was mainly by word of mouth, but about 50 riders turned out.

Dan Skogland posted the fastest time of the day, coming in at four minutes 53 seconds. He was followed by Ewan Fafard in 4:56.5, and Ryan Walters in 5:21.0.

Whistler’s Greg Grant made the top-10 in 5:51, while Marc Zurbuchen was in at 7:38.5.

North Shore rider Danice Uyesugi was the top woman in 6:42.5, followed by Kat Duffels in 8:13.1, and Chelsey Stevens in 9:02.5.

Local runners in women’s only marathon

Five Whistler and Pemberton runners made the trip to San Francisco this past weekend to race in the Nike Women’s Marathon, all posting solid results in a sold-out field of close to 5,000 runners. All local runners finished well within the top 10 per cent of participants. Proceeds went towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Marie-Anne Prevost had an amazing marathon, placing 17 th overall and third in the 35 to 39 age group in three hours, 27 minutes and 16 seconds.

A handful of men did participate, which means that Prevost finished 12 th overall among women.

Christine Cogger finished 108 th overall, 95 th among women, and 17 th in the women’s 30 to 34 age group in 3:45:33.

Liz Cullen was 156 th overall, 138 th among women, and 30 th in the women’s 25 to 29 race in 3:52:16.

Brandi Higgins was 322 nd overall, 285 th among women, and 56 th in the women’s 35 to 39 race in 4:07:41.

Jennifer Glavas of Pemberton was 355 th overall, 317 th among women, and 59 th in the women’s 30 to 34 group in 4:09:47.

He didn’t make San Francisco, but Dusan Kafka did enter the Burnaby Lake Half Marathon this past weekend, Kafka finished eighth overall and fourth in the men’s 30 to 39 race in 1:34:36.

Britt Janyk at PacificSport’s first movie night

PacificSport Sea to Sky is launching its Athlete Dinner and Movie night Friday, Oct. 26 with a special guest — national team skier Britt Janyk.

Janyk asked to be involved when she learned about the new PacificSport cooking classes and harvest box program hosted in co-operation with Slow Food Whistler.

“I was raised on slow foods, so it only seems right,” said Janyk.

Adam Protter of Big Smoke BBQ is preparing a dinner with a Halloween twist for PacificSport carded athletes and skiers from the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. He will use local foods preparing the dinner, and share his recipes with athletes.

Janyk will also share her experiences growing up on locally grown food, and how it has helped her as an athlete.

The cost is $10 for PacificSport athletes and FIS members of the ski club. Friends are welcome for $15.

To take part, contact Tami Mitchell at tmitchell@pacificsport.com , or 604-905-6797, so the chef knows how many people to prepare for.

Halloween Loonie tonight

WORCA is hosting its third annual Halloween Loonie tonight, Oct. 25, from the Spruce Grove Field House. The weather is looking good and there will be a full moon to help riders navigate Lost Lake trails.

All participants will need to bring a good quality light for the ride, and costumes are recommended. Warm clothes to put on after the race are also recommended.

Registration gets underway at 5:30 p.m. and the race starts in the dark at 6:30 p.m. As always the route will be marked by pumpkins and other lights.

The cost is $2 to take part for WORCA members, and WORCA will be accepting donations for the Richard Juryn Memorial Fund in recognition of Juryn’s contributions to mountain biking in B.C.

Segger-Gigg beats the fire in 100-mile run

Adventure racer Jen Segger-Gigg raced her first 100-Mile (161 km) run this past weekend, taking part in the San Diego 100. She literally beat the wildfires burning out of control in the area by about 10 hours, completing her race by 3 a.m. on Sunday morning — roughly 21 and a half hours after she started. The final results have not been posted because of the fire. The cutoff was at 31 hours, which would have meant the fires would have been burning in the area before the race was over.

Segger placed second among women and seventh overall. She was leading the females for the first 60 miles when one knee started to bother her and she could barely keep running.

“It was upsetting to have to let her go by but I knew that with the condition of my leg I was in a bad spot,” said Segger. “Anyway, the last 40 miles was very painful, taking a lot longer than I expected because I couldn’t run the downhills.”

Segger ran the first half of the race in 8:40, which means it took her almost 13 hours to complete the second half.

The heat was also an issue, and 35 people dropped out by the halfway point with heat issues.

Segger ran her first 50 Mile (80 km) race just two weeks ago in Oregon, placing first among women and fourth overall.