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New arrival tops Whistler 50

Racine earns victory in jump to 50 kilometres
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MAKING THE JUMP Stephanie Racine did just fine in the Whistler 50 Relay & Ultra despite having never run more than 35 kilometres before. Photo by Rob Shaer

Stephanie Racine had never run more than 35 kilometres in one attempt before, but during the Whistler 50 Relay & Ultra on Oct. 19, she completed 50 kms faster than any other woman on the day.

"It was the first time I was trying a distance that long. Usually, I'm more of a five-km or 10-km runner. I just signed up for the challenge," said Racine, who turns 27 next week. "I'm new in B.C., so I just tried to take another challenge. When I saw this one in Whistler, I thought '50 kms, maybe I can try it.'

"And it went well," she added with a laugh.

The Whistlerite crossed the line in four hours, 31 minutes and 19 seconds to take fourth place overall while winning the women's open division.

Prior to this weekend, Racine's longest run was roughly 35 kms in training, and she completed the 30-km Buckin' Hell race in Deep Cove in July, where she finished 11th among women.

"The 50 kms was really a surprise on Saturday morning," she said. "After 22 kms, I got the bad surprise that I just felt a pain in my left hip. I was wondering what was going on and how I could get to 50 kms, almost 30 km more."

Racine asked a couple of aid stations if they had tape or something else that could ease her discomfort, but she was out of luck.

"I thought, 'Let's just take this one km at a time, then,'" she said. "Then it was, after that, take it one loop at a time, so 10 kms. Let's see if I can do one more, and then one more."

Racine added that the course suited her well, especially with the opportunity to recharge and get re-energized through the raucous crowd at the Whistler Olympic Plaza during each of the five loops.

"The first half of the loop was easier than the second half, I would say. You know what's coming each time you do it again and again and again," she said. "It's kind of a big challenge mentally to keep going. You know that 10 kms is long, and you have five times to do it.

"But when you arrive at the end each time, into Olympic Plaza, you can hear the people screaming and the party's going, everybody's mood is so good. It's like a big party each time and you get so much energy. You fly for two kms after the Olympic Plaza."

Before moving to B.C. from Quebec, Racine said she primarily ran shorter road races, but fell in love with trail running almost immediately.

"When I decided to move a year ago, I was living in Vancouver first. I just moved to Whistler last July, and I figured out why people here are doing trail running. It's impossible to resist," she said. "When you're out hiking, it just gets you and you want to run. You want to try to go further and harder and faster."

In the future, Racine plans to continue running longer distances, a move she'll discuss with her coach, who's also her brother, during an upcoming trip home.

Meanwhile, Victoria's Glenn Jasechko won the men's open division and posted the fastest time of the day with a 3:22:28, topping defending champion Charles Perrot-Minot from Vancouver by 6:41. North Vancouver's Mike Heiliger captured the men's veteran title, Abbotsford's Jack Sheppard won the men's masters race, Squamish's Julie Clarke took home the women's masters crown, and Vancouver's Linda Harwood topped the women's veteran division.

Local finishers were: Maxime Tremblay (third in men's open); Logan Boehmer (fourth in men's open); Deidre Potter (fourth in women's open); Louise Oliver (fifth in women's masters); Natalie Miller (sixth in women's open); and Tina MacDonald (sixth in women's masters).

Meanwhile, the relay boasted 118 teams in all, with the Coast Mountain Brewing Growlers knocking off the Coast Mountain Brewing Surveyors for the overall title. The Vancouver Fire Team took third overall.

For complete race results, check out www.startlinetiming.com.