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Whistler runners climb with the best of them

Three Whistler runners reach podium in Five Peaks race

You could attribute the success of Whistler runners in last Saturday’s Five Peaks run to home field advantage, but it’s difficult to imagine any of the competitors running from the base of Whistler to the Roundhouse Lodge in 28 degree weather on a regular basis.

"That was awful," laughed Whistler’s Kristina Rody. Rody scrambled up the 10 kilometre course with its almost 1,200 vertical metres of terrain in just one hour, two minutes and 11 seconds – to finish 11 th overall and first among women at the latest stop of the Five Peaks Trail Running Series

"The first half up to the Olympic Station was really easy, but that second half was all up hill. Lower Franz’s was really awful. Everything hurt going up that thing.

"I actually got kind of mad at the course, which I think helped me a little. I just wanted to get it over with as fast as possible."

Rody is one of the top 10K runners in Canada, and recently branched off into marathons and cross-country races with similar success. By winning in Whistler she also qualified to join the Canadian Team at the World Mountain Running Championships in Italy this September.

She says she will have to think about whether or not to accept a position with the team. Not only does she have a lot of important races to consider in the fall, she also was accepted for a Masters program on rural planning and development at the University of Guelph.

"I don’t really know what I’ll do, or if it even makes sense to go, but I’ll definitely think about it," said Rody.

The top time of the day belonged to Winnipeg runner Jason Loutitt, who had already qualified for the World Mountain Running Championships with a strong showing at the North American Championships earlier in the year. He was the first runner out of the gate, and the first runner across the finish line with a time of 52:49, which was almost four minutes faster than his next closest competitor. He then followed his run with a cool-down jog around the high alpine of Whistler Mountain.

How does a runner from flat Winnipeg go on to beat a field of Canada’s top cross-country and marathon runners in a mountain running competition?

"There’s one hill in Winnipeg where I fit my interval workouts in, but I was born in Trail (B.C.) so I think the mountains must be in my blood," said Loutitt.

He has only been in three races to date, not including his first race in 1999, which happened to be the toughest leg of the annual Banff to Jasper relay.

Technology has also helped Loutitt get to the top. At night he uses an oxygen mask to simulate sleeping at about 9,000 feet – the Peak Chair on Whistler only goes to 7,160 feet. He also uses the same device to simulate altitude inside a training tent, while he simulates mountain courses on a treadmill.

"It seems to be working pretty well," commented Loutitt.

Louttit says he hopes to finish in the top-20 at the world championships this fall, encouraged by his strong showing in Whistler.

"I was in a unique situation in that I’ve already qualified for the worlds, but I wanted to do as well as I could to get ready for the race in Italy," said Louttit.

"There really is a great group of guys here trying out, and I know that there’s a lot of good guys and girls who aren’t going to make it this year because there are a limited number of spots. For the team it’s a good problem to have, and for the athletes, it does make you run a little harder knowing who’s behind you and what they’re capable of."

Although he’s been training hard for the worlds, Louttit found the Whistler course to be extremely challenging.

"It definitely got me by surprise. I’m not used to the footing or the steepness, running right up a ski run. I couldn’t believe it at first. But once I started to accept it, that this was the course I had to take, it was all good after that," he said.

After Rody, Mount Currie’s Sean Wolfe was the next local runner across the line, finishing 12 th overall and first in the men’s 40 to 49 race with a time of 1:02:22.

He was followed closed by Whistler’s Mike Edwards, who was 13 th overall in a time of 1:04:00.

John Blok, the production manager for Pique, enjoyed his first official race in the 50 and Over category with a win. He crossed the line 25 th overall in a time of 1:08:22.

Gary Robbins was 27 th overall and 21 st in the men’s 20 to 39 age group in 1:09:28.

Rob Bentley-Johnston was 33 rd overall and second in the Men’s Under 20 group with a time of 1:11:45.

Duncan Munro was 36 th overall and 27 th in the men’s 20 to 39 group in 1:12:27.

Aoibhinn Grimes was fourth among women and fourth in the women’s 20 to 39 category in 1:13:11.

Nils Robinson was 42 nd overall and 28 th in the 20 to 39 group in 1:13:53.

James Duffy, Jonathan Van Drunen and Makoto Tange were 50 th to 52nd respectively in the 20 to 39 group with times of 1:15:12, 1:15:31 and 1:15:34 respectively.

Hideo Noguchi was fifth in the men’s 40 to 49 race and 53 rd overall in 1:16:09.

Michelle Kaminski was ninth out of 60 women, 59 th overall and eighth in the 20 to 39 group in 1:17:18.

Walter Wallgram, Daniel Havens, Alain Rey, and Graham Fitch were 68 th through 71 st overall in the 40 to 49 group, finishing with times of 1:19:29, 1:19:47, 1:19:53 and 1:20:15 respectively.

Gavin Christie was 72 nd , and 39 th in the men’s 20 to 39 group, in 1:20:31.

Ian Bunbury was 13 th in the 40 to 49 group and 73 rd overall in 1:20:37.

John McBean was 44 th in the 20 to 39 group and 89 th overall in 1:25:50.

Stephanie Rochon was 17 th among women and 14 th in the 20 to 39 race in 1:25:59

Brenda Davison was fourth in the women’s 40 to 49 group with her time of 1:27:15.

Philippe Turbide was 96th overall and 46th in the 20 to 39 age group in 1:27:45.

Vanessa Murphy was 24 th among women, 19 th in the 20 to 39 bracket in 1:29:38.

Sean Caney finished in 1:31:33.

Leonard Speerings of Pemberton finished in 1:35:21.

Christine Harrison finished in 1:37:17.

Joe Downey finished in 1:38:36.

Jacqueline McLeod finished in 1:40:30.

Robert Tan finished in 1:40:30.

The sport category, which ran a challenging 6.2 km course around the high alpine of Whistler Mountain, was a lot tougher than most runners expected.

Vancouver’s Steve Mattima was the top sport racer, completing the course in 38:34. Lisa Polizzi of Brisbane, Australia was second in 41:53, and Arnold Schaeffer of Seattle third in 44:05.

The top Whistler runner, in fourth place overall, was Munehisa Takaoka in 44:41.

Jennifer Tabbernor was fourth among women in 54:03.

For more information on the race or the complete results visit www.five peaks.com.