HAMILTON, ERVIN AND ZABUKOVEC ALSO STAR

Runners from as far afield as Melbourne, Australia assembled in Whistler for Race # 4 of the 5 Peaks 2010 BC Coastal Series

 on Saturday, August 21st.  With conditions dry, sunny, chilly and calm, things were set up nicely for a potential record-breaking performance or two up on Whistler mountain.  And the racers didn’t disappoint.

In the Enduro event, Victoria’s Kris Swanson eclipsed Morgan Titus’s 2007 mark of 53:56 when he sped up, down and around 10.6km of organic mountain trail in 53 minutes, 29 seconds – shaving 27 seconds off Whistler-favourite, Titus’s previous mark.  Just under 3 minutes back in second spot was Fairmont Hot Springs runner Jakub Sumbera (56:09), followed by three-time 2009 event winner, Edward McCarthy (56:38).  McCarthy (40 points) is favourite to take the overall series title, needing just a top-4 finish at the Buntzen finale.

Stephanie Hamilton, meanwhile, is in line to take the overall series crown in the Women’s Enduro.  Hamilton was first lady home at Whistler, clocking 1:08:34 and finishing just over a minute clear of one of her main rivals, also from Vancouver, Chessa Adsit-Morris (1:09:39).  Nadyia Fry (Fairmont Hot Springs) was third in 1:12:24.  Having also won the Enduro races at Golden Ears and Mount Seymour, Hamilton (seven points clear on 45) now just needs a solid finish at Buntzen Lake to secure series success.

The Sport event saw both male and female winners come within seconds of setting new course records.  North Vancouver’s Ryan Ervin clocked 27:17 to win the men’s race – just four seconds off Sturla Lie’s 2007 mark (27:13).  Devon Greenside of Richmond (2nd – 28:14) and Whistler’s own Mike Conway (3rd – 29:22) chased Ervin home.  With Ervin not having raced any of this year’s three previous events, John Graham (50 points – 5th at Whistler in 30:02), Jesse Popov (47 points – 4th in 29:29) and Greenside (45 points) are all in contention for overall series glory.

In the women’s race, Jeanie Zabukovec finished almost two minutes clear of the field in 32:16 and was only seven seconds shy of Joanna Quarry’s 2007 course record (32:09).  Justine Simmons (34:05) and Lisa Brougham (35:34) joined Zabukovec on the overall podium.  With current series leader Janet Vink (5th – 38:33) also putting in another solid display, the women’s Sport series is set to go down to the wire.  Vink leads Zabukovec 48-40 – though has run four races to the latter’s three.  Four are needed to qualify.

Other notable performances included a second place in the Enduro’s Clydesdale division for 2009 Series winner, Eric Lorenz.  The Vancouver racer now has 54 points and should retain his overall series title if he wins the division at Buntzen. In the Enduro Athena category, Solana Green (Burnaby) and Pam Newman (Maple Ridge) are battling it out for the series title. Green edged Newman at Whistler, and needs to repeat the feat in Port Moody to secure the series crown by a point.  

In the Sport Clydesdale event, Shawn Butterworth (Richmond) is set to take the series title after a second place in Whister; he leads by six points (on 51) going into the final event, while Kirsten Solli-Nowl (Vancouver) has a four-point lead (45-41) in the Sport Athena division over Whistler winner Shayla Richards (Maple Ridge). Both need to race at Buntzen to qualify. In the team event at Whistler, The Average Joes took the honours.

Prior to the main events, Cole Schievew (Whistler – 1:08) pipped Cameron Elliott (London, England – 1:09) to first place in the Scotiabank Children’s Challenge. Caden Ruby (North Vancouver – 1:15) was seconds behind in third. 

223 racers tore around Whistler mountain in the Enduro event (99 women; 124 men), while 191 tackled the trails on the Sport course (101 women; 90 men). Merchandize prizing supplied by many excellent 5 Peaks sponsors – led by title sponsor Saloman – was awarded to the overall podium placers, while the top three men and women in each age group – categories ranged from 10-14 up to 70-99 – were awarded medals.

Whistler results in full can be found at the Race Headquarters (timing company) website: 

http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/.

The 2010 BC Coastal Series finale is at Buntzen Lake, Port Moody on September 25th.

For more information on the BC Coastal, BC Interior and other 5 Peaks series and races across Canada, or if you’d like to volunteer and assist the stellar race crews that put on the events, visit: www.5peaks.com.