| Monday, September 6 2021 - Impressive Results from the Canadian Classic Up and Down Mountain Running Championships |
Canada’s best mountain runners arrived on Bowen Island on Saturday morning to test their mettle on the steep course to the summit of Mt. Gardner and back for the Canadian Classic Up and Down Mountain Running Championships.
Alex Ricard (32, Squamish) and Andrea Lee (31, North Vancouver) were crowned Canadian Champions on the 11km course which featured 750m of ascending and a matching descent. Alex explained after the race that he went out hard knowing the uphill was his strength. His ascending accomplishments include winning the Red Bull 400 World Championships in 2019. Alex had some unexpected challenges on the descent when he sprained his ankle trying to avoid an aggressive off-leash dog. Despite hobbling to the finish in some pain, he hung on for the win. Andrea came away with the victory thanks to a strong descent. She was in second place near the top of the climb, trailing Lindsay Carson (31, Burnaby) – the eventual second place finisher – at the summit. Both Andrea and Lindsay are experienced trail and road runners. Lindsay has an impressive list of credentials, including representing Canada at the World Cross Country Championships on three separate occasions.
Qualifying spots for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships were up for grabs at the race. The top two in each race automatically qualified for the World Championships. In addition to the winners, Lindsay and Shaun Stephens-Whale (31, Squamish) secured their spots at the World Championships. Shaun is a training partner of Alex and ran a consistent effort to ensure his qualification for the World Championships.
Local Katie Brougham (22, Bowen Island) used her local knowledge of the trails to her advantage and ran a strong race to round out the podium. Jessie McAuley (21, Squamish) finished third to make it a sweep for Squamish in the men’s race.
Special thanks to co-race director Phil Osborne for putting together an excellent race at the last minute and to the 30 volunteers between the two events and the following sponsors: Audemars Piguet Replica
- Edward Jones, Ross McCorquodale
- Kintec
- Lambert Intellectual Property Law
- Arc'teryx
- Red Bull
- The Snug
- Saucony
- Cocoa West
- Camp Bow Isle
- Bowen Island Pub
- First Credit, Bowen
- Bowen Island Volunteer Fire Department
- Down Under Travel
- McTaggart Water
- Buy on Bowen, Mary Lynn Machado, Realtor
WOMEN'S PODIUM
MEN'S PODIUM
A HANDLOGGER'S HALF RACE START TRADITION
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