Within their division, Matt Isaak and Aaron Bond posted two of the four quickest times at the Fat Dog Trail Race, held this past weekend in the Manning Park area of the province.
Isaak and Bond finished third and fourth respectively in the event's 70-mile distance. Isaak completed the ultra-marathon course in 15 hours 11 minutes 16 seconds, while Bond crossed the finish line in 15:31:28. Graham Coombe (13:07:34) and Brian McArthur (14:47:19) were the first- and second-place runners. Coombe, at age 28, is the youngest of the four. McArthur is 44, while Isaak is 36 and Bond is 38.
In kilometres, the distance equates to 113.
Prince George athletes Grant Paulson and Trevor Joyce also competed in the race. The 60-year-old Paulson was an impressive 13th overall with a clocking of 17:47:42. Joyce, 40, placed 18th in a time of 19:05:25.
Nicole Rishaug, formerly of Prince George but now living in Kelowna, did not finish.
P.G. runners Reid Roberts and Adrian Smith, both 47, entered the Fat Dog's 120-mile race but neither finished.
On the 193km course, considered one of the toughest in the world, Roberts dropped out at 67km because he was suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. He and Smith started their race at 10 a.m. on Friday and were forced to deal with temperatures that ranged between 30C and 32C.
When Roberts was training for the Fat Dog, he was attacked by a mother black bear and suffered injuries to his left hand. The attack happened on May 17 near the Forests for the World parking lot.
Nikolay Ossetinskiy of Mackenzie also registered for the 120-mile race and didn't finish.
The 120-mile course took runners through Cathedral Provincial Park, Skagit Valley Provincial Park and E.C. Manning. Roberts, Smith and Ossetinskiy were three of 176 athletes who entered the event, which challenged participants to cross four mountain passes with a total elevation gain of 8,673 metres. Sixty-three of the entrants dropped out or didn't complete the course within the 48-hour time limit.
John Burton, a 43-year-old, won the race in 28:21:40.
