There were no moose to be found, just one black bear, a dead skunk, a lot of muddy trails, and 132 runners who braved the elements on a misty Sunday morning for the seventh annual running of the Mad Moose Marathon.
The 42.2 kilometre marathon race was a new distance for Jeff Hunter but it led to a familiar podium result. The 37-year-old from Prince George didn't let a hamstring pull at the 18 km mark spoil his race and he hit the finish first in 3:15:32, less than three minutes off Kevin Grigg's record-setting 3:12:51 pace in 2010.
"It was terrible, actually," laughed Hunter, a veteran of more than 30 ultramarathons. "You're moving a lot faster and it was intense. It was muddy and I had a slight injury going up. I didn't see any moose, just the dead skunk and a lot of smiling faces. It's pretty high spirits on the trail.
"It was cool but you can go a lot faster when you're not dealing with heat. I thought I'd go after Kevin's course record but I wasn't on today. I'll have to shoot for that next year."
Barry Nakahara (3:33:00) and Corey Watts (3:49:34) were second and third in the men's marathon. Wendy Giesbrecht of Fort St. John (4:15:34), Titia Woudstra of Houston (4:42:05) and Ashley Ramsay of Vancouver (4:51:19) were the top three female marathoners.
It was Giesbrecht's first off-road marathon and she vows it won't be her last. Giesbrecht, 42, a former nordic ski racer, was thrilled about her first experience on the Cranbrook Hill Greenway Trail that connects Otway Nordic Centre to UNBC.
"I appreciate the ups and downs of this one, I felt like I got more of a stretch than on a rolling paved course and there was less pounding involved," said Giesbrecht. "It's a beautiful course, it's a treasure and you guys should advertise it and get more people out there hiking. I want to bring my family back to walk it."
The 63 km ultra route was changed after last year to avoid a designated hunting area after Hunter had a rifle pointed at him by a hunter who at first thought he was a fresh meal approaching.
Cormac Hikisch of Smithers, 39, won the men's ultra in 5:24:55, while Terri Gale of Tumbler Ridge, 41, the lone woman among eight entrants in the ultra race, was third overall in 7:07:54. The ultra started at 7:30 a.m. and Hikisch needed a headlight to get him through the first part of the course.
"That first 6K was pitch black and I was on a trail I don't know, so I was really happy when it started getting light and by the second lap I knew where I was going so that was better," said Hikisch. "I'm humbled by the Greenway Trail, it's a phenomenal hilly course, it's not an easy route and I've got admiration for these half-marathoners that are just hammering it at a good clip It felt good going out to UNBC but on the way back I was tired. Coming back, when you think you can make up time you can't because your legs start giving out."
Also on the ultra podium were second-place Dirk Ernst of Horftmar, Germany (6:36:02) and third-place Dinos Spiliopoulos of P.G. (7:38:46). Ernst was the lone runner to see a black bear during his tour of the trails and made it known to race organizers how thrilled he was with his sighting as he passed the Otway checkpoint.
Greg Tone of Vanderhoof won a sprint to the finish in the men's half-marathon, finishing in 1:28:26, one second quicker than Jim Van Bakkel of Prince George. Nick Bartell of P.G. was third in 1:30:10. Prince George women claimed the top three spots in the half-marathon, including Shar Balogh (1:35:27), Jacqui Benson (1:37:12) and Danuta Holm (1:48:05).
Rudy Kamstra showed he still has plenty of spring in his step at age 72, completing the difficult 21km half-marathon alongside his 20-year-old granddaughter Sarah Gagnon in 2:38:14
