The eighth annual Canmore Challenge Trail Races, which for the first time included the North American Central American Championships (NACAC), brought with them an abundance of international flavour and firsts this year.

The Saturday morning race day (July 28) at the Nordic Centre included an open one-kilometre and six-km; however, it was the NACAC 12-km race, with its $1,500 purse, highlighting the event.

Top trail and mountain runners from across the continent - Canada, the U.S. and Mexico - descended on Canmore to vie for spots on their respective country’s world championship squads that will compete for the World Mountain Running Trophy in Saillon, Switzerland in September.

Surprisingly, the runner crossing the finish line well ahead of the talented field will not make the trip overseas, as he was an unheard-of newcomer to the sport of mountain running and hadn’t participated in any previous qualifying races.

Shocking race spectators and peers alike was 25-year-old American runner Nick Schuetze of Portland, OR, who dominated the men’s 12-km event in a finishing time of 49:09; 22 seconds, ahead of Ivan Babikov of Canmore.

Schuetze, a high school physics teacher with a running background in track, road and cross-country, only decided to enter the Canmore Challenge after the director of American mountain running recommended it to him while the pair were on a jog a few months back. He admitted to having no expectations whatsoever when he signed up for the 12-km challenge.

“I grew up on a hill, so I thought I would give it a try,” he said with a laugh. “I came here to have fun and to see what I could do. And I’ve never been to Canada, so I wanted to make the trip. I love both mountains and running, so maybe mountain running is a perfect fit for me.

“I knew coming in that I could run down hills really well, but the up-hill run is a whole other story. I had a lot of strength running up-hill, but I could feel the other runners closing the gap. I extended my lead at the downhill areas. The other runners were doing a lot of work going up, and I wasn’t doing any work going down, so I thought if I could just hold onto the lead I would be all right. It definitely feels good.”

Team Mexico, hosts of the 2006 NACAC Mountain Running Championships, were represented by three athletes in Canmore - Miguel Angel Lopez Navarro, Eitali Gamaliel Jimenez Ponce and Fernando Daniel Garcia.

Garcia, 22, who has been running competitively in Mexico for the last seven years, was participating in his first international event.

“We came to get experience, and it was a good experience,” Garcia said, acting as team spokesperson because of his fluent English. “This race will help us improve, because the competition was really fast and all the Americans and Canadians are really good mountain runners.”

The two-lap course, designed by Canmore’s Phil Villeneuve, was something he and his fellow countrymen were not accustomed to though, according to Garcia, a five-km and steeplechase specialist.

“The trails were crazy,” he said. “They are a lot different back home. We have the ups and downs in Mexico, but we weren’t used to the sharp turns in some areas. But it was very challenging, which we enjoyed. We are very happy with our results and the whole experience.

“It’s so beautiful here and all the people are really nice. Everyone has made us feel welcome. We are looking forward to seeing more of Canmore and Banff before we leave.”

Canmore Challenge organizer and participant Magi Scallion was overwhelmed at the numbers that showed up for this year’s instalment. A total of 333 participants took in the annual mountain run this year.

“It was the best turnout in years, so I’m more than happy,” Scallion said. “As nice as it was to have runners from Mexico and the United States show up, it was great to see people coming from places like Jasper and southern Alberta too. It’s always a compliment to the event when you hear about people driving six hours to participate.”

The course was a 12-km route starting at the Nordic Centre, descending to the Bow River, and finally climbing back up to the top of the Nordic Centre trails to the start/finish area.

“The course was really tough,” Scallion said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, with 420 metres of vertical. The terrain was a bit too dusty, but overall the races and course were perfect.”

In the women’s 12-km field, it was Christine Lundy, 36, of Sausalito, CA who took the gold medal in a time of 57:28. Lundy recently returned from the Pan American Games in Brazil, where she finished seventh in the marathon.

“There was definitely a lot of room if you wanted to pass and you could see where everyone else was,” Lundy said of the course. “It wasn’t as steep as most mountain races, up or down. But the down hills were a bit tricky with the rocks and exposed tree roots. I ran in my comfort zone the whole way.”

More at rockymountainoutlook

Bookmark to: