Press
Press Release Monday, Aug. 21st, 2006
Inaugural Yukon Gold Ultra a Success!
The inaugural Yukon Gold Ultra is officially over. Racers and volunteers are happy with the event which took place this past weekend.
Ten racers started on mountain bike or foot, early Saturday morning on a quest to complete the 57 or 100 mile trail event. Eight people finished and two athletes were able to complete over half of their chosen distance.
Race director, Shelley Gellatly was impressed that the athletes were in such high spirits after completing the challenging course. “Even the local competitors, who know these trails, were surprised at how hard the course was. That makes it even more impressive that everyone did so well. I’m also pleased we had no serious mishaps.”
Strong, cold winds on the top of the Coal Lake Road and summit of Mt. MacIntyre posed a challenge for racers and volunteers alike. “I’m glad we went up earlier in the week,” stated checkpoint 3 volunteer Mike Simons. “That experience totally changed what I decided to take up the mountain….lots of winter gear!”
The fastest 57 miler was Ed Hopkins from Tagish who finished in 9 hours and 52 minutes on mountain bike. Next was Bill Matiation from Whitehorse who was the first runner across the finish line. Bill set a blistering pace and finished in 11 hours and 55 minutes. James Smith was the 3rd person to finish in 13 hours and 21 minutes. Both James and Bill were fueled by “Bold Rush”, sponsor of the event. They credited their performances to the energy drink made locally in Whitehorse.
All the racers had highs and lows while negotiating the sometimes rocky, sometimes sandy, sometimes stumpy and almost always hilly trail.
Fifty-seven miler Keith Thaxter laughed when telling the story of how he was considering catching a ride down Mt. MacIntyre at one point, but missed the truck that passed him because he was throwing up in the bush. Thaxter was still smiling when he came across the finish line in 15 hours and 12 minutes, despite an almost 45 minute detour off the main trail.
Nancy Thomson of CBC Radio ran an impressive 16 hours and 17 minutes and was the only woman to finish the 57 mile race.
The 100 mile racers all hailed from Vancouver. Mountain biker Lang Evans finished in 24 hours and 34 minutes. Runners Mary Beck and Frank Janssens crossed the finish line together. Janssens rolled an ankle on the rocky section of the Coal Lake road in the middle of the night so was happy to finish the race in one piece and in a time of 29 hours and 18 minutes.
Janssens says, “This race is quite tricky. At the beginning you think the trail is pretty run-able and that you’ll be able to make good time. Then after checkpoint #1 it gets more challenging so you have to adjust your expectations. After checkpoint #2 it gets worse. By the time you pass checkpoint #3 and the trail is getting easier it’s too late as you are already very tired.”
Next year’s race date will be earlier in the summer to take advantage of the longer day light hours.
Final times for the event:
57 Mile Mountain Bike
Ed Hopkins, Tagish 9:52
57 Mile Run
Bill Matiation, Whitehorse 11:55
James Smith, Whitehorse 13:21
Keith Thaxter, Whitehorse 15:12
Nancy Thomson, Whitehorse 16:17
100 Mile Mountain Bike
Lang Evans, Vancouver, BC 24:34
100 Mile Run
Mary Beck, Vancouver, BC 29:18
Frank Janssens, Vancouver, BC 29:18
For more information, contact Shelley Gellatly at 393-3614 or sgellatly@shaw.ca.
