A pair of Canmorites shone in the inaugural TrailStoke 60-kilometre race in Revelstoke, B.C. on July 19.
The event is part of the Skyrunner series, a global federation that has recently come to Canada.
The TrailStoke 60 km falls under an umbrella of races with the 5 Peaks Trail Running name, and had two Canmorites placing in the event, including Andy Reed, who placed second in the men’s master category, and Michelle Katchur Roberts, who placed third in solo female open.
“I had a final sprint finish and managed to come in behind the second (participant) by .4 seconds,” Roberts said. “The race started at the bottom of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, climbed to the top, looped around some wild ridges, and then there was a bombing descent back down the mountain covering over 10,550 vertical feet.”
Roberts has competed before in two similar competitions, and uses the events as off-season cross-training for her winter efforts as part of the national ski mountaineering team.
“I do one a summer to force me into running. The idea of doing running over long distances is to keep a base foundation and use it to work for my skiing,” Roberts said.
The two previous races Roberts took part in were 80 km, but found she would gas out during the last quarters of the events.
“I thought I should try a 60 km next and see how I do, and Revelstoke looked like a really neat area. It was the first time the race was run and it was a championship race, so I thought, at least I’ll be running against the best of the best and see where I fit,” Roberts said.
Roberts says familiar faces from the Bow Valley and camaraderie helped in keeping her focus positive over the event. “Andy Reed was there, Steve Sellers, he’s a team member on the ski team, and then I recognized a lot of faces on the trail,” Roberts said.
Weather conditions were a big factor, with constant rain making for treacherous terrain over the 60 km.
“I think it worked to my advantage, because it’s been so hot so I’d been training in the heat and with it being cool I was able to eat and drink so I liked that it was raining,” she said. “There were a couple of times I would slip on some wet greenery, but got right back up and would just slow down a bit until I got back to some rocks.”
With Roberts third-place finish, she has now qualified and been invited to the world championships taking place Aug. 17 in Colorado.
