Despite running into a bear 10 kilometres into his race, Patrick Nesbitt won the 25 km Grizzly Half Ultra run on Sunday (Aug. 3) at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
“I saw it five feet from the trail. He was as startled as I was,” Nesbitt said.
The sighting gave the Red Deer resident a jolt, but didn’t hinder his running as he completed the trail run in 2:08:36 to win the first Grizzly Half Ultra.
“It’s kind of surprising to win. There are a bunch of us training for the Xterra triathlon race Tony Smith is putting on in two weeks. He always puts on awesome events,” Nesbitt said.
Over challenging terrain, Nesbitt kept his pace high, even though he wasn’t confident he could maintain his speed. This was his 12th race of the year, so his experience helped him cross the finish line.
“I overshot my pace for the first part of the race. I was worried I bit off more than I could chew, but I held it off and got the win.”
Luke Ratzlaff of Calgary finished second (2:11:41), followed by Darren Schmidt of Sherwood Park (2:15:17).
John Burroughs was the top local finisher. He finished fifth overall and first in his age group with a time of 2:22:11.
“This is a tough, tough, tough course. It doesn’t stop. It’s 25 kilometres of pure hurt,” Burroughs said. “You always have to be thinking on this course. There’s always going to be a root or a tree.”
Burroughs trains extensively at the Nordic Centre with his partner Amber Wanless (both are Iron Man triathletes), but he says his home course wasn’t doing him any favours. He’ll get another crack at them during the Xterra triathlon.
“Everyone says I should have a home field advantage. We run here all the time, Amber and I, but I always have difficulty going up these hills,” Burroughs said.
Marcy Schmidt of Sherwood Park was the top female finisher. She completed the course in 2:26:55 despite an early fall that left her with two oozing, bloody legs.
She and her husband live in Canmore over the summer, and have been training by hiking with their young daughter in the mountains. Adriana Wild finished second (2:35:03), and Courtney Kolla was third (2:35:04).
Schmidt said even though she had a sizable lead, she couldn’t take it for granted.
“You’re getting chased so you’re always running a little scared,” Schmidt said.
Other local finishers included James Barrand (2:37:57), Amber Wanless (2:52:19), Michelle Dupuis (3:03:51), Tony Berthelet (3:10:50) and Lindsey Williams (3:27:14).
