The Snohomish Track Club team won the Whistler 100 Gold Rush Relay race and set a new course record on June 5, 2004. The 12-member team, consisting of Washington state runners all over the age of 50, was captained by Mike Donoghue of Edmonds. The other team members were Jim McGill, Chris Lemke, Scott Piper, Ron Taylor, Bill Iffrig, Chris Steer, Peter O'Niel, John Hahn, Rick Garrison, David Jones, and myself.
The 100-mile race route went from the small town of Lillooet in the interior of British Columbia to the ski resort village of Whistler. Most of the route was on Highway 99 (Duffy Lake Road) and included major climbs through the coastal mountains between the two towns.
This was the second year of the race. Twenty-two teams assembled at the starting line at Lillooet Airport, located on the other side of the Fraser River from town. The course then ran back into town before heading up into the mountains on Highway 99.
Jim McGill was our first runner. By the end of stage 1 (12 miles) we were in second place, 6 minutes behind a very fast mixed team sponsored by the Vancouver Running Room store. Our runners after McGill were Donoghue, Chris Lemke, Scott Piper, Ron Taylor, and Bill Iffrig, in that order. They ran up and down mountains (described as "undulations" in the race description) that would make the Tour de France proud. Unfortunately much of the beautiful mountain scenery seen the day before was hidden behind rain clouds on race day.
By stage 7 Chris Steer caught the leading Vancouver team. I then ran stage 8, 10 miles in length including 7 miles with 3400 feet of elevation drop. Both of our teams made the exchange at the end of stage 7 at the same time and then it was my turn to run. My opponent looked fast and joked that he wanted to meet me at the start of our stage because I wouldn't be seeing him after that. That was the wrong thing to say. We flew down that mountain. I sprinted at full speed down the road in a pouring rain, gaining a bloody heal blister in the process. I passed their runner on the steep downhill stretches; he would catch and pass me on the flatter sections. Neither one of us ever gained more than 20 yards on the other. When we reached the bottom we were still bumping elbows. The other runner held his speed better than I did on the flat that followed and by the time we reached the end of the stage I was a minute, 33 seconds behind, but I could still see him.
Our next runner, Peter O'Niel, regained the lead by 7 minutes. John Hahn extended to 14 minutes. Rick Garrison held off the other team's top runner to give us a 6:30 lead (even with a 1:11 delay for a passing freight train). And then it all came down to our last runner, David Jones.
David started the 12th and final stage (9.7 miles in length) with a six and a half minute lead over the second place team. He finished about ten minutes behind the second team's runner, but was never passed on the course. Due to a lack of course markings David got lost in the bike path maze; the other team ran straight down the road, shortcutting the course by at least two miles. The race director was informed of the problem and we were given the win and our finish time was adjusted accordingly. Our official finish time was 12 hours, 5 minutes. We easily beat the previous course record of 12:31.
The Whistler 100 needs to make some improvements to establish itself as a major relay race. These include more accurate stage length measurements (mileages), better marked stage exchange points, more race officials at the exchange points to record stage times, more sanitary facilities on the course, and a better marked bike path route to the finish line in the middle of Whistler Village. It would also be nice if they handed out first place medals, ribbons, plaques, or trophies to the winning team members instead of just finishers' medals.
?
.jpg){kind=link}