I had a bit of fun with this last year and managed a surprisingly solid response so I decided to roll with it a second time. This year I'm teaming up with Ryne Melcher to do a tandem posting as he'll be hosting the Men's vote over on his blog. (since he likes boys and I like girls)
Well, bar none there were some UNBELIEVABLE performances by Canadian women this year which should make the vote very interesting and very tight. As with last year Ellie Greenwood will be representing The Maple Leaf, even if our own governmental policies prevented her from representing us at The World Championships, as she was intending and hoping to do.
To ensure no one is missed in the voting process we will first roll out our top known performances and ask for feedback on oversights. Our apologies in advance if we miss anything. After this list has been up for three days we'll select our top ten and post it to a vote.
Differing from last year, the only rule is that it had to be an ULTRA distance race.
Following our performance of the year vote we'll post an Ultra Runner Of The Year vote as well, and again we welcome all feedback with these topics. Thanks for checking in, helping out, and eventually taking part in the voting process. There is nothing to be won here other than well deserved recognition for our incredibly talented Canadian contingent.
In chronological order, at least as best I know off the top of my head:
Tracy Garneau
HURT Hawaii 100 Miler, narrowly missing sub 24hr and crushing the previous record held by Krissy Moehl
1st place and Course Record
Beverly Anderson-Abbs
Pony Express 50 Miler, 6h14m is an unofficial Canadian 50 Mile Record smashing old record of 6h26m
1st place Overall and Course Record
Jenn Segger
Rainier to Ruston 50k
1st overall
Beverly Anderson-Abbs
Way Too Cool 50k, one of the most competitive 50k races in the US
2nd place
Beverly Anderson-Abbs
Mad City 50k, 3h44m
1st place Overall and Course Record
Tracy Garneau
American River 50 Miler, one of the most competitive 50 Milers in the US
1st place
Ellie Greenwood
Elk-Beaver 100km, not highly competitive but definitely a certified 100km course
1st place Overall and World 100km Trail Record 7h36m
Sue Lucas
World 24hr Championships
22nd woman, 1st Canadian, 197.7km
Carolyn Goluza
Vancouver 100km, a double running of the insanely technical Knee Knacker route in 17hr flat
1st place and Course Record
Tracy Garneau
Western States 100 Miler, The Grand Daddy of 100 Milers and always super competitive
1st place and first ever Canadian to win WS
Nicola Gildersleeve
Western States 100 Miler
11th woman, rookie 100 mile debut
Ellie Greenwood
Knee Knacker 50k, destroying women's record and nearly catching the lead men
1st place and Course Record
Ellie Greenwood
Canadian Death Race 125km, finishing second only to Hal Koerner, breaking previous Overall CR by 20min
1st place, Course Record, 2nd fastest time ever
Laurie McGrath
Dirty Girls 12hr
1st place Overall, 97.8km
Sue Lucas
Lost Soul 100 Miler, a tough course and apparently tougher weather conditions
1st place, 28h27m
Theresa McGrath
Ottawa Sri Chinmoy 24hr, within striking distance of Canadian record
1st place, 205.6km
Ellie Greenwood
Run For The Toad 50k, 3h37m destroying women's CR and running 3rd fastest overall time ever
1st place Overall
Sue Lucas
Lemming Loop 12hr
1st place Overall, 113.6km
Denise McHale
World 100km Road Championships, Official Canadian 100km record of 7h56m
8th woman
Ellie Greenwood
World 100km Road Championships, World and European Champion
1st place, 7h29m
Tamsin Anstey
North Face 50 Mile Championships
11th woman, billed as most competitive 50 Miler of 2010
There you have all that our combined craniums were able to uncover. Official vote will be posted on Sunday evening. Congrats to all above, it's been an incredible year! Best wishes for everyone to stay healthy and continue representing at the big races in 2011.
Don't forget to click here to check out Melcher's blog and the Men's 2011 results and subsequent poll.
GR