by Ron Adams
Mild, misty weather greeted the runners at the start of the Whistler 50 Ultra, followed by nearly perfect running weather with some sunny breaks later in the day. This year Whistler again was the host race for the ACU (Association of Canadian Ultramarathoners) 50 Mile trail championship.
Roy Kok of Vancouver led from the start, running very consistent splits on the way to a convincing win,  finishing in 6:22:32. Kok, who has regularly placed in the top ten in most of his races, said that he had just been hoping to podium. He did much better than that winning the race and becoming the Canadian Men’s 50 Mile Trail champion. Adam Way of North Vancouver placed second with Whistler’s Peter Armistead taking third place for the second consecutive year. George Thucydides of North Vancouver finished the race for the fourth time becoming the only person to finish every running of the Whistler 50 Ultra.
In the women’s race, West Vancouver’s Tory Scholz ran a very focused race winning in 7:40:12. After a summer of trail racing, Scholz moved up to the longer distances running her first 50 mile race and taking the Canadian Women’s championship in the process.   Second place overall and first in the Master’s division went to Whistler’s Vicki Romanin, with Hileray Kilback of Coquitlam taking third.
Whistler, British Columbia was the host mountain for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Whistler 50 Ultra is an IAU Bronze Label 50 mile trail race hosted by BC Athletics held in conjunction with the Whistler 50 Relay which attracted almost 1000 participants.
37 starters, 31 finishers