Welcome to the 2016 H+P ENDURrun blog! We will be updating this post throughout the week with how the entire team did, time gaps, exciting and interesting developments, team standings and more!
Forget who is racing? Check out all of our team rosters HERE:
Women’s A Team vs. Men’s Masters Team vs. H+P #TeamNick vs. H+P #TeamGreg
H+P Team Switzer vs. H+P Team Prefontaine
Also, looking to see how all of the battles are going? Follow them HERE on our rankings page.
Looking to see how all of the teams are doing after each stage? Follow HERE on our rankings page.
STAGE RECAPS
Stage 1: Half marathon
Recap:
The half marathon started off with a bang! Many of our runners had great races, and you can check out all of them HERE.
BATTLES
On the battle front, coach Gillian smashed a 1:29:23, good for the win on the day. Gillian was able to establish a 16 minute buffer over the masters men’s team, as Howie laid down a very solid 1:45.
Manny of #TeamGreg came in with 1:49, while Kristin came in with a 1:51 for #TeanNick. So a mere 2:07 separates these teams, while they sit 20 and 22 minutes back of the women’s team overall for 1st…but there’s a lot of racing to go, and the fastest runners of all these teams are still to come.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, Tammy was able to drop an amazing performance over Derek, giving team Switzer just under a 14 minute advantage.
Shalon of the FUN-atics, had a much better than expected run, posting a very solid 2:27 PB.
EVENT RECORDS
After stage 1, Gillian was able to give a 4 minute buffer over the 2015 record holding H+P women’s team. They are on track to set the event record so far!
The masters men are about 11 minutes back of record pace, but their strongest runners are yet to come. They are still in the running for an event record for fastest masters men’s team!
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the women’s A team is first, while the Men’s Masters team, #TeamGreg and #TeamNick sit 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. However, all of these teams are 1-5 minutes off the podium with 6 stages to go!
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, Vicki was in first with a very strong 1:38:58, good for 2nd OA for women. Andrew ran a 1:53, putting him in 34th OA. The Hergotts sit 59th and 63rd OA after their half, while Heather is just doing whatever she wants this week!
Preview
Up next is the 15K TT! The women’s team is looking primed to build on their lead with team 5 and 10K record holder, Erin McClure up. IronLuke, one of the fastest maters men H+P has ever seen is up and looking to compete with Erin. #TeamGreg also has a strong runner ready to roll in club marathon record holder, Andrea Sweny. #TeamNick, currently sitting in 4th for H+P teams, 6th OA will have Panacake Mile specialist, Adam Dixon up to try to hold steady with these other speedsters.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, we have two of our best masters runners up…it’s Tracey vs. Tracy! Will Tracy U be able to close in on some of that 14minute gap that Tammy created today?
For the FUN-actics, Sandi Swan is up. Will the PB streak stay alive for this crew?
Stage 2: 15K TT
Recap:
The 15K TT was a hot, flat, solo test of mental fortitude and ability to maintain pace. H+P-ers all did exceptionally well, and you can check out our entire stage results HERE.
BATTLES
On the battle front, Erin McClure absolutely crushed the 15KTT, winning for females while setting a new course record and building on the Women’s A-Team lead in the race. IronLuke ran a very solid 57:58 15K TT to launch the team into second place and within striking distance of this powerhouse women’s team. They now sit 17:58 back with some of their best runners still to come.
Andrea of #TeamGreg ran a very strong sub-64 minute 15K TT, beating Adam of #TeamNick who ran a solid 1:05:36. This created a 3:49 minute gap between the two rival teams. These great performances bumped both teams up a spot as they both sit 4th and 5th with a mere ~2 and 5mins keeping them off the podium behind the RC team.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, Tracy U of Team Prefontaine was able to battle severe bronchitis to post a strong 1:13, just under 3 minutes ahead of Tracey Kuchma who ran a very solid 1:16:36. This brought Team Prefontaine a little closer to Team Switzer with a mere 10:59 separating these teams with 5 days of racing to go!
Sandi of the FUN-atics, kept the PB train alive for this crew, posting a great 15K personal best of 1:31:28! That’s 2 for 2!
EVENT RECORDS
After Stage 2, Erin’s record breaking 15K has put the ladies over 12 minutes ahead of record pace. It’s safe to say that they are on track to set the event record so far!
Luke’s outstanding 15K put over a 5 minute dent into the masters’ men relay record from 2015. After stage 2, they now sit only 5:14 off record pace with 5 days and some of our best runners to come.
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the women’s A team is first, while the men’s masters team was rocketed from 4th to 2nd by Luke’s great performance. Andrea and Adam bumped #TeamGreg and #TeamNick up to 4th and 5th respectively, less than 6 minutes off the podium!
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran a strong 1:07 to comfortably keep her in 2nd OA for women in the race. Andrew continues to thrive off of no training, running 1:18 and now sitting 21st OA. Tammy ran a 1:39 and now sits in 38th, while Derek had to withdraw from the race.
Preview
Up next for our athletes is 30K of trails and hills and pain! The women’s team is looking to maintain their stranglehold on 1st with H+P’s multiple-distance record holder for masters women, Val Hobson. She is familiar with the course as she ran it last while en-route to a 3rd place finish in the ultimate in 2015. For the 2nd place Masters Men, the best 50+ runner H+P has ever seen, Dave Rutherford is up to try to put a dent into the 1st place women’s squad. Finishing ENDURrun 3 separate times, and crushing Bechtel more than 3 times, he is looking primed to take away as much of that 17:58 lead as possible. #TeamNick and #TeamGreg are sending out two wild cards: Martin *Mr. 38 5K-to-38-10K* Chmiel, and Dave Jr. (Aka Aidan Rutherford). These boys have speed, but will they hold on throughout laps 5 and 6?
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, Jon Krys is up to try to chase down Justin. Will Justin be able to avenge his epic blow up from last year?
Finally, the FUN-atics have Jen Merrett ready to roll. She’s never run 30K, so I guess the PB train will just keep rolling with this crew!
Stage 3: 30K Bechtel
Recap:
The 30K Bechtel trail stage started off cool…but heated up in a hurry! Check out our full team results HERE.
BATTLES
On the battle front, two of our best masters athletes, Dave Rutherford and Val Hobson both showed what they were made of on this tough day. Dave was able to post a very strong 2:23 while Val posted a great 2:32. Dave’s effort put a 8:33 dent into the Women’s A-Team lead, with the Masters Men’s team now sitting in second, only 9:25 back of first!
Martin Chmiel of #TeamNick posted an outstanding 2:27, which rocketed #TeamNick up into 3rd OA, and brought the team to within 26minutes of 1st! H+P teams now sit 1-2-3 in the OA standings! Aidan of #TeamGreg showed true grit and determination, finishing the 30K trail race in a very respectable 2:55 despite a serious lack (aka zero) long runs. #TeamNick now holds a 24 minute lead in the #TeamNick vs. #TeamGreg challenge with some big stages still to come.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, Jon posted a very strong 3:25- that guy is tough! Just Buis was on pace for a massive PB with only a few K’s to go when he was forced to quit and was taken to hospital as a result of the heat. He is in good spirits, recovering, quite angry that he was not able to finish, and vows revenge. A replacement runner (of similar ability- VZ to the rescue!) will be added as per the race director’s discretion to allow Team Switzer to continue on. Time gap now sits at 58 minutes in favour of Team Switzer!
Jenn Merrett proves she is tough and once again, she cannot be broken! She kept the FUN-atics PB streak alive with a new 30K Trail PB of 4:45. That’s 3 for 3!
EVENT RECORDS
With Val’s outstanding 2:32, the team now sits 31 minutes faster than record pace. These ladies are tearing it up and are definitely on track to set the event record!
The Masters men’s team was over 5 minutes off of record pace after 2 stages. However, Dave’s strong 2:23 vaulted this crew of wily vets to within 1:04 last years record setting team!
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the Women’s A-team sits in first, but now with only a 9 minute lead over the fast-charging Masters Men’s team. On the shoulders of Martin, #TeamNick was launched into 3rd place, and H+P now sits 1,2,3. #TeamGreg is still in 5th with some of their best runners yet to come.
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran a great new course PB of 2:37, and sits as second female OA. Andrew put in a solid 3:09 to move up to 20th OA, while Tammy still is getting it done posting a 4:28 and now is in 37th OA.
Preview
Up next is the Wednesday night Wilmot 10-Miler. Forecast is calling for the hottest day of the week, so these athletes better be prepared to race in an oven!
Hot off her team record- tying #SummerTT performance, Kailey Haddock is looking to keep the Women’s A-team in first place. With a 9 minute lead over the Masters Men’s team, Brian is not expected to beat Kailey, but will be fighting to keep as much of that 9 minute deficit as possible to maintain a fighting chance heading into the final 3 stages. Both Brian and Kailey look primed to strengthen both team’s campaigns for their respective event records.
After vowing to never do the 10-miler again, Coach Sean is reluctantly up again for #TeamNick. He is hoping to close in on some of the women’s 27 minute lead, and eat into the Masters Men’s 17 minute lead. Ahmed “Young Blood” Ahmed is ready to roll for #TeamGreg. He is looking to chase down any of the H+P teams ahead of him, and maybe even put the team closer to the RC team for 4th place OA.
Anne is up for Team Prefontaine, while Kim is tackling this stage for the second year in a row for Team Switzer. Anne is looking to give her team a boost and draw them close to Team Switzer, while Kim will be battling to keep her at bay.
Sam Wiebe is running for the FUN-atics and is seeking to keep the PB streak alive for this team!
Stage 4: 10M Wilmot Hill Run
Recap:
The mercury just keeps rising! The 10-Miler was the hottest stage yet with temperatures approaching 40C, but H+Pers were able to persevere! Check out our full results here.
BATTLES
On the battle front, the ladies were lead by Kailey Haddock and a strong 1:09 finish time which held their place in 1st. Brian posted a very solid 1:22, which left the Masters Men 22:30 back of the Women’s A-team. Coach Sean posted a 1:01:58 finish time which cut enough time into the Masters Men to propel #TeamNick into 2nd place, 19 minutes back of the Women’s A-Team.
Ahmed of #TeamGreg ran a very strong 1:12, which leaves #TeamGreg with a 35minute deficit in #TeamNick vs. #TeamGreg challenge. Ahmed did manage to cut 15 minutes into the 4th place RC team, and #TeamGreg now sits, 5th OA, but ~1.5 minutes out of 4th.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine Anne was able to run an extremely strong 1:22 for team Prefontaine which was just over 4 minutes faster than Kim’s 1:26 for Team Switzer. H+P Team Prefontaine now sits 54 minutes back of Team Swizer with almost half of the total race distance still go to!
Sam Wiebe ran a great 1:45, a 10M PB, and good enough to keep the FUN-atics on a PB roll! 4 for 4!
EVENT RECORDS
After Kailey’s great 1:09 which was 1:39 faster than last year’s record setting team, the Women’s A-Team are 34 minutes ahead of record pace!
After Brian’s 1:22, the Masters Men are still just behind last year’s record setting effort by 3:48! Will Jon of 2016 be able to cut into the time set by Jon 2015 and launch this team into a faster-than-record pace?
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the Women’s A-team sits in first with a 19 minute lead over #TeamNick who managed to make up over 17 minutes over the Masters Men to bump them into 3rd. So H+P teams still sit 1-2-3 in the overall standings, but the order of these teams is far from decided.
#TeamGreg currently sits in 5th, less than 2 minutes behind the RC team- will they be able to make up this gap over the coming stages? With Eric (Chicopee), Jordan(10K) and Greg (Marathon) ready to roll next, this team may have the fastest final 3 runners of any other team in the race and may even be able to take a swing to finish on the podium and in the prize money!
Team Switzer sits in 7th, but are 19 minutes behind the Bestest Dudes with some great runners still to come. Team Prefontaine, who is anchored by former H+P marathon record holder, Val T, is in 9th, but has the potential to make up some serious time in the stages to come!
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran just off her PB pace despite the heat to finish in 1:19 and stay on pace to finish 2nd OA. Andrew continues to thrive, running 1:31 to hold his position in 20th, while Tammy keep grinding away, finishing in 1:58 and holding 37th OA.
Preview
Chicopee is a make-or-break stage for many H+P teams!
Emily is up for the Women’s A-team and is looking to battle to maintain their strong 19 minute lead over Dave Haiser of #TeamNick. Dave does not have a lot of running volume in his legs, but is coming off of a solid IM 70.3 performance, so the base fitness is there. The Masters Men will be lead by Jon Fugelsang who has seen his fitness sky rocket in the last year. Will he be able to close the 3 minute gap to #TeamNick and close in on the 22 minute gap that separates them from taking the title? This will be an EPIC showdown to follow.
Up for #TeamGreg is Eric who is looking to close that 1.5 minute deficit that separates his team from finishing in the top 4!
Janice is up for Team Switzer, while Coffee is up for Team Prefontaine. Will Coffee be able to make up any of that 52 minute deficit in the Switzer vs. Prefontaine challenge?
Trevor is up for the FUN-atics. He posted a very solid time at Chicopee last year, and despite the extreme heat, is looking fit enough to take a swing at it. While he be able to keep the team’s perfect PB streak alive?
Stage 5: 25.6 Chicopee
Recap:
For yet another stage, temperatures and humidity were brutal for most of this 25.6K epic trail challenge. Check out our full results here.
BATTLES
On the battle front, Jon posted a very strong 2:35 course PB which dragged the Masters Men 8 minutes closer to the H+P Women’s A-team after Emily’s very strong 2:43 which made her the 1st OA woman on the day! The ladies still have a 13:56 lead in this challenge.
Coming seemingly out of nowhere in this stage, Eric of #TeamGreg had an unbelievable performance, finishing second OA on the day with a time of 2:31 while he barely slowed down throughout the entire race! Amazing splits! In the OA standings, this brings #TeamGreg back from the dead, launching over the RC team comfortably into 4th OA and less than 30 minutes off the podium and prize money with two of H+P’s best runners lined up for the 10K (Jordan) and marathon (Coach Dyce).
Dave Haiser of #TeamNick threw down an epic performance as well. He actually managed to finish 3rd OA in the day with a very strong 2:33, exceeding expectations. This took a chunk of time out of the Women’s A-Team lead, and #TeamNick now sits in striking distance only 9:08 back of the lead.
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge, Janice rocked a very strong 3:00 race for #TeamSwitzer. With Coffee making the smart decision to drop out rather than risk heatstroke, this solidifies Team Switzer’s massive advantage going into the final stages. Coffee will be given a replacement time TBA so the challenge can continue. Janice’s time also brought #TeamSwitzer 7 minutes closer to Bestest Dudes for 6th OA!
Trevor battled very hard for the FUN-atics. With a very strong time from last year in much cooler conditions, he smartly modified his pace to finish just off PB pace with a great 3:20 finish.
EVENT RECORDS
With Emily’s strong 2:43, the Women’s A-Team are 18 minutes ahead of record pace!
Jon of 2016, despite the heat, was able to crush Jon of 2015! This, for the first time throughout the entire week placed the Men’s Masters team ahead of record pace by just under 2 minutes!
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the Women’s A-team still sits in first, but now with a mere 9 minute lead over #TeamNick and a 13 minute lead over the Men’s Masters Team. #TeamGreg currently sits 4th, but has a great combo in Jordan and Greg coming up. H+P now, for the first time, sits 1-2-3-4 with the order of those 4 totally up for grabs.
Team Switzer sits in 7th, but now just over 10 minutes out of 6th. Team Prefontaine’s position will be determined once the replacement time is added. The FUN-atics still sit in 10th while they are still shooting to crush 2 more PBs!
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran just off her PB pace despite the heat once again to finish in 2:45, which was actually the fastest women’s ultimate time of the day. She still sits in 2nd OA and still is in contention to beat her ENDURrun PB. Andrew continues to crush the week, posting a 3:29 as he now sits in 21st, while Tammy keeps thriving, now sitting 35th after a 4:15 finish.
Preview
The 10K is up next! With less than 13 minutes separating the top 3 teams, every minute and arguably every SECOND counts in this 10K. Often times this stage is not a deciding factor, but with a collection of very solid and comparable marathoners coming up among the top 4 teams (Vicky S, Nick Burt, Coach Dyce, Holger), making sure they have every extra buffer minute and second possible is extremely important. These 10Ks matter!
Up for the ladies is Robyn. She is looking to battle to maintain as much of the 9 minute lead over #TeamNick as possible. Coming off of an extended time away form running, Mike Piazza of #TeamNick is just now starting to show signs of his old self. Will he have what it takes to close into that 9 minute gap and give Nick a fighting chance against last year’s Ultimate Champion, Vicky Siemon of the Women’s A-Team?
Jeff Martin is up for the Masters Men, and he is hoping to also dig into that 13 minute gap separating his 3rd place team from standing on top of the podium. #TeamGreg currently is in a distant 4th, 27mins back of 3rd and 41mins back of 1st. BUT, they do have the fastest 10K-er of the bunch, Jordan Schmidt who has broken 37 on this course 2 years in a row. #TeamGreg is then anchored by Coach Dyce who is chasing a BQ and very well could put this team on the podium and in the prize money.
Mike Hewitson and Dragon are up in the Switzer vs. Prefontaine challenge. Will Mike be able to bring his team Switzer closer to a 6th place finish?
Finally Jaime is up for the FUN-atics and is chasing the 5th PB of the week for this team!
Stage 6: 10K TT
Recap:
The 10K was a crazy-humid sufferfest..but H+Pers persevered! Check out our full results here.
BATTLES
On the battle front, Robyn ran the 2nd fastest women’s time of the day, coming in at 42:18. This was 3 minutes faster than Jeff of the Maters Men and his outstanding 45 minute 10K, and 1 minute faster than Mike of #TeamNick. The Maters Men now sit 17 minute back in this challenge still comfortably in 3rd, while the #TeamNick is still within striking distance in 2nd, 10 minutes back. Going into the longest stage- the marathon- this is still anybody’s game!
Jordan Schmidt of #TeamGreg had a very solid 38 minute 10K performance despite just coming off of injury. He was the fastest relay time of the day, and brought #TeamGreg to within 21 minutes of the podium and 27 minutes of #TeamNick in that challenge!
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine Dragan and Mike Hewitson were very evenly matched with a mere 43 seconds separating the two athletes. Team Switzer looks primed to take the win in this challenge heading into the marathon, currently sitting in 7th while Team Prefontaine sits in 9th.
Jaime of the FUN-atics came in with a very solid 70 minute 10K!
EVENT RECORDS
With Robyn’s great 42 minute 10K, the ladies gained another 3.5 minutes on the pace set by last year’s record breaking team, so the Women’s A-Team are now 21 minutes ahead of record pace!
With Jeff’s very solid 45 minute 10K, the Men’s Masters team are a mere 2:39 behind record pace, and definitely within striking distance of the record!
OVERALL
In the overall standings, the Women’s A-team still sits in first, 10 minutes ahead of #TeamNick and 17 minutes ahead of the Masters Men who sit int he 3rd. #TeamGreg is very comfortable in 4th after Jordan’s relay-best 10K, and H+P is looking to be in a strong position to finish 1,2,3,4- a feat we have never done before!
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran 45 minutes to holder her position in 2nd OA in the women’s competition. Andrew continues to grind away, running 49 minutes, good to hold his 21st position. Tammy sits in 35th after her 1:03 10K- how is she doing this off of basically no training?!
Preview
The final stage is finally here! 42.2K of pain separates these teams and their quest to conquer the 160K ENDURrun. This is the first time ever that really, we don’t know the order of our top 3 with an outside chance of even our 4th team making a move onto the podium.
Up for the ladies is Vicky Siemon, who won last years Ultimate competition. She is looking to hold onto the team’s 10 minute lead over #TeamNick and 17 minute lead over the 3rd place Masters Men team. With the ladies holding over a 21 minute lead in the event record, she is also hoping to run strong enough to build on this lead and officially set a new mark that is tough for future teamt to chase.
#TeamNick is being anchored by the man himself who this team was named after- Nick Burt. Coming off of a 3:05 marathon in training followed by the #SummerTT win 1 day later, there is no doubt that Nick has the potential to bring his team to the top of the podium
#TeamGreg is in a slight deficit, but is anchored by one of H+P’s top ranked runners, Coach Dyce. With just over 20 minutes separating his team from the podium, while he be able to drag his crew into the prize money? He is also powered by the birth of his daughter just a few days before- will this provide the extra energy needed to excel on race day?
Holger, the human metronome is up the the Masters men. He is just coming off a Chicopee and 10K TT as he is racing the Sport, but if anybody can hold this team in 3rd, and help them to overtake the 2 minute deficit to set an event record, he’s the man!
Graham Dunn (former H+P Masters #SumemrTT record holder) and Val T (former H+P women’s marathon record holder) are up for Team Switzer and Team Prefontaine. Both of these athletes are capable of very strong marathons. Can Val bring Team Switzer up into 6th OA? Can Graham bring Team Prefontaine up form 9th?
Finally, holding down the fort for the FUN-atics is Andrew Heij, one of our Ultimates!
Stage 7: Marathon
Recap:
Wow, what a week for H+P! We have never had so much movement in the standings throughout the 7 Stages of this race. The marathon ended up being the deciding factor in the final order of the OA podium. We had some unbelievable performances across the board, check out our full results here.
BATTLES
On the battle front, #TeamNick pulled off the impossible and came back to take the OA win and take the #TeamGreg vs. #TeamNick challenge on the shoulders of Nick’s new 2:57 marathon PB (which makes him only the 3rd athlete in H+P history to break 3 hours). #TeamNick started the week in 5th place, and didn’t sit on top of the podium until the final half of Nick’s marathon- what an exciting week! These 7 athletes will split the $750 prize money.
The Women’s A Team threw down a massive 2nd OA performance, anchored by Vicky’s 3:14 marathon, finishing only 6 minutes back of 1st after 160K of racing. This was enough to take their challenge against the Masters Men for the 2nd year in a row. This is the first time our women have ever been on the OA podium, and they take home a well earned $350 as an added bonus!
The Masters Men held strong in their 3rd OA position with Holger’s 3:33 finish. #TeamGreg was kept in 4th OA with Coach Dyce’s 3:28!
In the Team Switzer vs. Team Prefontaine challenge Val was able to add to team Swizter’s lead, taking this challenge by almost 3 hours. These two evenly matched teams and this challenge really shows how ANYTHING can happen over 7 stages and 160K.
Andrew of the FUN-atics brought it up for this team and his ultimate experience with a very strong 4:17!
EVENT RECORDS
With Vicky’s 3:14 marathon, our Women’s team consisting of Gill, Erin, Val Hobson, Kailey, Emily, Robyn and Vicky S have officially crushed the previous women’s event record by over 35 minutes!
Holgers’ 3:33 marathon finish also launched the Masters Men (also including Howie, Luke, Dave, Brian, Jon and Jeff) into the record book, setting a new event record by over 38 minutes!
OVERALL
In the overall standings, #TeamNick, as mentioned above took the win. They were followed by the Women’s A team, Men’s Masters team and #TeamGreg. This is the first time H+P has ever had 3 teams on the podium let along taking spots 1 through 4! Team Switzer bumped up a spot into 6th OA after Val T’s solid Stage 7.
ULTIMATES
In the ultimate competition, VZ ran a new ENDURrun marathon best, solidifying a new week-long PB placing 2nd OA! Andrew’s 4:17 marathon bumped him up into the top 20, while Tammy showed true grit (somehow on NO training) and finished the entire week 35th OA!
Preview
This was an unbelievable week for the team! Thank you to everybody who made it possible, and congrats to everybody, whether you’re on our team or not, for tackling this beast of an event! We hope you all can take some time to reflect and remember the fun that we all had together.
Also, keep these memories fresh in your mind. ENDURrun 2017 is less than 1 year away and we already have SIX teammates registered for the Ultimate, and more course record goals that we are hungry to chase.
#cantwontstop #HPendur
