From a peak elevation point of 7,300 feet on the majestic, mountainous Diez Vista trail, ultra runners might be inclined to swear they could see clear to Washington state.
Coincidentally, the two to view the finish line first in Saturday's punishing 50 km ultra race came from there.
Seattle residents Justin Angle, 36, and Bill Huggins, 40, galloped to first and second place respectively and were the only two in the 99-finisher field to hit the tape in fewer than five hours. In fact, Angle's winning time of four hours, 52 minutes and 42 seconds was more than 42 minutes off the course record set last year by North Vancouver's Gary Robbins, who couldn't attend this year's race due to injury.
A big part of that had to do with a big change in elevation -- about 1,100 feet -- as race organizers had to shift a good chunk of the course into the hills due to high waters on Buntzen Lake that swallowed up a fair portion of lower land formerly mapped out for the event.
"A big part of the elevation change came in the first half of the race," said race co-director George Forshaw of Port Moody. "I think the elite guys were more affected by that later in the day because they could run that first half, where the mid-pack times were closer to last year's because they probably fast-hiked the early hills and had more energy to burn near the end."
Competitors came from various far-away places, including Washington state, Calgary and such distant B.C. locations as Vanderhoof. The top Tri-Cities' finisher was Coquitlam 37-year-old Niki Jacques, who placed 31st in 6:18:08, good for sixth in the women's division. Port Moody's John Hightower, 49, was best among Tri-Cities' men with a 6:23:45 effort to net 34th spot.
"We've really become an international event," Forshaw said.
Other notable finishers were the lone two runners who've competed in all 15 Diez Vista races -- Port Moody's Peter Zubick, 52 (74th in 7:53:57) and Kelowna's Judy Kotopski, 63 (99th in 9:34:32).
Boss double winner
Port Coquitlam's Andrew Boss of the Simon Fraser Clan bolted to first place in both the men's 200 and 400 metres at the 2011 Ralph Vernacchia Invitational track and field meet, hosted last weekend by Western Washington University in Bellingham. A senior, Boss finished the 200 in 21.98 seconds while posting a 48.92 time in the 400 to help the Clan men's squad place fourth overall.
