Chris Balestrini of London, Ont., delivered an enormous victory for Canada in southern Saskatchewan on Saturday by successful gold in the 2023 North and Central American Mountain and Path Working Championships’ 50K and shattering the Beaver Flat 50 course report within the course of.
Balestrini, who has held the Canadian 50K report (2:48:32) for greater than two years, sliced greater than 25 minutes off the earlier course report set by Vancouver’s Mike Sidic in 2018 (4:37:21), ending this yr’s race in 4:11:25.
Underscoring the power of Balestrini’s efficiency was the actual fact he completed virtually 20 minutes forward of his closest competitor, even because the second- and third-place finishers additionally broke Sidic’s earlier course report. Adam Sjolund ran 4:30:47 to take silver for the US, with Mexico’s Miguel Ángel Pérez Alvarado taking bronze in 4:35:38.
The glint of irony within the course’s identify wasn’t misplaced on Sjolund, who titled his Strava entry from Saturday’s race “beaver not flat 50k.” The course, positioned in Saskatchewan’s Touchdown Provincial Park, options greater than 2,300 metres of elevation acquire and “hill repeats within the worst type of approach,” mentioned race organizer Jeff Dudar. “There’s cacti, juniper bushes, rock, sand, snakes and water.”
In an Instagram submit following the race, Balestrini congratulated his opponents for the way they met the problem of excessive temperatures and hard terrain in Saturday’s race. “All the time an honour to lace up the path footwear with the Canadian Crew. Stunning ridge line operating, numerous punchy climbs, and a blazing solar beating down on us set the stage for an epic duel within the hills of Saskatchewan,” he wrote.
Balestrini mentioned the race “began out sizzling, up one of many steeper climbs of the [day] earlier than descending onto the ridge. Just a few Individuals had been pushing onerous and we traded surges and positions fairly a number of occasions within the first 35K. I made a transfer and acquired a small hole so I saved the pedal right down to the end. When the 50K and a pair of,300m vertical acquire was mentioned and performed, I got here away with the hard-fought win.”
He added that whereas he’s undecided what’s subsequent for him after Saturday’s win, “I do have some placements in Alberta & BC arising, so perhaps some late-season mountain operating earlier than I swap gears to the roads for the CIM Marathon in December!”
Within the girls’s 50K, North Vancouver’s Shannon Penway ran 5:21:37 to win silver for Canada. Individuals Sarah Biehl (5:10:26) and Kristina Randrup (5:30:27) received gold and bronze respectively.
Along with the 50K, Touchdown Provincial Park additionally hosted the NACAC Championships’ Traditional Up and Down, a 10K occasion with 420 metres of elevation acquire. Care Nelson of Victoria ran 49:39 to win bronze for Canada, with Individuals Gabrielle Orie (47:22.4) and Megan Lacy (48:45.7) ending within the prime two spots.
American Liam Meirow topped the rostrum of the boys’s race in 40:42, adopted by Justino Luz Coronado (41:24) and Jesus Quiroz de la Cruz (41:51) of Mexico.
