“Thanks for a great race. My first 50k and it was TOUGH! But amazing. Great venue, great sponsors, and the trail is absolutely outstanding. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!” wrote competitor Janelle Jespersen-Schultz of the Black Spur Ultra run in Kimberley this past weekend.
The Ultra features races of 54 and 108 kilometres, and the times turned in by the winners are absolutely amazing.
The top female runner in the 54 K won in 5 hours, 37 minutes; top male Eric Reyes in 5 hours, 28 minutes. The 108 K distance was won by Mandi Goudie in 16 hours, 41 minutes and Bruno Bergeron in 14 hours, 36 minutes.
Race organizer Brian Gallant of Sinister Sports says the race went very well.
“We had a number of elite runners who said they were really impressed with both the course and the area itself. A number of new course records were set, including the Women’s 54k, the Men’s 54k, the Women’s 108k, and the 108k Relay. The response across the board was all positive. We did have a few people affected by the heat, a few scrapes from tripping, and the usual rolled ankles. Other than that there were few medical incidents, which is great from our standpoint.”
This was the second year the Black Spur Ultra was run on Kimberley’s trails and Gallant says it will be back.
“We plan to be back next year. We expect the race to grow again, hopefully to 400 runners this time.”