dec 26-jan 03, 2016
Across The Years Ultramarathon

What an interesting event and results.  Marathon Matters members may not know that we have two very accomplished multi-day runners in the club - Christian Riegel and Katherine Robinson.  In a Mobius-strip kind of way,  Chris and Katherine introduced Jen Ruland to the format of timed race on a short loop course, and in return Jen Ruland prepared their training programs and coached the two of them.  And here's the best part - all three nabbed PRs at Across the Years!

The Across the Years event is held on a 1.05 mile loop, for four different events - 24 hour, 48 hour, 72 hour and 6 days.  Each runner has that allotted time to amass as much distance possible - they can stop to eat or sleep, but as race organizers say, the clock is always running.

Chris Riegel, 2nd Man in 72 hour event, 295.66 km

Katherine Robinson, 3rd Woman in 72 hour event, 250.05 km

Jen Ruland, 6th Woman, 2nd W30-39 in 24 hour event, 167.26 km

Congrats all, we are super proud of you!

Jon's Excellent Winter Adventure, January 2016

Jon Paradowski has excelled even his own standard of gutsiness at ultra running.  Jon recently attempted a duo of two winter extreme races, and sadly DNF'd in both.  However, these DNFs deserve to be celebrated!  The first was the Tuscobia Winter ultra marathon on January 8 - 160 MILES on the Tuscobia Trail in Wisconsin.  The race is "loosely supported" - in addition to being held in extreme temperatures, pulling your survival supplies on a sled, having to do some way-finding, and being really, really long, racers are not allowed a crew.  In fact, Jon said that he went 14 hours without seeing a soul.

The second race was the Arrowhead Ultra 135 (again, MILES!) on January 30 on the Arrowhead State snowmobile trail in northern Minnesota.  This 135 mile doozy is considered to be one of the 50 toughest ultras in the world.  Again, it requires racers to pull all their survival supplies with them, do some way finding, be self sufficient, and make their way through a trail that is termed "extremely rugged".  It is considered to be one of the world's most gruelling ultras, of course for its length, but also for its history of brutally cold temperatures, often lower than -40.  Ironically, it was made tougher this year because of warm weather.  Runners had to wade through melting snow, slipping on every footfall, and suffering wet feet for over 12 hours.  After that, it cooled off and firmed up the trail, but the amount of energy it took to pull a sled and the rough conditions of all the runners feet made 2016 one of the toughest in the race's history.

So here's why Jon's results should be celebrated.  In Regina, all through December, Jon prepared madly - he tested his new sled, different footwear, stoves, headlights, even slept outdoors.  He lasted 29 hours in the first race, and 30 hours in the second race, amassing a distance much further than most races full distances - these endurance times were both PRs for him.  He suffered extreme cold, falling asleep as he ran, sometimes even waking up as he was falling down, trench foot like you'd see in WW I, loneliness and doubt, and severe ankle tendonitis making each footstep agonizing.  And of course, he signed up in the first place.  Go Jon, keep on living big!

Feb 14, 2016
IMS Arizona Half-Marathon, Glendale AZ

Three top-ten age group places for the Jaleta Pacers in Arizona!  Gerry Nagy won the men's 50-54 age group, and the men's master's division (40-90+) in a time of 1:20:27.  Diana Nagy was second in the women's 50-54 age group in 1:46:36, and Lorne Boyle finished 7th in Men's 55-59 in 1:51:13.

Feb 20, 2016
Orlando Xtreme Half Marathon, Florida

Wow, our Presidente, Cari Bode was second woman overall, and first in the Women's 40 age group at the half marathon in a time of 1:40:42!

February 15, 2016
Frozen Ass 50k, Calgary

This Frozen Ass wasn't so frozen!  Jan Steenkamp reported that runners were wearing shorts and Ts!  Jan and Tania Diener finished the 50 k in 6:06:20, finishing as 9th woman and 30th man!  Congrats, you machines!

Tokyo Marathon, Feb 28, 2016

Milos Kostic finished his 5th of the 6 World Major Marathons in Tokyo, clocking 3:33:05.  For some reason, it is difficult to find age placings...but someone reported that he was 3rd in the Mens 70-74 division.  One more major to go...

March 13, 2016
Barcelona MarathoN

Mike and Gay Renouf completed the Barcelona marathon, adding a new country to their marathon tally, in a time of 4:24:53.

April 2, 2016
Beyond Limits Ultra 24 hr, Mountain Center CA

Katherine Robinson and Christian Riegel got a double win at this timed event on a two mile loop.  Katherine won the trophy for top woman with 80 miles, and Chris won the overall men's trophy, again with 80 miles.  Sweet accomplishment, congrats!

April 10, 2016
Blooms to Brews Marathon, Woodland, WA

Our President, Cari Bode, nabbed a new state and a great time at this marathon in Washington.  She ran 3:38:16 and won her age division of W40-44, also placing 7th Woman.  Here's Cari's race report:

If you’re looking for somewhere new to attempt a spring PR, I highly recommend this event.  It’s a quick 30 min drive from Portland, OR.  Scenic & beautiful, mostly rural course along the Columbia river, flat, sea level, and the weather was perfect – around 10 degrees Celsius, overcast, no wind.  All of the perks of a small race, including the host hotel a few blocks from the start/finish, and a post-race party to rival larger events, where finishers were treated to choice of several local beers on tap & a hot meal (bbq beef or a vegan option). There were several pacers, and I ran with the 3:30 group until a foot issue at mile 18. 

May 1, 2016
Vancouver Marathon 

Congrats to the Vancouver marathon and half-marathon finishers.  Here are all the Regina finishers, and the Marathon Matters members who finished the half-marathon:

Carly Graham, 4:43:10, 188th W25-29

Donna Jackson, 5:03:21, 112th W45-49

Dhon Gumban, 5:06:51, 276th M30-34

Half-Marathon

Bradley Hanowski, 2:38:21, 249th M50-54

Colleen Kozan, 2:42:25, 78th W60-64

May 7, 2016
Revel Mt Charleston, Las Vegas

Jennifer Evancio ran the Mt Charleston in a time of 4:13:28, placing 36th in the Women's 40-44 age group.  Yay, Jennifer!

May 6-7, 2016
Spruce Woods Ultra, Manitoba

Regina sent an incredibly strong 31-runner contingent to this lovely Manitoba trail race.  The trails are not mountainous at all, but the relentless up-and-down sharp hills takes its toll.  Our runners had some fantastic results.  Congratulations to all the runners, and special mentions to: Jon Paradowski for setting a new PR in the 100 mile race; Sean Reidy for being the gutsiest runner around in completing his first 100 km; Conor Renouf for winning the 50 mile; Blaine Whitney for winning the 50 km; and Robert McLeod, Brianna Hodges, Shelley Cook, and Marsha Crossman for becoming official Ultra-runners!

April 24, 2016
London Marathon

Milos Kostic placed 3rd out of 151 men in the 70-79 age group at the London marathon in 3:25:39.  This is the sixth and final race in the World Marathon Majors series that Kostic has completed - they are the Boston marathon, Berlin marathon, Chicago marathon, New York City marathon, Tokyo marathon, and now London.  Kostic won his age group in three (Boston, Berlin and Chicago), was 2nd in London, 3rd in Tokyo, and 4th in New York City.  This is a significant achievement because the majors are very large races that attract top competitors, and include many entrants in even the older age categories. 

May 21, 2016
Fargo Marathon

Reports from our Regina runners were that this race was hot, hot, hot!  Congrats to these Regina's for persevering!

May 22, 2016
Blue Nose Marathon, Halifax, NS

Congrats to these Regina runners - great results!  Special congrats to Alvin Yau for a PR and Lana Thompson-Van Eaton for her age group win in the half marathon.

May 29, 2016
Calgary Marathon

The Calgary marathon weekend was an important one for many Regina runners, not least of whom are Marsha Crossman and Jon Paradowski.  Along with Jen Ruland, both were crucial in raising over $2000 for MitoCanada in the Superhero run in April.  That fundraising effort culminated in the marathon weekend when Team Mito athletes set 7 world records on treadmill running.  Congrats to all our other runners too!  Here are the Marathon Matters results for the distances of half-marathon and up.  Special shout out to Justin Cheshire, who has been trying to break the 1:30 mark in the half-marathon for a couple of years - with a lot of hard work and dedication, Justin finally crushed that time.  Jordan Sperling also set a whopping PR in the half.  The Calgary half-marathon was designated as the Canadian Half Marathon national championships - Jordan placed 18th in the Men's race!  

June 5, 2016
Mickelson Trail Marathon, Deadwood, SD

Congrats to Lou Ann Ubell on her marathon finish in 6:55:01 (11th W55-59).  Gareth Dillistone and Peggy Martin Mcguire did the half marathon in respective times of 1:47:41 (6th, Men 50-54) and 3:19:50 (25th W60-64).

June 19, 2016
Manitoba Marathon, Winnipeg

Congrats to all the Regina runners participating in the Manitoba marathon.  Here are the results for all Regina runners in the marathon, and our club members in the half.  Ashley Desjardins pictured below set a PR in the half!

June 17-18, 2016
Big Horn 100 mile race, Wyoming

The Big Horn 100 mile race has been named as the fifth hardest 100 miler in the USA, but fortunately in Regina, we have ultra-runners tough enough to handle it.  It is run at elevations of 4,000 to 9,000 ft, with three huge climbs, up to 4,500 ft.  Jen Ruland, our prolific and accomplished ultra runner, had to drop out at 30 miles after climbing 3,000 ft in the extreme heat.  Jon Paradowski soldiered on to finish in 32:21:03 for 35th place in the Men's 30-39 category.  Well done!

JJune 18, 2016
Summit Run Half Marathon, Prince Albert

Congrats to Robert McLeod, who was second overall at the Summit run in a time of 1:31:39!

June 18-19, 2016
Elijah Bristow 24 hour run, Eugene OR

This is a timed run on a 1.05 mile, mostly dirt, loop with kind grades.  The weather, however, didn't match the gentleness of the course.  Chris Riegel and Katherine Robinson endured a day of wet, wet weather, both amassing 66.4 miles (in 18:43) giving them 8th place for men and 7th place for women.  Congrats to our most prolific ultra runners!

June 19, 2016
Banff Marathon

Congrats to our Regina runners doing the marathon in Banff.  Jan Steenkamp (4:58:46) and Tania Diener in the marathon; and Jim Carlson (1:59:46) and Bradley Hanowski (2:38:30) in the half.

June 26, 2016
Rundle's Revenge, Canmore

Congrats to Matt Ludlow, who finished the 50 km Mountain Mule trail run in 6:12:46, earning 8th in the Open Men's division.

July 9, 2016
Sinister 7 Ultra, Crowsnest Pass

Organizers call this race "f&%$ing tough" and claim that "every year this race puts a few people into the hospital". And they made it harder - the seven stage race is now 161 km and climbs and descends 5687 m with a cutoff time of 30 hours.  But was our Jon Paradowski daunted?  Well, maybe, but he did it anyway!  Jon finished in 28:46:25, finishing 46th.  Congrats Jon, on your finish, and in staying out of the hospital!

July 10, 2016
Missoula Marathon

Our prolific maniacs, Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp, notched another marathon in a new state!  Tania finished the Missoula marathon in 4:55:58 (23rd W50-54) and Jan Steenkamp finished in 5:12:26, good for 39th in M50-54. Congrats

 Aug 13, 2016
Helsinki Marathon, Finland

Jan Steenkamp and Tania Diener added a new country to their marathon list - Tania finished in 4:52:04, good enough for 52nd in W50 and Jan finished in 5:42:20, for 220th in M50.

August 13, 2016
Berlin Wall 100 Miler Germany

Katherine Robinson and Christian Riegel finished the 100Meilen Berlin in identical times of 29:26:43, which gave them 11th and 41st in the Women's 45 and Men's 45, respectively.  It was a grueling race in heat and cobblestones - congratulations - great feat!

Aug 20, 2016
Edmonton Marathon

There were some very noteworthy results at Edmonton this year!  Ashley Desjardins earned her 3rd PR in a row (!!) and qualified for Boston; and Matthew Johnson placed 5th in the Elite Men's category in the half-marathon. At the other extreme, Kelly Munce showed amazing will power and perseverance in finishing the marathon with severe shakes.  Here are the Regina results.

August 21, 2016
Blackspur Ultra, Kimberley BC

Jon Paradowski finished his 4th major ultra trail race of the year!  The Blackspur ultra has 4460 m of climbing and descent in 108 km of trails.  Jon finished in 21:20:17, placing 14th in the Men's division!

August 28, 2016
Quebec City Marathon

The Renoufs joined MM member from afar, Philippe Lacroix, at the Quebec marathon.  Philippe finished in 3:50:39 (28th in M55-59); Gay finished in 3:55:41 (2nd W55-59); and Mike finished in 4:16:34 (30th M60-64).

SEPT  2016
Lost Soul Ultramarathon

Chris Butz and Sean Reidy both finished the famously tough Lost Souls 100 km.  The trail is in the Lethbridge river valley and has 2400 m of climbing and descending.  Chris finished in 19:33:59, placing 16th in the Men's 50+ and Sean was 20th in the Men's 50+ in 24:03:51.  Awesome job, gents.

September 11, 2016
QUeen City Marathon

Congrats to all our club members who finished the QCM races - here are the results links

QCM Marathon Results

Half Marathon Results

Special congrats go to those who finished their first marathon:

    Dan Collier, 4:15:20, 18th M35

Those who set a PR:

    Derek Anaquod, 3:48:23, 8th M30

    Loanne Myrah, 3:59:30, 1st W60

    Shelley Cook, 4:05:50, 7th W40

    Mallory McCormick, 4:47:33, 6th W30

    Doug Best, 5:04:20, 25th M55

    Jordan Sperling, 1:21:28, 1st M25

    Chris Dornstauder, 1:27:49, 3rd M30

    Ally Bonk, 1:39:55, 5th W25

    Tim Schneider, 1:42:36, 6th M55

    Richard Manzon, 1:45:15, 10th M45

    Courtlyn Fazakas, 1:46:38, 7th W20

    Douglas Sellinger, 1:54:40, 25th M50

    Jennifer Brooks, 1:58:27, 26th W35

    Connie Kozak, 2:13:03, 25th W50

    Scott Taylor, 2:20:50, 69th M40

Those who placed in their age groups

    Tracy Fisher, 1st W40, 3:31:36

    Cari Bode, 3rd W40, 3:46:38

    Loanne Myrah, 1st W60

    Kathryn Rachar, 2nd W60, 5:30:30

    Jordan Sperling, 3rd Man, 1st M25

    Chris Dornstauder, 3rd M30

    Bruce McKee, 2nd M70, 1:52:24

    Brenda Udahl, 2nd W60, 1:55:28

Sept 17, 2016
That Dam Hill 24 hour Canadian Championships, London ON

Our Jen Ruland won her age group of W30 at the 24 hour event of That Dam Hill in London, with 142 km.  The race was designated the Canadian championship.  Jen toughed out 10 hours of drenching rain, humidex of 33 degree weather, blisters, chafing, and that dam hill.  The eponymous hill was a steep hill of about 100 feet, requiring the runners to climb and descend it every 2.25 km loop.  Jen is the toughest!!

September 25, 2016
Prairie Summit Run-It Trail Race, Buffalo Pound

Congrats to Katelyn Sperling, who won the women's 25 km race at the Prairie Summit Run-It!  Katelyn ran 2:37:16. The other MM members in the 25 km race were Jason Hubick, 7th Man, in 2:36:51 and Lane Warsylewicz, 19th M, in 3:10:30.  Congrats all!

September 25, 2016
Kitchissippi Trail Run, Ontario

Jon Paradowski finished his 4th major ultra trail race of the year!  The Blackspur ultra has 4460 m of climbing and descent in 108 km of trails.  Jon finished in 21:20:17, placing 14th in the Men's division!Rob McLeod won the men's race in this trail marathon in a time of 3:20.  Rob reports an idyllic run through soft trails and a few gravel roads of the Petawawa forest.  He made it slightly (hmm, slightly,...) harder by preceding it with three other races in the three previous days: 5 k, 10 k and 21 k!

September 18, 2016
Sydney Running Festival Marathon

And now for some completely surprising news...

Some of you might have heard that our local world champion, Milos Kostic, was injured in a bike crash at the World Ironman 70.3 Championships in Mooloolaba, Australia on September 4.  Despite his 15 rib fractures, broken scapula and 4 transverse process fractures,  he finished the remaining 40 km of the bike before accepting a ride to the hospital.  Apparently, recovery went quite well, because he ran the Sydney marathon on September 18, finishing 1st in the Mens 75+ age group with a time of 4:52:31.

Oct 9, 2016
Grizzly Ultra, Canmore, AB

Jeff Dudar finished this challenging trail 50 km race in 6:51:00, placing 26th in the M30-39, and Lane Warsylewicz ran 7:09:10 to place 8th in Men 50-59. Congrats!

Oct 9 ,2016
Okanagan Marathon, Kelowna BC

More great results!! Brenda Stricker and Denise Nelson completed their first marathons! And our President Cari Bode, set a new PR of four minutes ! (last one was four long years ago), finally achieving her long-time goal of a 3:30 time; and placed in her age group.  Cari reported that Kelowna had ideal race conditions - 8 to 10 degrees, partly cloudy with a light breeze.  The marathon course is one of the fastest in Canada, and follows a double loop, running along Okanagan Lake part of the way.  Here are the Regina results. 

Oct 15 and 16, 2016
I-35 Challenge, KS and IA

Congrats to Stehen Whelan who completed the I-35 challenge!  Steve ran the Kansas City half marathon on Saturday in Kansas City, and followed it up with the half in 2:11:01 in Des Moines!

Oct 16, 2016
Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Congrats to our Regina runners who completed this race!

October 23, 2016
Venice marathon, Italy

Lee-Ann and Enio Ricci finished their double-marathon tour of Europe with the Venice marathon two weeks after the York marathon.  Their times were both 5:01:38 (107th in age class for Lee-Ann; 537th in age class for Enio).  Lee-Ann writes that getting to the race start was a bit of an ordeal:  although the race doesn't start until 940, they had to be up at 5 am to catch the shuttle bus, only to wait two hours at the start, sharing ten port potties with 7000 runners, and with insufficient toilet paper!  Lee-Ann described the course as "quite nice, especially running through the towns with plenty of spectators.  Finishing on the island, going through San Marco square was quite exciting....Just bring [your own] TP."

Oct 29-30, 2016
Javelina Jundred Fountain Hills AZ

Jon Paradowski finished his fourth 100-miler of the year, with a 24:17:21 (for 29th place in M30-39) at the Javelina Jundred at McDowell State Park near Phoenix.  Aside from the impressive number of 100s Jon has done this year, this run was doubly impressive owing to his fast time in hot conditions.  Temperatures reached 102 F, making us wonder if the Jundred refers to the distance or the temperature!

November 6, 2016
New York City Marathon

Congrats to all the South Sask runners who did us proud in the NYC marathon!  Here are the results - please send us an email if we missed anyone!