Haney Harrison 100Km

Saturday, November 5th, 2005
Harrison Hot Springs, BC, Canada



Darin Bentley of Surrey, BC, in his first 100Km and only his second
ultra, ran a steady and consistent race for a come from behind win in
this year's Haney Harrison 100Km in a time of 8:18:01 This was the
second year in a row where this race has been won by a top Ironman
triathlete stepping up to the 100Km distance. Second place went to
Richard Webb of Calgary in 8:46:38, who knocked an hour and 12
minutes off his previous year's time. Third place was captured by
early leader Hardial Singh Athwal of North Delta in a very creditable
time of 8:52:49 in his very first ultra.

Wendy Montgomery of Brackendale won the women's race for the third
consecutive year in a time of 9:19:29. Her performance at this race
has been remarkably consistent with all three successive wins being
within a ten minute time window. Second place in the women's race in
a time of 10:29:41 went to Christin Collishaw who also was competing
in her first ultra.

This year saw two runners finish the race for the fifth time. Former
race winner Rob Wall of Courtenay and Leland Wakelin of Surrey,
became the 5th and 6th runners to achieve this milestone.

However, one of the more memorable performances was turned in by 71
year old Roger RouFosse who completed the race in 14:39:34 to become
the oldest finisher in the history of the race. Roger finished the
race in high spirits, telling jokes to the volunteers as he crossed
the finish line. This was also Roger's first 100Km race although he
has been an age group winner at a number of marathons.

The course consists of paved highways following British Columbia's
scenic Sasquatch Drive. Starting just outside Vancouver in Maple
Ridge, the course winds its way over rolling hills, passing through
Mission and into the lush farmlands of the Fraser Valley enroute to
the finish in the idyllic resort community of Harrison Hot
Springs. This year's race weather was almost perfect for running,
with temperatures in the mid 40's and relatively dry conditions
(other than some early rain at the start).

Of course, if it wasn't for the volunteers, nobody would be running
at all. This year, Cheryl Johnson came out to spend her day on the
course helping others, and adventure racers Brett and Kyla Adams
sacrificed a training day to see just how much fun ultrarunners can
have. After all, we do this for fun ... right ? Veteran race
announcer Steve King was on hand for the full day from the very first
finisher to the very last finisher announcing the arrival of each
runner. And of course, I can't forget my own wife, Cathy, who just
loves =:-0 to spend the day standing around in the cold in November
making sure that each of the runners is looked after. The race is
held in conjunction with the Haney Harrison road relay. The efforts
of relay race management made the whole event possible and the
contributions of Jerry Tighe, Greg White and Brian McCalder cannot go
unnoticed.

This race was first conceived and started in 1997, because at that
time there were relatively few ultra races on the calendar. In our
first year, we had 14 finishers. That year, a week before the race
we only had 6 people signed up. So, it is very gratifying this year
to have the biggest field ever in the history of the race with 42
starters and 37 finishers. It is also very gratifying to see how
many first time ultra runners have successfully conquered the 100Km
distance, not only this year, but over the 9 year history of the event.



Ron Adams
H2H 100K Ultra Event Co-Ordinator