Next weekend, I will compete on the grandest stage of Canadian trail running. It will be not only the most competitive trail race I’ve ever done, but what I’m proclaiming to be the most competitive trail race in Canadian history.
The Squamish 50K next Sunday will feature 600 trail runners, including the course record holders at every single Squamish distance. By my estimations, about twenty men will be vying for just two spots on the Short-Trail Canadian National Team. Of those twenty, you could create an entire top ten list of men that have already represented Canada in the past.
Again, this will be the most competitive trail race on Canadian soil. Ever.
In my own mind, I had always planned on participating in Squamish and Quebec (the two most competitive Canadian trail races) in my second year in the sport (this year). The goal would have been to be about top five in both races. I took an early fall in Quebec and changed my race strategy from there out, finishing a super respectable 7th place with a super respectable time.
But Squamish. Oh, Squamish. This will be a different level. A different level than having three world-class men to contend against for the podium (like QMT). This time, that number is closer to ten.
If I wanted to truly make a crack at the top five, it would probably be one of the most daunting things I’ve ever done. Some combination of Sam Hendry, Samuel Poher, Brandon Gardiner, Alexandre Ricard, Charlie Sikkema, Joshua Potvin, Chris Levesque-Savard, and Karl Augsten would have to blow up for it to even be a conversation.
If you were going to construct a list of the best athletes in the country, it would essentially be the same list. Most of the ones missing from that list (like Chris Balestrini and Marcus Ribi) are doing the 50-Mile. There’s even a trio of Quebec guys (Jean-Philippe Thibodeau, Dany Racine and David Jeker) that were all part of the long-trail team in Austria last summer, hoping to reclaim their spot.
I listened to an interview with one of our track sprinters Christopher Morales-Williams, who said he didn’t really feel like he belonged at the Olympics, but had to give himself the chance of feeling like he belonged. Racing in BC for the first time, after about five weeks of injury issues since Quebec, I feel more inclined at this point to not even worry about belonging. Instead, to focus on the adventure of racing against some of the greatest trail runners in the country, in a beautiful landscape, in a historic race.
The test of whether or not I belong in the same breath as those names will be a conversation for after the race… (or not at all, because one race doesn’t really define anything).
Nevertheless, as a fan of the sport, I am excited for my front-row seat to both the 50-Mile and 50K next weekend. I thought it would be fitting to share my Fantasy Freetrail picks for each race, and an in-depth look into the men’s field at the Squamish 50K this year.
50-MILE
MEN:
1. Marcus Ribi
2. Chris Balestrini
3. Jean-Philippe Thibodeau
4. Dany Racine
5. David Jeker
WOMEN:
1. Priscilla Forgie
2. Robyn Mildren
3. Sara Bergen
4. Alicia Woodside
5. Heidi Frehlich
50K
WOMEN:
1. Jade Belzberg
2. Elisa Morin
3. Tanis Bolton
4. Shannon Penway
5. Nicole Lacis
50K – MEN
SAM HENDRY
UTMB Index: 873 (🍁 – 1st)
Sam Hendry might as well be the Golden Boy of Canadian trail running at the moment. He broke onto the scene two years ago with two back to back top-ten finishes at Broken Arrow and Stranda Fjord, as if being a world-class skiier wasn’t already enough. What has he done lately? Fourth at Mammoth last September is his most outrageous result, but his recent second-place at the Speedgoat 50K is equally impressive.
On Strava, Sam did however mention something about Leadville. The two races are on the same weekend, and a 100-miler would make for an odd choice as a tune-up for a 50K the next day.
BRANDON GARDINER
UTMB Index: 810 (🍁 – 19th)
The 50K course record holder happens to be back for another year, one year after racing 4h45. With the competitiveness of the field, the course record is certainly in jeopardy again this year, and Brandon would be one that could reclaim it himself. He’s finished fourth in the 50-miler twice, and with his win last year in the 50K, the BC runner has a ton of experience on the course.
Recent results would also point to Brandon being in the form of his life. 7th at Chuckanut and 10th at the Canyons 100K are both just about as good as winning Squamish, especially when beating some of the same men in the field.
ALEXANDRE RICARD
UTMB Index: 789 (🍁 – 30th)
Alexandre Ricard is probably the next most decorated runner in the field behind Sam Hendry. He holds the 23K course record, won the U.S. Mountain Running Championships last year at Sunapee, and finished about 100 places ahead of me when we last raced at the 2016 National Cross Country Championships. Did I mention he lives in Squamish?
KARL AUGSTEN
UTMB Index: 849 (🍁 – 6th)
As if it’s not already insane enough to have both the 50K and 23K record holders in the field, Karl Augsten decided to drop-down from the 50-Mile and join the fun. He’s stuck to shorter races this year in preparation for Squamish, and recently said on Strava that most of his training has been flat (he’s hit 15,000m of climbing in the last five weeks).
JOSH POTVIN
UTMB Index: 838 (🍁 – 8th)
I’m sure he would have wanted more at Wy’East Trail Fest last month, but Josh Potvin is fit right now. 9th at the Canyons 50K is an immensely impressive result, and he’ll be hoping to pick up from where he left off two years ago. What’s that I say? When he earned his spot onto the Canadian team for Innsbruck with a second-place finish at the 2022 Squamish 50K.
SAMUEL POHER
UTMB Index: 821 (🍁 – 16th)
Samuel Poher is one of my personal favourite runners in the field, as a fellow XACT ambassador, and a short-trail specialist. He normally rocks and rolls on the 20-25K trail races, but also has the pedigree of a win at the UTHC 65K in 2022. Playing it safe with the construction of his race calendar this year, his most recent result of a win in May at the Trail Coureur Des Bois 34K bodes well.
CHARLIE SIKKEMA
UTMB Index: 771 (🍁 – 49th)
I first came across Charlie’s name as the record holder of the Sulphur Springs 50K – a record I thought would never be broken until Rob nearly did this year. Then I found out that he also had the record at Ontario’s other best race to do – the Falling Water Trail Marathon. Then I found out I’d be competing against him this year at Squamish and cried.
Charlie recently put himself on the map at Wy’East against some of the best in North America, placing fifth. Oh. And he finished fourth in the 50-Miler last year. He’d be a sleeper pick on the Fantasy Freetrail charts this year, but one that could certainly finish on the podium.
CHRISTOPHER LEVESQUE-SAVARD
UTMB Index: 803 (🍁 – 21st)
It might seem strange to suggest that there are nearly eight locked in picks for the top ten this year, but I think Christopher Levesque-Savard has to make the cut too. He basically finishes first or second at every sub-ultra race he does, including silver at the QMT-25K and the 20K, 28K and 42K distances at UTHC. 50K is longer for him on the grand scope of his race results, but an impressive showing at the Trail La Clinique Du Coureur 50K in June clearly shows he’s up for the challenge.
Other Top 10 Contenders: Shaun Stephens-Whale, Mitchell Valic, Amir Ahmadbeigi, Liam Hobbs, Michael Nangle, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Brayden Mills, Riley Webb.
And that’s just the Canadians.
So with that, I now prepare to compete against the most illustrious field ever assembled at a trail race in Canada. Injury doubts might call into question how I’m set to perform, but I hope we all have fun.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Rhys Desmond 