Canadians have been on poutine fire at the start of the 2025 trail running season, posting up some of the most impressive performances of the season in some of the biggest North American races. Here are my picks for the best of the bunch so far this season (Jan-Apr. 2025).
CRITERIA
Here in Canada, the trail season has barely begun. Trail des Bois Duchesnay acts as something of a kick-off in Quebec in May, and Sulphur Springs acts as the first competitive trail race in Ontario even later in May. BC has enjoyed Run Ridge Run and Diez Vista, but that’s about it as far as Canada goes.
So when it comes to picking the top performances in the first quarter of the year, we have to expand the search to be the biggest races in the States, and the start of world circuits like World Trail Majors, Golden Trail and the Skyrunning World Series. The main races with a strong Canadian presence included the following:
- Black Canyon
- Chuckanut 50K
- Gorge Waterfalls
- Canyons
That is mostly where the attention will therefore fall, before the trail season truly kicks off in Canada this May.
In addition to scanning races, I’ve also created my own scoring system, since ITRA is silly and UTMB is weird. Men and women are scored with equal measures in this system, based solely around course records and finishing time. I think quantifying a trail running performance is pretty senseless. But at the very least, comparing finishing time against the respective course records can give an “objective” score between races.
The only race that needed additional calibrations was Chuckanut, as the racing conditions made for significantly slower times this year. With that, let’s start there.
JADE BELZBERG – CHUCKANUT 50K 🥇
Jade rocked through terrible conditions at Chuckanut to finish top of a stacked field, ahead of several top-tier women (including Sarah Biehl and Claire Devoe that had to drop out due to the cold).
While it was a slower day than normal due to the conditions, winning the Chuckanut 50K is a big deal. It even turned out to be a precursor for what was to come between her and Klaire Rhodes at Gorge later on.
JADE BELZBERG – GORGE WATERFALLS 100K 🥈
Out of all the performances to feature on this list, this was the highest score that my system produced. In large part because Jade smashed the course record at the Gorge Waterfalls 100K, only to be beat by Shea Aquilano. For someone to come into the race saying they hadn’t completely mastered the 100K distance yet, Jade completely hit this one out of the Waterpark. Our World’s team will be in safe hands with her in the VK and Short-Trail.
ROBYN MILDREN – LAKE SONOMA 50-MILE 🥉
Robyn picks her races wisely, and that meant she shocked many unfamiliar with her line of work at the Lake Sonoma 50-Mile. And while it was impressive, this was a routine 50-Mile podium for Robyn, only amplifying her resume for our Canadian long-trail World’s team later this year.
Robyn held on with eventual winner and course record breaker Tara Dower for the majority of the first half of the race, finishing strong to best many Americans onto the podium by the end.
MARIANNE HOGAN – CANYONS 100K 🥈
Marianne Hogan is possibly the best trail runner Canada has to offer, and it seemed destined that she’d get a Golden Ticket at the Canyons 100K this year. But to finish in 9h50, almost ten minutes faster than second-place Emkay Sullivan’s time of last year, is pretty dang impressive. Fighting to the end with one of the most consistent Western States performers in Emily Hawgood is a great sign for how she’ll fare in the race this summer, and a sign that she’s truly back from her injury issues of previous years.
NICOLE LACIS – CANYONS 50K 5️⃣
Back in March, I passed by Nicole as she soared up a pretty gnarly climb in Mount Seymour en route to a comfortable victory at a local tune-up prior to Canyons. She had all the energy in the world to say hi as we passed each other, and I’ve been eyeing her Strava since – putting in some serious work around North Vancouver to get fit for Canyons.
But to end up in fifth, three minutes behind Heather Jackson, takes some doing. It looks like she got absolutely everything out of herself at the race, and the finishing GAP is pretty dang close to my own GAP 50K best in a trail race. With a trajectory of 11th at Chuckanut and 9th at Squamish last year, this is a wild personal best from Nicole and should put her on watch for the Short Trail team at Worlds this year.
LISA PERRETT – DIEZ VISTA 50K 🥇
I don’t know much about the BC racing scene yet, but I know that Suzanne Evans’ record times at the Diez Vista 50K have stood since 2006 and 2007, where she ran 4:43 two years in a row. Lisa Perrett ran 4:45 to set the fastest time in nearly two decades this year, narrowly besting that course record and taking down an impressive run by Jenny Quilty in the process. Following a win at Run Ridge Run 25K, Lisa is two-for-two at Coast Mountain races so far this year.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Kalie McCrystal (Acantilados del Norte Skyrace – 7️⃣), Arden Young (Canyons 100K – 7️⃣), Emilie Mann (Black Canyon 100K – 🔟), Melodie Gilbert (Black Canyon 50K – 8️⃣), Carol-Ann Rolle (Canyons 50K – 7️⃣).
Let me know if I missed anyone and your thoughts! Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Rhys Desmond 