Can’t sleep?
Neither can we. Here are some of the storylines we’re looking forward to in the Stage 7 marathon.
Who will be the most improved?
This is a tough one, with so many to choose from. After Stage 6, the top 5 are:
- Rebecca sits 1:18:13 ahead of her 2017
- Wilf sits 1:14:42 ahead of his 2017
- Ian sits 46:08 ahead of his 2017
- Ashley sits 29:20 ahead of her 2017
- Valery sits 19:08 ahead of her 2017
Also very notable is the leader in this category, Sara, whose 1:19:13 lead is over Sara-with-a-pack of 2017!
Hottest podium races
Valery has a lead of 7:10 and a lot of ENDURrun and marathon experience. Robyn has never run a marathon before. How is the two-loop marathon course going to play out? The Ultimate championship is up for grabs. Valery would be the oldest ever Ultimate champion, besting Joanne Bink’s win at 44 in 2011.
Men’s 3rd place has even more unpredictability, with 2:47 separating third, fourth, and fifth. Christian holds 3rd and has finished 3rd in each of his two previous Ultimate weeks. Nick has Relay motivations (more below). Dave is only 6 seconds behind Nick, and will debut for the marathon distance tomorrow.
Eyes on #ENDURrob
A three-peat has been accomplished on the men’s and women’s side, but a four-peat is unprecedented at ENDURrun. Robert can make it happen tomorrow. Bob Jackman still leads with 5 all-time championships.
A sub plot to Rob’s race is him vs his previous times. In a mixed year for him, including a breakthrough Stage 3, he is sandwiched between his best and second best times.
Who doesn’t love a close battle?
After 117.8 km of racing, it can come down to mere metres. Here are all of the battles that are currently under one minute:
- Dave is 6 seconds behind Nick
- Sara is 11 seconds behind Maria
- Sharon is 25 seconds behind Brian
- Thaddeus is 30 seconds behind Conner
- Jack is 33 seconds behind Lumi
- Ian is 55 seconds behind Robyn
A one minute is half of a second per kilometre to this point. Some of these won’t be decided until 40+ km tomorrow.
H+P continues to dominate the Relay
The ENDURrun would not be what it is today without Health + Performance going all-in year after year. We have been glued to their team battles all week. Here is the cheat sheet:
Women’s A can beat their own female ENDURrun record tomorrow. Vicki would need to run 3:29:15.
Masters Men’s A can beat their own masters ENDURrun record tomorrow. Merzi would need to run 3:15:43.
Men’s A holds the 4th best time (from 2015) and has a shot at beating that time if Nick can run a 2:55:46. We say … go for it!
Funatics needs a 3:40:04 marathon from Brian Vandermey to beat the Funatics of 2017!
Rookies on the run
Of the 45 Ultimates in the race tomorrow, 17 will complete their first #OneToughRunner. All the best to Aidan, Anne, Brian, Chris Ladubec, Conner, Dave, Debbie, Dorothy, Josh, Lumi, Maria, Mark Ishikawa, Matt, Meaghan, Robert Baxter, Robyn, and Sharon. Enjoy every minute of it!
For the top Rookie prizes, Aidan and Robyn both have approximately half hour leads over Dave and Lumi respectively.
Stage record prize money yet unclaimed
It hasn’t been earned yet this week, but don’t forget that there is $100 up for grabs for an Ultimate who breaks a previous Stage record. The men’s 2:32:42 (Charles Bedley 2004) and the women’s 3:08:54 (Joanne Bink 2011) are both in play for a few of our Ultimates if things go really well tomorrow.
See ya next year!
Nine of the athletes completing an Ultimate tomorrow – Jack, Merlin, Deirdre, Rebecca, Mark M, Denis, Ronald, Christian, and Aidan – are already signed up for 2019. Good luck! To the rest of the signups, especially 2019 Rookies, we recommend you follow along closely and pick up as much advice as you can!
Signing off now. Remember we have a live stream and 21.1k splits going up for you to follow along. Better yet, join us at Conestogo Community Park or along the route.
Good luck to Lloyd and the setup crew who are on site in less than two hours from the time of publication!