© Copyright – 2020 – Athletics Illustrated

Catrin Jones of Victoria, BC, known for her 50K short ultra specialisation, branched out to the 50-mile (80.467K) distance Sunday to attempt the Canadian record. She came, she ran and she accomplished her goal.

Catrin Jones breaks the 50-mile record in the time of 6:09:11. She just high-fived Bob Reid race director, who set masters records in ultra-marathon himself, both representing the Prairie Inn Harriers. Photo credit: Joseph Camilleri, who had run the 50K distance at 70 years of age at the event.

Jones took the previous F40 50-mile Canadian record by 5 minutes and 45 seconds.

The measured loop road course on Ring Road at the University of Victoria is 1916.1
metres. In order for Jones to run precisely 50 Miles, it required 42 complete circuits
around the course with the first lap being 8.2 metres shorter than the remaining 41 laps.

Splits:

1 8:40 22 3:12:23
2 17:30 23 3:21:09
3 26:12 24 3:29:55
4 34:59 25 3:38:40
5 43:42 26 3:47:24
6 52:38 27 3:56:11
7 1:01:33 28 4:05:02
8 1:10:21 29 4:13:51
9 1:19:17 30 4:22:39
10 1:27:52 31 4:31:32
11 1:36:35 32 4:40:25
12 1:45:21 33 4:49:17
13 1:53:54 34 4:58:14
14 2:02:40 35 5:07:12
15 2:11:15 36 5:16:06
16 2:19:58 37 5:25:11
17 2:28:45 38 5:34:16
18 2:37:22 39 5:43:10
19 2:46:05 40 5:52:04
20 2:54:49 41 6:00:56
21 3:03:37 42 6:09:11

“I finally had the opportunity to run a solid 50-mile event and break the Canadian record. Three of us started the Ultra, and nine others joined for shorter events,” said Jones via social media. “I will be ever so grateful to everyone who came to cheer. To those who biked around and around in order to keep us safe on the road. To my family. To my friends…”

Jones has competed in several world 50K championships and has won the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon.

Keeping up with the Jones. On our left is 19-time Canadian champion Lucy Smith, Race Director Bob Reid and Catrin Jones. Photo credit: Joseph Camilieri.

Justin Kent’s half Marathon

Justin Kent, who was scheduled to compete in the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, ran a solo time trial effort at home instead. Athletics Canada chose to keep the team home due to the spike in coronavirus cases throughout Europe.

Kent ran a new personal best in Vancouver’s Stanley Park in the time of 1:02.31. Run as a time trial, the best is not official.

Kent after breaking the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon 8K course and event record during the 2019 running of the event. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall/Athletics Illustrated

In September, the 28-year-old narrowly missed breaking the Comox Valley Half Marathon course record by running a 64:20 to qualify for Worlds. The standard was 65:46.

The Canadian record is 61:28 by Jeff Schiebler from 1999. Kent is now within striking distance of that time.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR