Canadians put on a stand-out performance at this weekend’s Gorge Waterfalls 100K race in Oregon, with not only two runners hitting the podium, but another four cracking the top 10 in the men’s and women’s races.
The Gorge Waterfalls event, hosted by Daybreak Racing and Freetrail, has 30K, 50K and 100K events, with the 100K serving as a Western States 100 qualifier. The 100K race has runners traversing an out-and-back course in the Columbia River Gorge area, with an elevation gain of 3,352 metres. This year’s event had a strong Canadian contingent among both the deep elite field and the regular runners.
100K
Women’s race
Cochrane, Alta.’s Ailsa MacDonald charged to second place on the women’s side in 10:01:57, leading for most of the race before being overtaken by American ultrarunner Lotti Brinks, who earned the top spot on the podium (and sixth overall) in 9:53:56. Seattle-based Kristina Randup took in third in 10:14:54.
MacDonald told Canadian Running she was very happy with her race. “Stunning course! It was tough but so worth it,” she said. “Awesome atmosphere!” MacDonald, 43, had a stand-out season in 2023, taking seventh place at UTMB 171K and wins at Elk Valley Ultra 50K and Shushwap Ultra 100K (among others).
Canadians claimed several other top 10 spots in the women’s race, with Chilliwack’s Andrea Tarras (who won the women’s race at Hurt 100 in Hawaii in January) running a strong race for fourth place in 10:18:56. Tarras notably won the notorious Fat Dog 120 in 2023.
Abbotsford, B.C.’s Jenny Quilty took sixth in 10:54:22, fresh off a fourth-place finish at the highly competitive 2024 Black Canyon Ultra in mid-February. Quilty, whose first 100K race was Gorge Waterfalls in 2017, told Canadian Running that the course tests all of runners’ skills, with “really exciting challenges, with big, but runnable, climbs, fast descents and the odd pocket of rocky technical work.” Kate Butcher of North Vancouver finished ninth in 11:36:29.
Men’s race
Washington native Adam Loomis topped the men’s podium in 8:44:12, with Quebec’s Elliot Cardin taking second in 8:58:30 and Pennsylvania’s Andrew Simpson in third in 9:42:37.
Cardin told Canadian Running his race strategy was “to hold behind a bit and make my move to second, and that’s what I did perfectly.” Cardin, who had a strong training build but struggled with some hip and leg pain in the final days before the event, said he was happy with his race. He is part of the elite field toeing the line at this year’s Quebec Mega Trail 100-miler in July.
Calgary’s Brandon Miller took ninth place in 10:36:40, and Canadian men also took spots 11-14.
Find full results for all of the 2024 Gorge Waterfalls events by clicking here.
