Knee Knacker 2012 press release

For Immediate Release

West Vancouver, British Columbia – The Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run is at hand once again, bringing together a field of some of the world’s top ultra-marathoners to run 30 miles on the trails of West and North Vancouver. The twenty-fourth edition of the Knee Knacker takes place on Saturday, July 14, 2012, starting at Horseshoe Bay and ending at Panorama Park in Deep Cove.

This year’s race will have a new men’s winner, as the top three 2011 finishers are not returning to challenge for the title. Some of the potential leaders are seven-time winner and former course record holder Peter Findlay of Kamloops, Phil Villeneuve of Canmore, Alberta, and a pair of previous fourth-place finishers, Ryan Ervin (2011) of North Vancouver and Gary Robbins (2010) of North Vancouver. In the women’s field, the 2011 second-place finisher, Lisa Polizzi of Vancouver, is back, and she’ll be facing strong competition from Brooke Spence of North Vancouver and the 2009 Western States 100 winner, Anita Ortiz of Eagle, Colorado. In total, over 350 entrants applied to the March lottery to attain one of the coveted 200 spots at the starting line.

The roots of the race trace back to an original field of eight participants in 1989, when the sport of ultra-marathoning (races longer than a 26.2 mile marathon) had not yet reached the level of popularity it has now. While there are races over distances longer than the Knee Knacker’s 30 miles, not many are tougher in North America. Over the years top ultra-marathoners have challenged themselves in what is referred to as the “knarliest” trail race in Canada. However, the great appeal of the race is that it caters to runners of all levels testing the limits of their endurance and not just elite competitors.

As one of Canada’s largest ultra-marathon races, it takes participants from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove along the 30-mile (48.6 km) Baden-Powell trail. Runners go up, over, and around the major North Shore mountains – Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour – gaining over 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) in elevation along the way for a total elevation change of over 16,000 feet (4,800 meters). With the North Shore’s unique weather conditions, runners can expect snowpack at the peaks of the mountains they will be climbing, followed by a descent into hot and humid conditions on the lower sections later in the course.

In 2012, Ean Jackson will be going for his 20^th running of the Knee Knacker. If successful, he will be the fourth person to do so. As well, six athletes are registered to run the Knee Knacker for their tenth time: Russ Chore, Bernie Dalby, Jon Fleming, Gottfried Grosser, Kenneth Macleod, and Patricia Jensen. This feat has been accomplished by only 39 others to date.

The race starts at 6:00am Saturday, July 14 just above Horseshoe Bay at Exit #4 off of Westport Road, and all runners must arrive at the Panorama Park beach by the race cut-off time of 4:00pm. The following is an estimated schedule of where and when to catch the runners in action:

A schedule of race activities is available at www.kneeknacker.com and members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend any or all of the activities posted. A good opportunity to meet the runners is at the registration and race briefing on Friday, July 13th from 5:30 to 8:00pm at the Parkgate Community Centre, located at 3625 Banff Court in North Vancouver.

The Knee Knacker is a volunteer-run, non-profit race that has donated over $55,000 to local community organizations since its inception. Proceeds from this year’s race will benefit the North Shore Search and Rescue (NSR) team. To make your own donation to NSR, visit the Knee Knacker site. For further information, please contact:

Kelsy Trigg,
Knee Knacker Race Director,
604-787-8097, rd@kneeknacker.com