2001 - Year 8

For the eighth consecutive year, the hard core of southwestern BC's ultrarunning community got together for a little resolution run around Vancouver and a dip in the Pacific. Under sunny skies and with temperatures in the teens, conditions for this years event were epic.

The out-and-back course started on the trails in downtown Stanley Park then followed the paved seawalk to the Burrard Bridge. It then contoured Kitsilano Point, followed Point Grey Road to Jericho Beach before cutting back into the trails of Pacific Spirit Park near the University of British Columbia.

As in previous years, the actual distances run by the finishers varied from 45K to 55K. Fast boys Randy Hunter and Matt Sessions turned right instead of left at a key junction in Pacific Spirit Park and ran up to UBC before recognizing their error. Bonus miles. There was some of the usual whining and complaining that the course was long, but these comments generally came from the same party animals who claimed to have been up all night celebrating the new year. The good news is that fewer runners than in previous years got lost on the way back on the Stanley Park trails thanks to innovative use of flour at key intersections.

Top finisher Randy Hunter was interviewed by a local television station and was stumped by the question, "Why is this event called the Fat Ass?" Obviously, Randy had not read the race website (http://www.araucana.com/fatass/) as the answer to this question and which way to turn at the Pipeline Trail were hidden within. As Randy, Michael Wardas and Ean Jackson headed down to Burrard Inlet for the Freeze Your Fat Ass polar bear swim, the reporter scratched her head and was overheard commenting about the guy's bums not being all that fat!

This year's field was fairly evenly divided between veterans, newbies and skinny asses out to run part of the 50K distance. Runners, family and friends regrouped at Earl's Restaurant, just over the Lions Gate bridge in North Vancouver afterward. Many thanks to Earl's for sponsoring the prize: a pitcher of Albino Rhino Ale.

Ean Jackson

2001 Vancouver Fat-Ass 50 Results

Total Starters: 31
Total Finishers: 18