“I bet many of you feel sorry for me. Well, don’t. Having an artificial leg has its advantages. I’ve broken my right knee many times and it doesn’t hurt a bit.” – Terry Fox
Over the past couple of weeks we were focused on Charlotte Vasarhelyi’s successful attempt at breaking the Bruce Trail end-to-end solo speed record. However in late June, we also kept a close eye on the developments at the prestigious Western States Endurance Run in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains of sunny California. As usual, the WS 100 featured an extremely elite field. The top two runners, Geoff Roes (15:07:04) and Anton Krupicka (15:13:52) both broke Scott Jurek’s course record, and we were treated to many, many other Monumental Efforts.
Tracy cruising at WS 100
Any runner who even toes the line at this event has sacrificed much to dedicate hours to qualify, then train for the grueling run. Of course, a bit of luck is also needed as only a small percentage of the entries get selected via the lottery.
Tracy Garneau became the first Canadian to ever win The Western States race, finishing in a very impressive time of 19 hours, 1 minute, 55 seconds. In fact, I believe Tracy is the only non-U.S. runner, male or female, to earn the top spot on the podium at Placer High in Auburn, CA. With wins at H.U.R.T. 100 and American River 50-miler earlier this year, Garneau has now proven to be one of North America’s best ultra-runners. In the coming months Tracy will compete in the Canadian Death Race in Grand Cache, Alberta and The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France. We will follow these events with great interest.
Other notable Canadian performances include top-10 finishes by Gary Robbins (6th in 17:06:20) and Glen Redpath (7th in 17:10:06). Congrats to all runners!
Another amazing athlete that caught our attention was Amy Palmiero-Winters. Amy became the first amputee to successfully complete this particular 100-mile trail run. Amy crossed the finish line in a time of 27:43:10. 
Amy mangled her left ankle in a gnarly motorcycle accident in 1994. Nearly thirty leg operations later, the leg was amputated. Since 1997, Amy has been proving many naysayers wrong by completing (and often winning) many events, from 5km road races to Ironman competitions, and even trail 100-milers. The Western States finish is most impressive because of the amount of downhill running this course offers along rugged and uneven trails. Next week, Amy will compete in the Badwater 135-mile run in Death Valley. 
More about Amy’s amazing accomplishments is available at her site: http://www.seeamyrun.com/
You can track Amy and other Badwater runners, including Jerseyville 100 champ Iris Cooper, on the live webcast at:
http://www.badwater.com/2010web/index.php.
With summer full swing and so many events on the horizon, please feel free to share your inspiring Monumental Effort stories of determination and inspiration with us.
Gotta run,
Vince
P.S. After a four week hiatus due to a slight tear in her Meniscus, Monica Scholz is ready to resume her 3000-mile quest at Vermont on July 17th…stay tuned!
