Canadians take the podium at Across the Years ultra
Records fell and Canadians shone at the Across the Years multi-day event
Photo by:
Kirsti Dolson
Runners at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., celebrated the traditions of pedestrianism and fixed-time racing at Aravaipa Running’s Across the Years (ATY) event, held this year from Dec. 28-Jan. 3.
ATY is a fixed-time, multi-day running event that crosses the new year, and many runners return annually to log cumulative miles and build toward earning 1,000-mile and 2,000-mile awards (and jackets). The event features a traditional six-day race along with the 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour races, as well as multiple fixed distances and a last-person standing event (which requires participants to run a loop of the 1.4-mile, or 2.24 km, course every 20 minutes). The race route is a USATF-certified loop consisting of 85 per cent dirt paths and 15 per cent asphalt and concrete.
This year’s race saw Ashley Paulson of St. George, Utah, smashing the course record in the 100-mile event and taking the overall win in 14:37:09. Earlier this year, Paulson also destroyed her own course record at Badwater 135, an infamously hot and gruelling 135-mile (217-km) run through California’s Death Valley to Mount Whitney, chopping nearly two and a half hours off her 2022 time and finishing first overall.
Arizona ultrarunner and popular TikToker Zachary Bates won the final day of the 24-hour competition, running 201 km. Diagnosed with autism at age four, Bates fell in love with running in high school and took on the goal of running an ultra in 2022. In April 2022, Bates completed Canyons 100K in Auburn, Calif., despite suffering from food poisoning the night before, and, at 21, he was the youngest finisher at the 2023 edition of the Western States 100. Bates is gearing toward the iconic Cocodona 250 (330 km) in May 2024.
Canadians make an appearance annually at the event, and this year was no exception, with Valleyview, Alta.’s Matthew Shepard winning the men’s 48-hour category (fourth overall) and racking up 229 km. “My race did not go as planned, sometimes things just don’t line up in ultra racing,” Shepard told Canadian Running post-event. “Happy to have stuck it out to get my thousand-mile jacket.” Shepard also won last year’s 48-hour race at Across the Years, with 291.6 km. “Always learning, always growing and always looking forward to the next one,” said Shepard, who has also competed at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra twice at the world championships, and once for team Canada in the satellite edition.
Fellow Canadian Dennene Huntley was the second woman in the 72-hour event, racking up an impressive 335.5 km. Huntley, who lives in Newfoundland, is also a repeat runner at ATY, and in 2020 she won the 72-hour event at ATY outright.
“When I planned to go back to do the ATY 72-hour race, I had goals, but not the same as before. I wanted to get back into the multi-day scene after a four-year hiatus, reconnect with running buddies and if possible, reach 200 miles,” Huntley wrote on Instagram. “Well, not only did I achieve all of that, but to my surprise I also managed to place 2nd woman and 4th overall with my 208.5 miles.”
How Dennene Huntley Pangle won the 72-hour at Across The Years
Canadian results
Dennene Huntley 72-hour 335.5
Michel Gouin 72-hour 244.8
Candice Appleby 72-hour 77.1
David Appleby 72-hour 38.5
Matthew Shepard 48-hour 228.95 km
Chantal Morin 48-hour 104.27
Kirsti Dolson 24-hour 124.67
Teresa Meunier 24-hour 86.14
Logan Beaulieu 100 Miler 25:03:53
Susan Hui Dec 31 Marathon
Tania Diener Dec 28 Marathon
Jan Steenkamp Dec 28 Marathon
For full results of the 2023 Across the Years, head here.
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