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There being only one nomination for each of the three Executive positions at the time of the November 4, 2022 deadline, ACU's new Executive was acclaimed on November 18. 

Incoming president, Bernadette Benson, is an expat Calgarian who lives most of the year near the Victorian Alps, Australia. She spends the summer months in Europe and Canada, mostly enjoying mountainous trails. Bernadette first ran for Canada at the World Trail Championship in Connemara, Ireland in 2011 (Team Canada bronze medal) and most recently ran for Team Canada at the IAU 100km World Championships / WMA World Masters Championships in Berlin in August. She has also been on the 24hr team. Bernadette is a child psychologist and was formerly the vice-president of the Australian Ultra Runners' Association. 

Melissa Boisvenue, the new vice-president, is a communications professional who runs her own public relations and marketing boutique agency in the Bragg Creek, AB, area. Melissa is a busy mom of two young girls and has shared how trail running has brought her healing after pregnancy loss. She has audacious running goals and would love to toe the line in France in the near future.

Adam Takacs will be continuing in the secretary-treasurer role from his base in Toronto.

The Executive is currently supported by Carolyn Caskie in the social media role and Zoey Cheng managing memberships. Carolyn resides in British Columbia with her husband and dog.  She has run numerous ultras on both trail and road including being on the 2017 and 2019 Canadian National 24HR running team competing in Belfast and France respectively.  When she is not working her 9-5 day job she can be found out on the trails either on foot or bike. 

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Get involved, have your say, help lead Canadian ultrarunning into the future!
Dear ACU members,
With the pandemic now hopefully mostly behind us, the future of Canadian ultrarunning has never looked brighter. Canadian ultra road and trail runners continue to post incredible results both at home and abroad. A number of Canadian overall and age group records continue to be broken every year. Ours is a strong and proud running nation, with ACU members shining brightly on the global stage.
Since 2010, the ACU has been delegated by Athletics Canada to be the sole entity in managing ultrarunning at the national level. Among other responsibilities, the ACU coordinates the national race series, selects athletes to compete as Team Canada at continental and world championship events, and ratifies national records.
Two of the current ACU executive positions are coming open for two-year elected terms. After being acclaimed as Vice-president in late 2020, then serving as Acting President since early 2022, I'm stepping away to pursue other opportunities. Adam Takacs (Secretary Treasurer) has provided great insight and leadership through some uncertain times, and will continue in his role to provide continuity and guidance.
This letter serves as a Call for Nominations for the upcoming ACU election. If you are an ACU member and interested in leading the ACU into future success, please email Carolyn Caskie (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with an expression of interest no later than November 4, 2022. A list of nominees for voting will be sent to ACU members via email by November 11, 2022, and elections will be held via email with a Survey Monkey link on November 18, 2022.
The positions open for election, and the primary duties of each, are:
ACU President
The president shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Directors.
The president is the chief executive officer of the Society and shall supervise the other officers in the commission of their duties.
The president is the direct liaison between the ACU and the IAU (International Association Ultramarathon)
ACU Vice-President
The vice-president shall carry out the duties of the president in their absence.
Again, this is a terrific opportunity for you to guide Canadian ultrarunning into the future.
Sincerely,
Lee

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The ACU would like to congratulate Dave Proctor on setting a new TransCanada speed record of 67 days 10 hours and 27 minutes

 CONGRATULATIONS !!

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Once again despite all the turmoil in the world, Canadian Athletes always find a way to excel.

Here are the latest Canadian Records ratified in 2021.

50 MILES

W55   6:31:34 rl      Beverley ANDERSON-ABBS, 55, CAN            02Feb2020   Sacramento, CA

replaces

W55   7:52:39 rl      Barbara McLEOD, 55, ON 28Nov1992            Valley Stream NY

48 HRS

W Open 346.593 km TS 215m 362y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 18-26June2021 Milwaukee, WI

replaces

W Open 325.264 km TS 202m 193y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 16-18Nov2020 Duncan, BC

W 45 346.593 km TS 215m 362y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 18-26June2021 Milwaukee, WI

replaces

W 45 325.264 km TS 202m 193y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 16-18Nov2020 Duncan, BC

72 HRS

W Open 440.350 km TS 273m 733y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 18-26June2021 Milwaukee, WI

Replaces

W Open 436.130 km rl 271m 0y, Marylou Corino, 35, ON 15-19May2014 Augusta, NJ

 

W 45 440.350 km TS 273m 733y, Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON 18-26June2021 Milwaukee, WI

replaces

W 45 354.056 km rl 220m 0y, Lisa VAN WOLDE, 45, ON 16-19May2019 Augusta, NJ

CONGRATULATIONS !!

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Once again despite the Covid-19 Pandemic, Canadian Athletes always find a way to excel.

Here are the latest Canadian Records posted in 2021.

APRIL 2021

6 HOUR

W50     70.953 km Ts   Bernadette BENSON, 52, CAN     27Mar2021       Canberra, AUS

             44m 155y Ts

replaces

W50     67.659 km Ts   Bernadette BENSON, 50, CAN     16Jun2019 Campbelltown, AUS

            42m 72y Ts

 

100 MILE

W45       15:24:23 Ts     Viktoria BROWN, 45, ON         1May2021     Taylorsville, NC

replaces

W45     15:38:18 Ts     Bernadette BENSON, 45, CAN   5-6Apr2014   Coburg, AUS

MAY 2021

50 KM

OPEN   2:48:32 rob   Chris BALESTRINI, 29, CAN     21May2021     Hamilton, ON

replaces

OPEN   2:51:27 rl       Calum NEFF, 36, CAN                 17Jan2021       Houston, TX

 

50 KM

OPEN     3:22:24 rob   Krista DUCHENE, 44, ON         21May2021     Hamilton, ON

Replaces

OPEN     3:28:20 r     Catrin JONES, 36, BC              4Dec2015                 Doha, Qatar

 

CONGRATULATIONS !!

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To all Athletes and members of the ultrarunning community.

With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic sutuation, a very limited number of venues have been available to qualify for the National Team or to compete in general.

We are now starting to see more events being able to go ahead with their annual schedule depanding on the advisory of their Provincial Health Organization.

We received numerous inquiries about the National Championships and the announcement went out a few months ago referring to the cancellation of all Championships for 2021.

The same announcement came from the International Association of Ultamarathon (IAU) stating that all World Championships were cancelled or posponed for 2021.

At the moment, if the Covid-19 situation gets under control, we might start getting back to some type of normal in 2022 but it will all depends on the Provincial, National and International Health Organizations guidance.

We understand the concerns about athletes looking at qualifying for the National Teams or maintaiming their current qualifications. Selection is based on registered performances set 2 years prior and up to 3 months before the current World Championships.

For 2022, we will be looking at 2020, 2021 and up to 3 months before the next World Championships. The limited venues available during that period is a knowed  issue and we will be coming up with an announcement once the situation improves.

The main selection tool used for selection is the ACU Rankings list. A reminder that while we are trying to list every performances set by Canadians around the globe, it is up to each invividual to make sure their results are posted, especially for Canadians living or competing abroad.

If your results are not posted, please contact the ACU National Rankings Statistician.

The ACU Rankings list is up to date as of Jul 31st 2021. Despite the pandemic, Canadians posted 494 performances in 2020 and 1342 in 2021 so far.

Those recent results produced 11 new Canadian records in 2020-21 plus 2 more pending ratification.

Ultrarunners are very resilient individuals who always find a way to keep up their fitness level

Well done to all, stay healthy and be safe out there, we got this !!

Armand

National Team Manager

 

 

  

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Dear members of the ultrarunning community,

the last 8 months have been a real test of our resiliency to overcome the hard situation everyone is experiencing but as ultrarunners always do, we did not let that stop us from enjoying our sport by keeping up with training on our own or hosting virtual challenges.

Despite the limited number of events hosted in 2020, so far 1043 performances across the globe from Canadians have been recorded on our Ranking List (see update 30 Sep). If anyone has participated in an event which is not listed, please contact us so we can update the list.

The last 8 months has also been a very busy time for the ACU as we went through the election process of a new executive committee to move our sport forward nationally and internationally.

As I am typing this announcement, the final transition to the new executive has been completed and they are ready to assume their new functions.

Ryne Melcher is taking the helm as your new President

Lee Smith as Vice-President and Adam Takacs as Secretary/Treasurer.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best and to thank the whole ultrarunning community for your tremendous support over my last 10 years as President of the ACU.

A special thanks goes to our Directors, Technical team members, Provincial Representatives, as well as Race Directors and members, for their outstanding work and support year after year.

As I step down, I am confident that the same cooperation and support will be continuing with the new executive members.

To help with the continuity of the organization, I will be moving to the new function of Technical advisor and keep the position of National Team Manager.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our memberships has declined, a few new members and limited number of renewal have been processed. The ACU is your association and without your support it cannot exist so I encourage you to renew or join.

On this note, I wish you well, be safe and stay healthy, we got this...

Yours in Sport

Armand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. ACU New executives announcement
  2. ACU Elections of the Executive 2020 Nominations
  3. COVID-19 update
  4. COVID-19 National Team 24 Hrs Americas Championships

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