A week before the race, it looked like the fifth year would finally establish the Canandaigua Fifties as a significant destination ultra. Entries were up 60 percent over 2006. Forty percent of the entries were coming from outside of New York State to enjoy fifty miles on lightly-traveled roads around a beautiful Finger Lake, peak fall foliage and the challenge of Bopple Hill. three former winners were returning to face a quality field. Then there was the weather… normal would have been a low of 45 and high of 63 degrees.

After brief remarks reminding the runners to be cautious in the heat, the race started promptly at 7:00 a.m. under clear skies, a low of 63 degrees (and a forecast near record high of 84 degrees). Dan Dominie, our 2005 winner, and local trail specialist Egils Robs began opening a lead over the field. Dominie reached the Onanda Park aid station having covered 10 mostly flat miles in less than 70 minutes with Robs in close pursuit. By this point, the field had sorted out with the likely contenders grouped six minutes back: Josh Irvan (6:57 at JFK last year), Andy McDowell (Tussey MountainBack 2005 winner), Ed Housel (current Masters division leader in Western New York Ultra Series), Joe Jaffee (our 2006 first place man), Ryan O’Dell (our 2006 second place man) and Josh Reynolds running his first ultramarathon.

Dominie continued pressing up the moderate Coye Cutoff climb and the steep 400-foot drop back to lakeside. At the Bopple Bottom aid station (13.7 miles), Dominie led with Robs at 5 minutes, Reynolds and Irvan at 10 minutes, McDowell at 13 minutes and Jaffee, O’Dell and Housel at 15 minutes. The sun was fully up, promising a beautiful day for the aid station workers, and a very uncomfortable one for the runners. A weather station set up at the location showed the temperature was already 84, and the relative humidity was over 70 percent.

Next up was the above category climb of Bopple Hill (600 feet in 0.8 mile) and a moderate descent to the Bristol Springs aid station at 16.9 miles. Dominie’s lead was beginning to evaporate in the heat. Robs was clearly suffering and was steadily dropping back, arriving at the aid station with Irvan and McDowell at 7 minutes, Reynolds at 11 minutes and Housel, Jaffee and O’Dell at 16 minutes and seemingly falling out of contention.

On a cool day, the High Road to the Rte. 21 trailhead is a fast 5.75 miles ending with a brutal 600-foot drop back to lake level. There are spectacular views of the lake and the Naples Valley. Unfortunately, there’s also no shade. Dominie hung tough over this stretch, maintaining a seven-minute lead over Irvan and McDowell. These two ran most of the race together and seemed to establish a good friendship aided and abetted by their handlers who constantly encouraged both runners. Jaffee, Housel and Reynolds came in together at 17 minutes. Along the High Road Egil Robs decided it wasn’t going to be his day and dropped out at the aid station.

The next 4-mile leg took the runners over 1.3 miles of grassy rail-to-trail before returning to flat and fast roads to the 26.7-mile Sunnyside aid station. Don Dominie passed the marathon mark in less than 3:20, well under course record pace, while maintaining his seven-minute lead over Irvan and McDowell. Behind them, Jaffe and Housel hung tough at 17 minutes back. Josh Reynolds finally succumbed to the fast pace, losing 10 minutes over this section and dropping out of the top 5.

The next leg leaves the lake to follow the West River upstream… on a cool day it’s a fast and pleasant 4.7-mile section of gently rolling road to the hamlet of Middlesex just past the 50 km mark. On race day, there was no wind and plenty of humidity. Dominie was now showing the effects of his early pace and the heat; his handler was giving him water every mile. Despite this support, his lead was rapidly evaporating. Irvan and McDowell reached the aid station only one minute back.

The catch came on the long grade out of Middlesex. By the time the runners dropped back down to the lake at 35.6 miles in Vine Valley, Irvan and McDowell had a 3-minute lead over Dominie. Housel continued to run well and was now solidly in fourth place with a six-minute gap over Jaffee.

Race tradition holds that the race begins in Vine Valley. This year was no exception. After running in close company for almost five hours, McDowell powered up the final major climb to reach the Townline Road aid station at 38.9 miles with a three-minute lead over Irvan. Dominie continued to lose ground slowly, now six minutes behind McDowell, while Ed Housel put on a surge to close to within two minutes of Dominie in third place.

The remaining 11 miles are flat to rolling with a net elevation loss of 200 feet… an easy finish on a cool day but perhaps not this day. McDowell’s lead stabilized at about 4 minutes. Josh Irvan said at the time, "He is a speck in the distance that I just can’t catch". They continued this way to the finish with McDowell winning and Irvan coming in 4:20 later. Their times are the second and fourth fastest times ever run on the course on a hot and humid day when the time of the median finisher was an hour slower than last year.

Behind the first two, Housel continued to run down Dominie, passing him before the final aid station at 46.2 miles. Joe Jaffee also caught the fading Dominie over the final miles to claim fourth place, a further demonstration that it seldom pays to race the early miles at Canandaigua.

Lisa Schaffer led the small women’s field from the start. By the first aid station at 5 miles, she had settled into 20th place, a position she held over Bopple Hill and the long, hot High Road to the Rte. 21 aid station at 22.6 miles. Then, as the men ahead slowed or dropped out, Schaffer moved up… to 15th at Sunnyside, 13th at Vine Valley, 9th at Townline Road, and 7th at the finish. Her 8:21:43 was the fifth fastest women’s time.

Indicative of the race arriving as a destination ultra, all of the age group winners in the 50 mile were visitors to Western New York. Here’s the gold medal count by state: Pennsylvania: 4; Maryland: 1; Ohio: 1 and New York: 0.

Submitted by Tom Perry, RD