A record fell as hundreds climbed in the Grouse Grind Mountain Run held Saturday on the popular North Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»hiking trail.
Madison Sands of Maple Ridge set a new official record for the women’s race, clocking a time of 30 minutes and two seconds for the gruelling three-kilometre course with an elevation gain of 853 metres up the side of Grouse Mountain. The previous record of 30:52 was set by Kristin Størmer Steira.
Brooke Spence of North Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»finished second on Saturday with a time of 32:37 followed by Robyn Mildren of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»with a time of 34:00.
On the men’s side, West Vancouver’s Jordan Guenette claimed top spot with a time of 28:30. Coming in second was Eric Carter of Squamish with a time of 29:14 followed by Marcus Ribi of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»in third place with a time of 29:57.
The Grouse Grind, known as Mother Nature’s Stairmaster, includes 2,830 total stairs. Participants in the annual run are encouraged to raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital, while Grouse Mountain donates a portion of the proceeds from the race to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.