After two days of running around the woods around Logan Lake outside of Kamloops, Whistler’s Marie-Catherin Bruno finally emerged to become the new B.C. orienteering champion. Not only was she the first woman to emerge from the trees on Sunday, she was also the top North American in the race, surprising the field and herself.
"I beat the Finn by 50 seconds on Sunday (over80 minutes), which is great because she’s an ex-member of the Finnish team, which is one of the strongest teams in the world," says Bruno.
Although she had a rough day on Saturday, a first-place finish on Sunday placed her third overall, behind Finland’s Anna Mari and Switzerland’s Sabine Lauentian.
Bruno didn’t exactly come out of nowhere — "I won the Spooner Lake relay in Nevada, came third in the Pacific championships in Tahoe, California, and finished second in the ‘Seven Days of Wyoming," says Bruno. "Not a bad summer."
Bruno, a recent arrival to Whistler from Club Montmorency in the Laurentians, has been a member of the Canadian team since 1995.
