Sage Canaday
Canaday at the 2013 Mount Washington Road Race
Personal information
Born (1985-11-14) 14 November 1985 (age 38)
Oregon, United States
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg)
Websitehttp://sagecanaday.com
Sport
Country United States
Event(s)Marathon, ultramarathon, trail running
College teamCornell
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)10,000m: 29:47.39[1]
½ marathon: 1:04:32[1]
Updated on January 4, 2019.

Sage Clifton Read Canaday (born November 14, 1985)[2] is an American long-distance runner and ultramarathoner.[3]

Running career

High school and collegiate

Canaday attended Newberg High School in Newberg, Oregon, where he ran track and cross country. He then went on to run for Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and at 21 was the youngest qualifier and runner at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon, held in New York City on the same weekend as the 2007 New York City Marathon, and went on to win the Ivy League 10,000 meter championship in 2008. Canaday graduated from Cornell in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in design.[4]

Professional

After graduating from Cornell, Canaday began his professional running career as a marathoner for the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, sponsored by Brooks Sports. While with Hansons-Brooks, Canaday set personal bests in both the half marathon (1:04:32 at the 2011 Rock 'n’ Roll Mardi Gras half marathon) and marathon (2:16:52 at the 2011 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon *Not Legal worldathletics.org). He qualified again for the Olympic Trials marathon, where he finished 43rd in 2:18:24 in 2012, but left Hansons-Brooks that February to pursue a career as an ultramarathoner.[5][6]

Canaday wrote a book titled Running For The Hansons about his experience with Hansons-Brooks, published in 2011.[7]

Canaday placed second at his debut ultramarathon in March after running off course for several minutes in the Chuckanut 50k in Bellingham, Washington, and won the USA Track & Field (USATF) Mountain Running Championship at the Mount Washington Road Race in June. That same year, he moved from the Hansons-Brooks base of Rochester Hills, Michigan to Boulder, Colorado, a major center for endurance athletes, and in October announced a sponsorship deal with SCOTT Sports, which replaced Brooks as his primary sponsor.[8] Canaday's streak of ultramarathon success continued into 2013, when he won the USATF 100K Trail Championship in Bandera, Texas, the Speedgoat 50K, and Lake Sonoma 50, all in course records, as well as the Cayuga Trails 50 in Ithaca, New York and the 100K race at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand.[6][9][10]

Canaday has set 6 Fastest Known Time running records, including the speed record for the 28-mile Maroon Bells 4 Passes Loop in 2013.[11][12]

In January 2014, Canaday announced a new primary sponsor, Hoka One One, a French running shoe company known for its "maximalist," highly cushioned shoes.[13] Wearing Hoka One One shoes that year, Canaday replicated his victories at Tarawera and Speedgoat and also won the Pikes Peak Ascent in August, en route to winning the prestigious The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile race in December.[6][14]

In 2015, Canaday re-focused on the marathon distance with the goal of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials marathon. In March, he was 8th in the USATF marathon championship among American runners at the Los Angeles Marathon, in which he placed 12th overall, and was 16th overall at the Boston Marathon in April, though he fell short of an Olympic Trials qualifying time in both races. Canaday made a brief summer return to ultramarathoning for the Comrades Marathon, where he placed 15th, and Speedgoat, which he again won, before competing in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc–his first race of 100 miles–in late August, which he was forced to drop out of due to a knee injury.[15][16][17] He would make two more Olympic Trials marathon qualifying attempts, at the California International Marathon in December and the Houston Marathon in January 2016, but failed to meet the qualifying standard of 2:19:00 before the January 17, 2016 deadline, with a season best time of 2:19:12 on a windy day at the Boston Marathon where he was 16th place overall.[18][19]

He continued his ultra-marathon career in 2016, including his second 100-mile race and first finish at the distance, placing 11th at the Western States Endurance Run, having at one point been second and ahead of record course pace.[20][21]

Through February 2020, Canaday continued to compete in both marathons and ultramarathons. In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic and personal health issues limited his ability to compete. By 2022, Canaday began racing again.[22]

Personal bests

Personal bests
Distance Time Location
5,000 meters 14 min 29 s 01 University Park, PA
10,000 meters 29 min 47 s 39 Lewisburg, PA
Half-marathon 1 h 04 min 32 s New Orleans, LA
Marathon 2 h 16 min 52 s San Diego, CA *Not legal[clarification needed][23]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2012 Chuckanut 50K USA 2nd 50 km 03 h 49 min 22 s
2012 Mount Washington Road Race USA 1st 12.2 km 58 min 27 s
2012 White River USA 1st 50 miles 06 h 16 min 10 s (course record)
2012 UROC 100 USA 2nd 100 km 08 h 12 min 05 s
2013 Bandera 100K USA 1st 100 km 08 h 13 min 49 s (course record)
2013 Tarawera 100K New Zealand 1st 100 km 08 h 53 min 34 s
2013 Lake Sonoma 50 USA 1st 50 miles 06 h 14 min 55 s
2013 Transvulcania Spain 3rd 73.3 km 07 h 09 min 57 s
2013 Cayuga Trail 50 USA 1st 50 miles 06 h 47 min 48 s
2013 Mount Washington Road Race USA 3rd 12.2 km 01 h 03 min 39 s
2013 Speedgoat USA 1st 50 km 05 h 08 min 07 s
2014 Carlsbad Marathon USA 2nd 26.2 miles 02 h 22 min 15 s
2014 Tarawera 69K New Zealand 1st 69 km 05 h 33 min 38 s
2014 Northburn 50 New Zealand 1st 50 km 04 h 45 min 46 s
2014 Lake Sonoma 50 USA 3rd 50 miles 06 h 12 min 58 s
2014 Transvulcania Spain 3rd 73.3 km 07 h 11 min 39 s
2013 Mount Washington Road Race USA 3rd 12.2 km 01 h 01 min 30 s
2014 Pikes Peak Ascent USA 1st >13.1 miles 02 h 10 min 03 s
2014 Speedgoat USA 1st 50 km 05 h 12 min 30 s
2014 The Rut USA 2nd 50 km 02 h 51 min 07 s
2014 The North Face 50-mile USA 1st 50 miles 06 h 07 min 52 s
2015 Speedgoat USA 1st 50 km 05 h 13 min 02 s
2016 Black Canyon 100K USA 1st 100 km 07 h 52 min 26 s
2016 Transvulcania Spain 3rd 73.3 km 07 h 14 min 16 s
2016 Moab Trail marathon USA 2nd 26.2 miles 02 h 58 min 25 s
2017 Hong Kong 100K China 3rd 100 km 10 h 03 min 50 s
2017 Chuckanut 50K USA 3rd 50 km 03 h 40 min 28 s
2017 Lake Sonoma 50 USA 1st 50 miles 06 h 17 min 55 s
2017 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship USA 2nd 13.2 miles 01 h 19 min 21 s
2018 Speedgoat USA 2nd 50 km 05 h 29 min 22 s
2019 Moab Red Hot 55K USA 2nd 55 km 03 h 52 min 41 s
2019 Pikes Peak Marathon USA 2nd 26.2 miles 03 h 39 min 02 s
2019 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship USA 2nd 13.2 miles 01 h 22 min 27 s

Coaching

Canaday is self-coached and very public with his training, posting most of his workouts on the activity-tracking website Strava.

He and his girlfriend, fellow ultramarathoner Sandi Nypaver, are the owners and founders of Higher Running, an online running coaching website which markets training plans and e-books for the running community.[24]

Canaday is an outspoken opponent of performance-enhancing drug use and has professed support for a zero-tolerance policy for PED users in endurance sports.[25]

Personal life

Canaday was raised a vegetarian and describes his current diet as "nearly vegan," citing the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based, high-carbohydrate diet. He admits to regular beer-drinking and is sponsored by the Boulder-based Avery Brewing Company.[26]

In 2021, Canaday suffered from a bi-lateral pulmonary embolism and lost his home and most possessions in a fire that destroyed an entire apartment complex in downtown Boulder, Colorado. [27]

Internet videos

Canaday is the owner of the YouTube channel Vo2maxProductions, where he posts a mix of training videos, running gear reviews, race recaps, and "training talks", all self-produced. He often releases several videos a week. As of October 2023, the channel has over 236,000 subscribers and more than 45,000,000 views. [28]

Canaday was also the subject of a documentary film, "Starting Over," which highlighted his illness and return to running. [29]

References

  1. ^ a b "Sage CANADAY - Athlete Profile". IAAF. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "SCOTT Sports - Canaday Sage". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Sage Canaday, 2014 TNF EC 50 Mile Champion, Interview". 7 December 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Hansons-Brooks Athlete: Sage Canaday" (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. ^ "USATF - Events - 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials - Marathon". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Sage Canaday Athlete". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  7. ^ Jeff Benjamin (2011-12-22). "Running for The Hansons, by Sage Canaday: RBR Book Review by Jeff Benjamin, note by Larry Eder". runblogrun.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  8. ^ "SCOTT Sports - Sage Canaday joins SCOTT". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. ^ "USA Track & Field - News and Notes, Volume 13, Number 3". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  10. ^ "2013 Cayuga Trails 50 Results". 8 June 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Sage Canaday | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  12. ^ "Maroon Bells 4 Passes Loop | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  13. ^ "Big new SPONSOR announcement 2014 - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  14. ^ "2014 Pikes Peak Ascent - Male". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Comrades Race VLOG". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  16. ^ "2015 Speedgoat Race Report: Chasing Splits". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Sage Canaday UTMB 100 Race Report: A DNF". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Sage Canaday California International Marathon Race Report". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Houston Marathon and Half-Marathon Results". 17 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  20. ^ "2016 Results". Western States. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  21. ^ Hicks, Megan (2016-06-26). "2016 Western States 100 Results". iRunFar. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
  22. ^ "Inspiring new film follows runner recovering from pulmonary embolism". 2022-06-01.
  23. ^ www.worldathletics.org
  24. ^ "Higher Running". Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Doping in Mountain-Ultra Trail Running: Enter Lance Armstrong". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  26. ^ "Athlete Profile: Sage Canaday". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  27. ^ "Sage Canaday Is Back". Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Vo2maxProductions". YouTube. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Watch Sage Canaday "Start Over," Return to Racing After Scary Illness". Retrieved 20 May 2022.

External links

Men's World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships winners
Authority control databases
Categories