Sage Clifton Read Canaday (born November 14, 1985) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

and

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

er.

Running career

High school and collegiate

Canaday attended

Newberg High School Newberg High School is the only public high school in Newberg, Oregon, United States. History The current campus is Newberg High School's third location. The first campus (1911-36) The original high school, a three-story building that opened in 1 ...

Newberg, Oregon Newberg is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to George Fox University. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,138 making it the second most populous city in the ...

, where he ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and cross country. He then went on to run for

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, and at 21 was the youngest qualifier and runner at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials marathon, held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on the same weekend as the

2007 New York City Marathon The 2007 New York City Marathon was the 38th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 4. The men's elite race was won by Kenya's Martin Lel in a time of 2:09:04 hours while the wom ...

, and went on to win the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

10,000 meter championship in 2008. Canaday graduated from Cornell in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Design.

Professional

After graduating from Cornell, Canaday began his professional running career as a marathoner for the

Hansons-Brooks Distance Project The Hansons-Brooks Distance Project is an Olympic development program for post-collegiate distance runners. The program was founded by brothers Kevin Hanson and Keith Hanson in Rochester Hills, Michigan in 1999, and joined by Brooks Sports as a ...

, sponsored by

Brooks Sports Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...

. 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 The Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is an annual international road running marathon hosted by New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, since 1965. It is part of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series organized by Advance Pu ...

) and marathon (2:16:52 at the 2011

Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race held in San Diego, California. Established in 1998, it is the original race in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series. The event includes a half marathon.Cruz, Dan (2010-06-07)Lim ...

*Not Lega
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. Canaday wrote a book titled ''Running For The Hansons'' about his experience with Hansons-Brooks, published in 2011. Canaday placed second at his debut ultramarathon in March after running off course for several minutes in the Chuckanut 50k in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, and won the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

(USATF) Mountain Running Championship at the

Mount Washington Road Race The Mount Washington Road Race is a road running event that follows the auto road going from the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire nearly to the mountain's summit (located at above sea level). The race was first held in 1936, and has be ...

in June. That same year, he moved from the Hansons-Brooks base of

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 76,300. It is the 14th-largest city in Michigan. The area was first occupied by settlers of European descent in 1 ...

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, a major center for endurance athletes, and in October announced a sponsorship deal with

SCOTT Sports Scott Sports SA (formerly Scott USA) is a Swiss producer of bicycles, winter equipment, motorsports gear and sportswear. The company's main office is in Givisiez, Switzerland, with branches in Europe and in the United States, South Africa and In ...

, which replaced Brooks as his primary sponsor. Canaday's streak of ultramarathon success continued into 2013, when he won the USATF 100K Trail Championship in

Bandera, Texas Bandera (Spanish: "flag", ) is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States, in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 857 at the 2010 census. Bandera calls itself the " Cowboy Capital o ...

, the Speedgoat 50K, and Lake Sonoma 50, all in course records, as well as the Cayuga Trails 50 in

and the 100K race at the

Tarawera Ultramarathon Tarawera Ultramarathon is a trail running event which includes a 21km, 50km, 102km and a 100-mile ultramarathon trail race, with the inaugural even held in 2009, it is part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour. It is held annually in February and takes pl ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In January 2014, Canaday announced a new primary sponsor,

Hoka One One Hoka One One (stylized as HOKA) is an athletic shoe company originating in Annecy, France that designs and markets running shoes. The brand first gained attention in the running industry by producing shoes with oversized outsoles, dubbed "maximal ...

, a French running shoe company known for its "maximalist," highly cushioned shoes. Wearing Hoka One One shoes that year, Canaday replicated his victories at Tarawera and Speedgoat and also won the

Pikes Peak Ascent The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon is a trail running competition that begins at the base of Pikes Peak, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and climbs over 7,815 feet (2382 m) to the top of the 14,115 foot (4302 m) peak. Since 1956, the event takes pl ...

in August, en route to winning the prestigious

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite ...

Endurance Challenge 50 mile race in December. 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 The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

, in which he placed 12th overall, and was 16th overall at the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

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 The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direc ...

, where he placed 15th, and Speedgoat, which he again won, before competing in the

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon, first held in 2003, that follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc. Since UTMB Group's partnership with IRONMAN Group in 2021, UTMB World Series will formally launch ...

–his first race of 100 miles–in late August, which he was forced to drop out of due to a knee injury. He would make two more Olympic Trials marathon qualifying attempts, at the

California International Marathon The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon () held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacrament ...

in December and the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...

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. 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 The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, is a 100.2-mile (161 km) ultramarathon that takes place on California's Sierra Nevada Mountains trails each year on the last full weekend of June. The race starts ...

, having at one point been second and ahead of record course pace.

Personal bests

Achievements

Coaching

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

Strava Strava is an American internet service for tracking physical exercise which incorporates social network features. It is mostly used for cycling and running using Global Positioning System data. Strava uses a freemium model with some features on ...

. 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-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

s for the running community. 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.

Personal life

Canaday was raised a vegetarian and describes his current diet as "nearly

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

," 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 Avery Brewing Company is a regional brewery located in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 1993. The brewery produces year round beers as well as seasonal beers, some of which have received praise from brewing competitions and festivals such as White ...

Internet videos

Canaday is the owner of the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

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 January 2023, the channel has over 224,000 subscribers and more than 41,000,000 views. cite web, url=https://www.youtube.com/user/Vo2maxProductions/videos , title=Vo2maxProductions - Youtube , website=

, access-date=05 January 2023

References

External links

Sage Canaday's personal website

Sage Running

On The Trail with Sage Canaday

Vo2max Productions - YouTube

Sage Canaday Fan Page - Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaday, Sage 1985 births Living people American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners American male ultramarathon runners Cornell Big Red men's track and field athletes People from Newberg, Oregon Sportspeople from Oregon American sky runners World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships winners