What started as a love story turned into a record-breaking weekend for a group of former Queen’s University runners. At this year’s 276-kilometre Cabot Trail Relay on Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island, a team led by 2020 Olympian Julie-Anne Staehli crushed the women’s course record, clocking 18:18:39—a full 36 minutes faster than the previous record, set just last year.
Nicknamed “The Boys”, the all-women team lowered the 2024 mark of 18 hours and 54 minutes set by the Halifax Road Hammers, but the win, or even the record, wasn’t the priority. “We went into the weekend just wanting to have a blast together,” says team captain Caela Fenton. “Some of us were racing for the first time postpartum. One teammate did not have a university running background. So, there was zero pressure.”
The team was made up primarily of former Queen’s Gaels cross-country teammates, including Fenton and Staehli. “We went through so much together in our university days,” says Staehli. “It was special to come full circle—and I think our former coach Steve Boyd loved seeing us still running and still close after all these years.”
Still, they didn’t just win—they did it in style. Four runners set new leg records: Colleen Wilson (Leg 5), Claire Sumner (Leg 9), Madeleine Sumner (Leg 10) and Shannen Murray (Leg 15). Since its start in 1988, the Cabot Trail Relay has annually attracted around 70 teams and 1,200 runners. The point-to-point race loops through Cape Breton Island, starting and finishing in Baddeck, N.S.
The idea (to race here) came from Veronica Allan, a former Queen’s XC captain who met her husband at the Cabot Trail Relay. “We heard the story at her wedding, and thought—we should do this!” says Fenton. Allan also joined in the fun, running Leg 16 with her three-month-old son Darcy cheering her on nearby.
Despite being mostly Cabot rookies (only Wilson and Allan had run the race before), the team set the record in addition to the logistical feat of assembling 17 women to race through the night. “Coordinating this team took two years,” laughs Fenton. “As the captain, I had to do some homework—thankfully, some previous relay veterans were incredibly generous with their advice.”
Ironically, Wilson helped set the previous record last year as part of the Halifax Road Hammers. The 1:15 half-marathoner and Cabot Trail Relay veteran was said to be pivotal in the team’s success. “The Boys” weren’t the only team under the old record. The X-Women Past & Present, a team of former St. Francis Xavier University runners, also finished under the 2024 mark, only 14 minutes behind The Boys; a small margin for a 276km race.
As for standout moments? Fenton and Staehli say there were too many to count. Starting a dance party at a café on Leg 3. The team’s signature gold glitter face tattoos. The unbeatable East Coast hospitality. “It’s impossible to pick just one,” says Staehli.
You can find the full results from the 2025 race here.
