Andy competed at the Hatley Castle race. Photo courtesy of Ken DeEll
By Leslie Ann Bent
The Hatley Castle 8km race was the third in the Vancouver Island Race Series that was held on February 24, 2019 at the national historic site. Below is this year’s race report.
Jonathan finished second in his age group.
Mother Nature has a way of reminding us who is in charge. En route to the race, we encountered some rain and snow. It is after all, winter in Canada despite being on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The day was actually a good one for a race – not much wind and perhaps 3 or 4C at the start line. The snow had stopped by then too. It is a fairly hilly and challenging course (don’t let the course profile fool you), counter balanced by a beautiful scenic course with a mix of views of the strait, paved paths, a castle and groomed trail. The first hill is just under a km into the race and although it doesn’t look too daunting as the climb starts, it is a little over a km before the course reverses into a descent. The next hill is the steep one that passes the castle. Huffing and puffing and feeling more than challenged, I remembered Vince’s words, “I’ve never met a hill I couldn’t walk” so up I marched unceremoniously to the top and to the water station. Not long after this time, the front runners would be crossing the finish line and Andy would be duking it out with 3 other runners in his age group for placements. (Unbeknownst to Andy at the time, there would be 4 seconds between the 3rd and 6th age group placement). The last km or two of the race is in a lovely wooded trail and mostly a nice downhill to the finish line. If you haven’t raced this one, it is a definite one for testing your hill running skills while its location not being too far from Sooke.
Before the awards ceremony, a wonderful tribute to Vince was made in honour of all the racing and support Vince had done for the running community over the years. It was an impressive list of accomplishments and it seemed that everyone in the gym was nodding in acknowledgement of his contributions to the sport, and reflecting on a man we will truly miss. A moment’s silence to remember our dear and beloved friend opened the awards ceremony.
Andy took sixth in his age group.
No course records were broken this year. Matt Noseworthy (M20-24) placed first overall in the men’s division with a time of 26:53. For the ladies, Julia Tschanz (F30-34) placed first with a time of 30:21. The first STARR shirt across the finish line was Vince’s own jersey worn by Jonathan Dvorak with a time of 33:17. What a wonderful tribute to Vince and a great performance from Jonathan. Vince would have been so pleased to see one of his shirts cross the finish line so fast. Overall attendance was good with 365 runners completing the race this year compared to 321 in 2018. Officially, STARR had 5 members registered of which 4 respectably placed in the top 10 of their age groups. The results for STARR are as follows (gun time):
Jonathan Dvorak (M40-44) 33:17, 2nd place
Andy Smith (M-55-59) 34:58 6th place
Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 40:54 9th place
Bruce Hawkes (M75-79) 52:32 2nd place
Leslie Ann Bent (F50-54) 1:12:20
There were 9 other Sooke runners. Of interest might be the first place finisher in the over 80 category, Robert Butterworth with a time of 53:37. Angela Puszka who runs with our group from time to time, ran the course in 40:55. STARR is now in 10th place in the series with a score of 185. If you are running in the series, don’t forget to select STARR as your team when you register.
Upcoming races in March on Vancouver Island:
Vancouver Island Race Series – March 3 Cedar 12k, March 10 Port Alberni 15k , March 24 Comox Valley half marathon http://www.islandseries.org/
Other races – March 10 Another Brick in Nepal 5k & 10k trail, March 16 Keg Leg 7k, March 24 Keep the Hope Alive 5k, March 30 Run Crew Relay 10k, March 31 MEC series race one 5k, 10k, 18k options.