By Leslie Ann Bent
Last year when I wrote the Hatley Castle race report, I remember commenting on the snow. This year is somewhat of a repeat with the weather worth mentioning. We woke up to pelting rain and wind, wondering what kind of race might be in store, especially given the steep climbs and descents, making the course not ideal for a personal best even in the best conditions. The course has some trail and some road and some great views of the Strait when it is not raining or foggy. However, the islanders are a hearty bunch. 370 runners competed in this 4th race in the VIRA series. STARR runners are no exception to the rule with 9 runners coming out for the race, and 3 having completed a grueling 25km trail race in Port Moody the day before.
Standing in the heavy rain with my phone camera in hand and screen showing rain droplets quite vividly, I watched some phenomenal talent sail through the finish line, although they were looking like drowned rats - many with mud and scrapes to show the nature of the route. The first STARR runner to cross the finish line was Andy Smith with a time of 33:59. Breathing down his neck 6 seconds behind was Jonathan Dvorak clocking 34:05. It was a race for our STARR runners to push each other through. Stephanie flew in just 4 seconds ahead of David. Pauline and Greg could both be seen coming down the final stretch with 27 seconds separating them. Then, Yvanna must have had Greg Carson in her sights when he crossed the finish line 12 seconds ahead of her.
Stephanie and Greg B. enjoy the swag.
The top male and female runners were in the 30-34 age group. The first male runner was Dusty Spiller of Duncan with a time of 27:03. Victoria’s Julia Tschanz grabbed the top spot for the women with a time of 30:24. The top 5 runners finished in under 28 minutes and all top 10 under 30 minutes. The runners sure showed some great talent for the spectators to watch. The oldest runner was Hazura Sangha of Duncan in the M80-85 age group, who later took home a gold in his age group to a standing ovation of fellow runners. About 20 runners followed him in. If you ever think you are too old to run, maybe you aren’t!
STARR took home 3 medals, 3 ribbons and four 4-litre jugs of chocolate milk as part of the door prize pool. Come out and race. You never know what you will take home.
