By Andy Smith
It was a dark and stormy night”…..no, wait; …..that was a different story!….
West Coast Beaches celebrate their Masters Women’s win
It was a cold and rainy day when five valiant STARR teams (plus courageous volunteers and supporters Bruce, Lila and Georgia!) gathered at Thetis Lake on a day better suited to ducks. Ankle deep puddles and pouring rain, plus four laps of Thetis Lake’s hilly hiking trails awaited our teams! STARR was represented by our Women’s Masters team the West Coast Beaches comprised of Leslie Ann, Marika, Stephanie, and Pascale; our Men’s Masters 40-49 team of Steve E., Greg B., Steven, and Claude; (aka ”Blood Sweat and Beers”), our Super Veterans team Jackie, Steve K., Danny and Mark (The “Wheezing Geezers” LoL), and our Mixed team of Robin, Tory and David (“Pace of Mind”). Tory ran twice! Liz Stannard also represented STARR with a multi-generational family team called “3 Generations of Greatness”. Love that team name Liz!
Wheezing Geezers took second in Super Veterans
Relay events are great for morale, even when the weather isn’t. Despite soggy grey conditions our teams kept warm by cheering for each other and even engaging in friendly rivalry. Marika and Greg B. raced the steep hills and sprinted each other to the finish! In fact, all our teams showed good form and there were some impressive sprints across the finish line. (Danny, Robin, Jackie) and lots of smiles. We even brought home some hardware! West Coast Beaches (Marika, Leslie Ann, Stephanie, Pascale) won the Masters Women’s category. Our Wheezing Geezers (Danny, Jackie, Steve K. and Mark) took second place in the Super Veteran category. “Super” indeed…”wheezing” I think not!
Crossing the finish line with your friends and teammates cheering makes a cold wet day feel warmer and drier!
Check out our STARR finishing photos. Scroll down to see more pics from the event.
After a year off for Covid it also felt great to attend an organized outdoor running event and to see so many familiar, enthusiastic faces. Kudos to the Harriers for hosting a well-organized and fun event and to the volunteers (thanks Bruce!) who braved the weather to keep runners on course and through the start/finish. Everyone had a good time. I’m sure there were many wet STARR jerseys hanging on the line Thursday night, but it was so worth it! Congratulations to all our participants. Special thanks to Lila and Georgia for helping with the photos and time keeping!
Bruce volunteering, Photo courtesy of Joseph Camilleri, Prairie Inn Harriers
