By Leslie Ann Bent
Yesterday was a great day to race in our club of Sooke – little wind, no rain and an overcast 10C. Our runners know this route quite well. It’s a hilly out and back course from the high school to the Potholes gate on Sooke River Road. With 11 participants plus Megen and Greg to cheer and support us, we had quite a STARR show for the run. There was lot of time to catch up before and after the race. Plus, with an out and back course, it was great to be able to see our fellow runners out on the course and cheer each other on. Lots of thumbs up. The race attracted 332 participants.
The first STARR across the finish line was Andy (M60-64) with a time of 41:03. This earned him a 3rd place age-group finish just 8 seconds behind the first-place runner. Wataru wasn’t far behind, as he made his debut race on Canadian soil with an impressive time of 43:42 – a second place age-group finish for him. On the women’s side, Marika (F40-44) was our first female to cross the finish line with a time of 49:40 – a 2nd place medal for her! Pauline (F50-54) once again did the club proud with a 3rd place medal. Bruce (80-84) also earned some hardware – 2nd place for him.
The race always attracts some fast runners and this year was no exception, although no course records were made. The first runner to complete the course with a good lead, was Logan Roots of Courtenay (M25-29) with a time of 32:27. On the women’s side, Christine Bant of Victoria (F30-34) crossed the line at 37:59. The competition was steep with the top 10 runners all under 38 minutes, and the top 22 runners under 40 minutes.
A special thanks to Megen for coming out to support us and to take some great photos. Greg too joined the STARR cheering squad. It’s always nice to see familiar faces in the crowd. Thanks to you both!
A few personal thoughts on the race:
Andy Smith – There was a great turnout form our club and for the field in general. There was a nice vibe with everything so well organized and runners eager to race. The familiar course was good.
Wataru Hirota – It was tough!
Jim Bouthillier – The weather was perfect. (His first race in about 3 years)
Leslie Ann Bent – I agree with everything the others said. It’s also fun to meet new people with a common thread. At the start line, I chatted with a woman wearing a Team Diabetes shirt. It turned out we’d run a marathon for Diabetes Canada in the same year back in 2002 and both have other done races for the cause with many years of type 1 diabetes under our belts. She’d asked if I’d been on the cover of Diabetes Dialogue about 20 years ago (I was), and she said I’d inspired her to run for the cause. It was a touching and uplifting way to start the race.
STARR results (Clock Time)
Andy Smith M60-64 41:03 (3rd)
Wataru Hirota M16-19 43:42 (2nd)
Steve Eriksen M45-49 48:01 (10th)
Marika Nagasaka F40-44 49:40 (2nd)
Claude LaForce M60-64 50:45 (9th)
Jim Bouthillier M70-74 52:05 (4th)
Pauline Nielsen F 50-54 53:59 (3rd)
Maggie Curtis F50-54 57:26 (5th)
Melanie Eskildsen F40-44 58:02 (7th)
Bruce Hawkes M80-84 1:14 (2nd)
Leslie Ann Bent F55-59 1:32
Congratulations to all of the STARR runners.
Witty cheer squad
Jim
