Maggie, Barbara, Kari, Andy, Jilll and Joldine
By Andy Smith
Kari, Andy and Melanie
STARR members enjoyed a crisp cool day of friendly competition at the Vancouver Island Race Series on Sunday in North Saanich. The 2024 season kicked off at the Pioneer 8k road race hosted by the Prairie Inn Harriers running club. This event makes a great entry to the race season as the distance and terrain is not too intimidating. Nine STARR club members represented STARR in different age categories at this popular and well attended event (541 participants). Fortunately, the snow and ice that made Sooke roads so treacherous last week was nowhere in evidence on the fast out-and-back course. This event attracts some fast elite runners, and this year was no exception. It was fun to cheer the elites as well as STARR teammates as we passed each other on the way back to the start/finish. The Prairie Inn Harriers did a great job with volunteers and food. Hot coffee, pizza and door prizes at the awards ceremony were much appreciated. Jill was winner of a prize draw for gourmet coffee! Other draw prizes included a pair of running shoes courtesy of race sponsor Frontrunners.
Jill, Maggie, and Kari
This year the overall race winner was Aaron Ahl from Calgary who ran a blistering time of 23:44. He competed collegiately at the University of Washington and recently moved to Victoria to train and run professionally. Top female finisher was Anja Krueger from Winnipeg with a time of 27:55. She trains out of Victoria as a triathlete. The most outstanding performance of the race came from Vancouver Island legend Roslyn Smith (F75-79) who wowed the spectators and fellow racers by breaking the Canadian F75 8k record with a time of 39:02.
Whether “racing hard” or “shaking off the cobwebs” STARR participants seemed pleased with their performances on the day. Four earned medals/ribbons for top ten age group results. It was great to see an impressive turnout for the race especially the increased number of younger runners which bodes well for the future of running and running clubs here on Vancouver Island. Congratulations to all our finishers!
Below photos courtesy of Joe Crazy Legs
