Melanie, Andy, Kari, Maggie, Jill, and Joldine
By Andy Smith
Nine Starr members made the trip to Cedar (near Nanaimo) for the third race in the Vancouver Island Race Series on Sunday February 11th hosted by the local Bastion Running Club. All our runners agreed it’s a great location for an event with a scenic and challenging course. The route rolls over quiet rural roads starting and ending near Cedar Elementary School. The after-race meal and award ceremony were hosted in the school gym.
The weather looked threatening on the morning of the race with rain and fog on the drive from Sooke over the Malahat Pass. Fortunately, the precipitation stopped before the 11am start and conditions for the race were misty and cool but pleasant with calm winds. Seven club members lined up at the start. Two more club members, Donna and Justin Heeley, were also present cheering on daughter and son-in law from the sidelines. In all there were 421 participants representing age categories from under-16 to 80+. It was an out-and-back course, so it was fun to cheer teammates and other runners as we passed each other on our way out or back to the start/finish. The race was won by Brandon Vail from the Speedfarm club in a time of 38:33 (that’s 3:13 per km!). The top female runner was Jennifer Ericson (also from the Speedfarm club) in a time of 44:03. The Bastion Running Club did a great job with volunteers and food. Hot coffee, homemade sandwiches and cookies and door prizes at the awards ceremony were much appreciated.
STARR participants seemed pleased with their performances on the day. Four earned medals/ribbons for top ten age group results. Jill and Melanie ran identical times, although competing in different age groups! It was great to see lots of younger runners which bodes well for the future of running and running clubs here on Vancouver Island. Congratulations to all our finishers!
