Medal and Ribbon Day for STARR

Some STARRS getting ready to race!

Robin, Claude and Bruce.

A few more STARRs ready to run!

By Leslie Ann Bent

STARRs ran on Sooke River Road this Sunday, racing on home turf in the 5th race of the Vancouver Island race series. This race is a special one for our club as we usually have a great STARR turnout. 2024 was no exception. With members and friends 19-strong for competition and two others cheering us on along the route, we had excellent representation at this local race. I worried about heavy rain but the weather gods gave us a break. The race starts with a kids race – very fun to watch. This year, the Lion’s Club wasat the finish line with pancakes and sausages for the runners (plus special meal packages for those with dietary restrictions).

The course is an out and back, hilly and winding course with a nice downhill start and uphill climb back to the finish. It’s not the elevation that makes this course a challenging one, but rather some short steep kickers that keep runners on their toes. One thing I love about the out and back course is that it allows participants to see other runners and cheer each other on as we pass.

This race attracts an incredible field of athletes. The first runner across the finish line was Brandon Vail (M25-29) with a time of 32:14. What was more impressive on Sunday, was the well-known overall second-place finisher, Andrew Russel (M40-44) with an amazing time of 32:29 – a course record in his division. The first female athlete to cross the finish line was Speedfarm’s Jennifer Erikson (F30-34) with a time of 36:20. The top 16 runners all had times under 35 minutes on this challenging race.

The first STARR to cross the finish line was Andy Smith with a time of 41:05, earning him a silver age-group medal. The second club runner to finish was Ian with a time of 44:55, also in the M60-64 age category – his first race on Vancouver Island, earning him a 6th place age group ribbon.

Our Thursday speed night runner, Barbara Cina crossed neck and neck with Scott R, just one second behind him. She was our first female runner to complete the course. All of our athletes had an incredible day.

Here is what some STARR members had to say about the race:

Bri: “I felt good at 24 weeks pregnant :)! Definitely took it easy and listened to my body. I love the local Sooke race and the post race food offerings are some of the best I have had at any island race. The first half felt smooth and steady. I enjoyed the rolling hills and your legs got a nice break on the downhill as you approach km 5. I also took my time to hydrate with electrolytes at the 5km aid station which helped fuel me up those hills! The second half is a great challenge with some steady hills until the 8km mark. Once you see 8km it’s nice and relatively flat so you can push to the finish! Always a treat to run this route in Sooke with the local running community!”

Ian: “t was great, a very nice event and indeed my first on the Island. My takeaways were.. Great to see such a strong local presence and such good representation form the young with the kids race and the senior citizens in the 10km. As a Canmore resident it is totally novel to be running a race in March. Our season doesn’t start till June and so that is why it all felt a little rusty for me. Lovely course, we have driven the road many times, but it is only when you run it that you notice the ups and the downs and how many bends there are thankfully obscuring the course ahead. Organizers and volunteers deserve a big shout out as it the race was superbly arranged without being micro managed. I’d also like to acknowledge the Lions for the pancake breakfast, that was a real bonus and well deserved for us all at the end. Great to have an out and back route as you know where you are and you can give and get shout outs to/from your club mates! Lastly thanks to the rain gods for showing some discretion and holding off till after everyone had finished.”

Melanie C: “What I really liked was the support and encouragement given by all our STARRS! Seeing Jackie at the top of the hill made me pick up the pace because I didn’t want to get caught walking! And, to see that this race has survived the test of time with so many younger runners coming out now. The organization did a great job and I am was so happy to see our local Sooke Lions Club cooking up pancakes along side the ladies of Sooke Harbourside Lions catering to our celiac runners.”

Sonya: “It was a great day! I’m so glad I did it, I had some doubts prior. Seeing all the STARRs on course and having a pregnant run buddy made it more enjoyable! I’m also glad we did a test run a few weeks ago, that helped prepare me for the hills on the course.”

Claude: “ideal weather for the race and great to see so me Starrs either participating or supporting. A shout out for Robin for dragging me up the hills.”

And, short and sweet from Robin: “I enjoyed the event and it was awesome to see so many STARR runners out there.”

STARR and friends’ results (chip time)

Andy (M60-64) 41:05, 2nd

Ian (M60-64) 44:55, 6th

Scott (M35-39) 45:16

Barbara Cina (F45-49) 45:17, 3rd

Steve E. (M50-54) 47:17

Jordan (M35-39) 51:04

Claude (M60-64) 54:21

Robin (M45-49) 54:22

Melanie E (F40-44) 55:41

Maggie (F50-54) 57:03, 9th