By Andrew Smith
Sunday, April 28 marked the 35 th anniversary of the Times Colonist (TC) 10k race. It was a cool and gusty day and 8666 participants were up for the challenge. The 10k course is a flat and fast loop through downtown Victoria, Fairfield and James Bay neighborhoods– starting and finishing on Victoria’s inner harbour in front of the Legislature buildings. It’s a scenic route passing iconic landmarks on the way out and a beautiful view across the Strait of Georgia to the mainland on the way back. Twelve STARR participants and family members were part of the action. Despite cloudy, showery weather it was a fun, positive vibe at the start line with music, dancers, and a short speech from the Mayor of Victoria. The race organizers used a wave start and corrals based on expected finish time to keep the large crowd organized. This race attracts first timers, families, and teams so there was a lot of excitement in the start corrals. Maggie’s EMCS Wolverines team, and Sooke Elementary were there representing Sooke in the school team category. Elite racers, including several aspiring Olympians, started first and led the way around the course in 30-40 minutes. The final competitors crossed the finish line two and a half hours later.
The overall race was won by Thomas Nobbs (M20-24), an ex-US collegiate runner from Vancouver, who repeated his 2023 victory finishing in 30.06, despite the blustery headwind all runners faced on the exposed back part of the course. Makenna Fitzgerald (F20-24) from Calgary was top female finisher in an equally impressive 34:13. STARR’s top finisher was Andy in 40:58, earning 1st place out of 138 in the M60-64 age group. Barbara was our first female to cross the line in an excellent time of 44:03, finishing 5 th out of 396 in F45-49 age group. Ken Pungente capitalized on a season of winter racing in Sicily to take 2 nd place in the M80-84 age group. A big congratulations to Maggie’s EMCS Wolverines for finishing 3 rd in the School Team category! It was sometimes challenging to cheer on fellow STARR members due to the huge number of racers but we all enjoyed the cheering from the enthusiastic spectators and volunteers!
This year’s TC 10k was a big success. There was a large number of participants, and the event was well organized with a great course and wonderful volunteers. The participation from running clinics and teams representing government, trades, service industries plus the family and school teams gives this event a special atmosphere. Congratulations to all our STARR participants and hope to see you all there next year!
STARR TC 10k Results (time, age group result)
Andy (M60-64) 40:58, 1 st
Barbara (F45-49) 44:03, 5 th
Steve E. (M50-54) 45:29
Kayla (F25-29) 56:02
Maggie (F50-54) 58:02,
Jill (F60-64) 58:36
Kari (F45-49) 59:29
Melanie E. (F40-44) 1:01:24
Stephanie (F50-54) 1:11:57
Hannah (F19-) 1:11:51
Ken (M80-84) 1:15:19, 2nd
Jan (F60-64) 1:27:59