Thanks to Andy Smith for the Race Report
Five STARR members competed in good running conditions at the Bastion Cedar 12k race on Sunday, March 16th. This is the 5th event of the 2025 Vancouver Island Race Series (VIRS). Temperature was 7 degrees and conditions were dry when we arrived at Cedar Elementary School just South of Nanaimo for an 11am start. The event had been rescheduled from February 9th due to snow, but race organizers and local Bastion Running Club did a great job hosting the event despite the change in date. The racecourse is out and back along Cedar Road starting and finishing in front of Cedar Elementary School on pretty and quiet rural roads. There are rolling hills to keep things interesting and plenty of spectators at the finish line to cheer finishers across the finish line!
It’s always a fun vibe at these races and the local Bastion (Nanaimo) running club did a great job hosting 309 runners (148 women and 161 men). There were plenty of fast club level runners participating despite the reschedule. The winner of the men’s race was Dusty Spiller from the Cowichan Valley Running Team in a time of 40:08. Victory in the women’s race went to Julia Tschanz from the Speedfarm team in a time of 44:58.
More than 20 clubs competed at Sunday’s race. STARR was represented by 5 competitors across several age categories bringing home three ribbons in a very competitive field. Top ten ribbon winners were Andy Smith in the M60-64 age group, Barbara Cina in the W45-49 age group and Jill Potter Hellman in the W60-64 age group. Everyone enjoyed the event. It’s a great location with quiet traffic, good parking and a local high school to host pre-race and post-race activities. A long list of series and local sponsors provided food, drinks and door prizes at the finish line. Congratulations on a fun event and to all our STARR finishers! Full results for STARR runners are listed below.
Name Time Category Age Group Place
Andy Smith 53:36 M60-64 6th
Barb Cina 56:02 W45-49 4th
Jill Potter Hellmann 1:13:37 W60-64 7th
Maggie Curtis 1:16:03 F50-54
Kari Toovey 1:16:03 F50-54