Interview with Jackie Eddy on the formation and history of STARR. September 2025, by Georgia Silk

When and how was STARR formed, and by whom?

Jackie explains that she started running in her mid-40s. After some years of running she participated in the late 1990s in a fundraising race (The Family Resource Run) organized by Geoff and Faye del Grande, who owned a gym in Sooke. The next year at this event, several of the participants got together, with the idea of creating a running organization in Sooke. The club had its inaugural meeting in September 1999; group member Jerry Liedtke, one of the owners of Village Foods, let them use their meeting room, where the club structure and purpose was agreed and the first club exec elected in 1999.  They all suggested names for the club, and after careful consideration they agreed upon STARR. The first club President was Melanie Cunningham, and some of the other early movers and shakers of the club in addition to Jackie were Ken Pungente, Vince Trahan, Sharon Cormier, Susan Bexson, Bruce Hawkes, Tom Burgess, Keith Mernickle, Chuck Minton, Bridget Church, Barb Thompson. Many others contributed. They quickly decided that the main purpose of the club was to promote running in the community in Sooke, and they have stuck to that purpose ever since; with that guiding principle in mind, an early goal was to create a Sooke road race which would promote running and also help raise funds for a running track to be built with the new High School.  See more below.

Has the club been going continuously since 1999? How has membership fared?

Yes, the club has kept going through thick and thin, including through Covid. Membership numbers have gone up and down over time, and it remains a typically small club given the distance from Victoria and the existence of other well established running groups on the the island.  People tend to come and go from Sooke, and visitors also sometimes attend, but there has always been a small ‘hard core’ of regular attendees on a Thursday eve and Sat morning. Some of these have included Steve Kent, Hector and Louise Meir, Chuck and Lorna Robertson, Jodi Coderre, Melinda Brake, Jim Gable, Steve Zylak, Heather Devereux, Lisa Greig, Mark Ziegler, Claude LaForce, Michel and Susanne, Lawrence and Kim Fairfield, Tom Burgess, Danny Eddy, Robin Wark. Committed to running in all weathers, and sporting an array of bright lights so as to be seen on the dark winter evenings, the group can be found limbering up in front of Seaparc centre on a Sat morning and usually afterwards for a sociable coffee at Little Vienna.

What was the original purpose and focus of the club, and has that changed over time? What have been the club highlights and key achievements?

The original aim of the group was to promote running in the community, and the club has stayed true to that aim over the last 25 years. STARR benefited from an early donation from the T’Souke Runners, who were a previous running club that decided to close but gave their funds to the new kids on the block. Other donors included the Sooke Lions. The same goal of inspiring a love of running has guided any fundraising activities – in the early years there was a keen desire to encourage children to run, and when the new Sooke High School was being built STARRs lobbied hard for a running track. Sadly the school decided on other priorities, but the club were still generous in donating funds to the school and encouraging their Cross Country school team. Current member Maggie Grant is the coach for the school team.

Key highlights have been the club’s participation in, and encouragement and support of running races on the island. The Great Sooke Foot Race was STARR’s brainchild, and the inaugural race was held in July 2000. The approximately 12k route started at the Legion, and wound its way around Sooke, with finishing ceremonies at the Community Centre. At the first race there were over 100 runners, with a first place time of 44:53 for Andrew Mehl of Victoria. The fastest woman was Siobhan Gallagher of Ireland at 51:10, and STARR’s own Jackie came in at 58:18, as the fastest in her category. The race continued to be a feature of Sooke life for another 8 years, and attracted runners from all over. As well as race shirts, there were even race socks one year! As the decade drew to a close, the club decided to end the race, but remained very committed to fielding runners for the many races around the island and in particular, the Island Series. For a relatively small club, STARR has always punched above its weight in terms of representation at island races. See below of photos of STARR runners at various of these races.

STARR runners also participated in special relay races including the Courtney to Nanaimo annual relay, and in a special one-off relay with ten legs in 2007 to commemorate 50 years of the Port Renfrew road system. There were so many runners interested in this one that there were multiple runners for each leg.

Has the club faced challenges in its history?

Yes of course. A key challenge for any small club is how to raise awareness and keep membership numbers up as members inevitably move on. STARRs social media presence on Facebook helps to keep members up to date as well as provide information to potential new members. In a tight-knit club like this, it’s inevitable that losses are felt keenly; Jackie talked about the sadness of losing fellow clubmate Tom Burgess as well as original member and good friend Vince when he passed in 2019, and about the shock of at least two occasions in which runners suffered serious cardiac episodes whilst running. On these occasions fellow STARR runners were able to ensure their speedy access to EMS which avoided them becoming fatalities. This illustrates one of the many advantages of club running!

Any club faces challenges in making decisions on how to best manage funds. Jackie commented that whilst STARR has always had a formal executive structure, all members have been welcome to attend and speak at meetings, and people have been able to freely express different opinions. Where agreement could not be reached on a difficult subject, the issue was put to a vote and resolved in that way. Unfortunately Covid had a detrimental impact on meeting attendance by general members.

What has STARR meant to you personally, Jackie, over the years?

Jackie said, “being involved with STARR has made me a faster and better runner and given me the motivation and ability to keep on running. At 73 I still enjoy the Saturday morning social runs, which complement my own runs and long cycles up to Saanich and back. Back in the early days of the club, I was a keener, and wanted to run as fast as I could. Although I have a reputation as a tough runner, I hope that I’ve also been able to help others to push themselves to achieve a bit more.” Whan asked about her own running achievements, she mentioned two unofficial marathons and many more official half marathons, as well as having done the Kusam Klimb (no less than 8 times); The Kusam Klimb is a wild and rugged 24 km loop heading up and over the back of Mt. H’Kusam then down the Stowe Creek watershed. With over 1,500m elevation gain, it’s a tough challenge!

She concluded by saying that she feels strongly STARR has always been about welcoming anyone who is serious about running, and making everyone feel included; the runners usually form themselves into natural groups base on their ability and pace/distance goals, and will organize themselves so that no one who wants to run socially runs alone. “ We don’t necessarily run at the same pace, but we do start and finish at the same place”.  The Saturday coffee get togethers have also helped to reinforce that atmosphere of support and friendship.