Report by Leslie Ann Bent
Sunday, February 25th marked the 5th race of the Vancouver Island Race Series, at Hatley Castle. High winds and rain didn’t stop 8 STARR members from braving the elements to take on this challenging course, along with about 500 other hearty souls. The website says the course is a race with character and that didn’t even factor in the weather.
The course has a fast start and finish, but it’s the hilly parts in the middle that everyone remembers, including the steep climb around kilometer 3. It’s a combination of paved road and trail that will get your heart pumping, with views of the lagoon (on a clear day) and of course it features a castle.
There was a fast field of runners at this race. First to cross the finish line was Duncan’s Dusty Spiller (M35-39) with a time of 26:11. Taking first place for the women was Victoria’s triathlete, Maia Watson (F20-24) with a time of 29:42.
Andy was STARR’s first runner to cross the finish line. A sprint-finish between Dan Smith and Andy Smith, both in the M60-64 age group, left Andy 3 seconds behind Dan with a time of 34:45, earning him a 3rd place finish.
STARR took home one medal and three ribbons – not bad for a rainy Sunday morning. Congratulations to all of our runners. The results were great.
Results (chip time)
Andy (M60-64) 34:45, 3rd
Melanie (F40-44) 46:09
Maggie (F50-54) 49:06, 9th
Jill (F60-64) 49:27, 10th
Kari (F50-54) 50:25
Joldine (F60-64) 58:05
Donna H (F45-49) 1:10:02
Bruce (M80-99) 1:23:51, 5th
