Cobble Hill 10k Race Report

By Andy Smith

575 runners took advantage of sunny calm conditions at Cobble Hill on Sunday January 22nd to race the Cobble Hill 10k, the second event of the Island VIRS race series. The course was a mostly flat 10k loop (10.4k according to my watch) starting/finishing at Mill Bay Nature School. Temperature was 5 degrees, and the sun made an appearance around race time. The course was modified this year to avoid congestion in the village eliminating two hills and making this a faster course than previous years. These early season races attract a lot of elite runners and that was the case at Cobble Hill. A strong contingent from Canada’s National Triathlon Team participated in the race as well as many strong club level runners. The favourite in the men’s race was Daniel Muluchet Zewdu, a young Ethiopian runner recently arrived in Victoria after living for several years with his family in Israel as refugees. Daniel has a super-fast 10k personal best of 29:30 and is coached by former Olympian Bruce Deacon. However, victory on Sunday went to another young rising star Solen Wood, who passed Daniel in the final kilometers to win the men’s race in a time of 30:47. Solen is a member of Canada’s national triathlon team. The team soon leaves for training camps in Cuba and Bermuda in advance of the international triathlon season, so this race was a bit of a warmup. Victory in the women’s race went to Colette Reimer, another rising star from Canada’s National Triathlon team, in a time of 37:17. Both Solen and Colette compete in the 20-24 age categories.

Many of the competitors at the Cobble Hill Race represent Island running clubs like Harriers, Ceevacs, or Comox Valley. More than 25 clubs competed at Sunday’s race. STARR was well represented by 11 competitors across 8 different age categories bringing home two medals in a very competitive field with many age categories having 20 or more entries. Andy Smith placed second in the M60-64 age group and Bruce Hawke placed second in the M80-84 age group. Several other club members won ribbons for placing top ten in their age group. Pauline Nielsen finished 4th in F 50-54; Stephanie Croft finished 9th in W45-49 and Greg Balchin placed 10th in M60-64. Everyone enjoyed the event. It’s a great location with quiet traffic, decent parking and a local high school to host pre-race and post-race activities. The CEEVACS club did a great job sponsoring the race providing volunteers, food, and home baking at the finish line. Congratulations on a fun event and to all our STARR finishers! Full results for STARR runners are listed below.

Photos below courtesy of Joe Crazy Legs

Sicily Race Report January 2023

From Ken:

Hello fellow runners,

I've been reading all the reports of your activities & applaud you all for your efforts. I've been training regularly, usually every 3 days. I've changed my routine of late & run 8km, then 10km, then 12km which usually gets me about 100km a month, Yah, I realize there's some of you "Ultras" do this in one race.

I've been in 4 competitive races & one social run. Hopefully will include a few pics. My first in Floridia, a Strada 10km which I came 2nd in 1.10.33 which I was very happy with, as there was a temp. reading at a pharmacy sign that said 27 C. & yes, there was more than 2 people in my age group ( 80 - 84 ).

 Next race, Oct. 23rd was at Augusta also a Strada run in which I also came 2nd. Next was the Catania marathon, Dec. 11th, which has a Half & half of a Half ( 10.5 ) which I ran & came 3rd. It took us through some of the historic places & monuments in the city, Piazza Duomo, Bellinni theatre, a beautiful fountain much to the disapproval of a lot of drivers as the streets were closed for our safety. 

 The next race Dec. 18th was in Avola, famous for it's almonds & also a famous wine called Nero D' Avola, which has an interesting story behind it, maybe to be told at one of our meetings in Sooke. This race started at Piazza Umberto & we ran about 1km to the outskirts of town where we picked up a medical & police escort, from there it was 7.5km uphill with switchbacks until we got to Cava Grande on top of one of the Iblean mountains. This was one of the hardest runs I've done. I came in 1st of 2, there was one other runner in the age category above us, Bravo to him.

 This is getting a little long winded, so will close for now. Stay hungry, Stay foolish,

Ken Pungente

P.S.  A lot of these races or monitored by a company called TDS ( Timing Data Services ) & can be found on-line for results, videos & photos, also the club who sponsors the race will have videos & photos on their website. My club here Pachino Running can be found on WhatsApp for videos & photos.

2023 Harriers Pioneer 8K

By Leslie Ann Bent

 

The 2023 Vancouver Island Race series got off to a wet start on Sunday with the Harriers Pioneer 8k road race.  This race is also part of the BC Super series and often attracts elite athletes.  It’s a flat and fast course in North Saanich.  Runners were clearly itching to race.  Nearly 620 runners came out despite the weather to kick off the 2023 race season.  

STARR was well represented with 11 members facing the elements.  Greg was our first STARR runner across the finish line with a time of 37:00, earning him a 5th place age-group finish.  Stephanie was our top female runner, finishing at 39:34. Pauline crossed the finish line just 19 seconds behind her.   

The race welcomed two Olympians to the event. Natasha Wodak was the first place female runner with an amazing time of 26:20, and Genevieve Lalonde was close behind, placing second with a time of 26:35. For the men, Thomas Nobbs (M20-24) had a good margin winning the race with 24:01. It was an exciting race with some very talented runners. All top 10 runners were under 26 minutes.  

STARR Results: 

Greg Balchin (M60-64) 37:00, 5th 

Jordan Zalba (M35-39) 37:49

Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 39:34, 9th 

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) 39:53, 8th 

Sonya Huser (F35-39) 40:44

Justin Heeley (M50-54) 43:57

Melanie Eskildsen (F40-44) 46:56 

Maggie Curtis (F50-54) 47:18 

Kari Toovey (F45-50) 52:22 

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) 59:02, 3rd  

Donna Heeley (F40-44) 1:11:24 

Congratulations to all of our runners. The next race in the series is Cobble Hill 10k on January 22.  

2022 Harriers Stewart Mountain Challenge

By Greg Balchin and Marika Nagasaka

Greg’s story

Well, I thought that I had registered for the Gunner Shaw race, which was the week before Stewart Mountain! That's the last time I register for a race on my cell phone without using my glasses!

I really wasn’t ready for this run. I usually decrease training distances in the winter. But there I was, shivering alongside everyone else at the starting line, waiting for the proverbial gun to go off.

It wasn’t cold, cold – +5C, but the humidity was high and overcast, so it was a wet-cold. I must be getting old. 40 years ago, I wouldn’t have even noticed the weather!

The trails around Thetis Lake, all the way up to Gowlland Park in the Uplands, are perfect for trail runners. There are some exposed rough, rocky bits, swampy bits, rooty bits, and technically challenging bits, but lots of the trail sections just beg to be run hard and fast!

Many of the runners, having huffed and puffed their way up Stewart Mountain, found themselves with less than half a tank of gas at the top, with nothing but 8km of fast, undulating, hard left, hard right down hill trails ahead. Electric Light Trail, for instance, begged to be run hard (I had to walk a piece of it, just to get my breath back). Most of the trails were well marked, but some could have used a few more pink ribbons. Quite a number of people took a wrong turn, fortunately, most of these trails cross each other at some point, so they got back on course. (No, I didn't get lost on this run!).

I managed to trip twice, once in the snow on the way down from Stewart Mt, taking out three runners that I was trying to pass, and once on the Electric Light trail. I kicked a springy root, and did a face plant. Good thing the ground was spongy! That same piece of trail had no markers, so running alone, I thought I'd gone astray, but then I heard a cow bell in the distance. I stepped up my pace thinking woo-hoo! I'm on course, minutes later I caught up to a guy on a bicycle, who had tied a cow bell to his handlebars! Fortunately, an aid station appeared on the roadway ahead of me, and the volunteers cheered me on.

The rest of the run was uneventful, save for a back-and-forth duel with a friend of mine. I managed to keep ahead of him till the last 300 metres, then he pulled ahead of me, and beat me by about 50 metres at the end. He played me well. That's usually my signature move! I need to train harder. Revenge is best served, ice cold at the last second, at warp 9.

Pauline, Bruce, Marika and I all had a great run. It was a good race in almost perfect running weather.

Marika’s Story

Stewart Mountain 10 Mile race was yet another 2022 race with good weather, chilly but clear for the 11:30am start. There was some snow at the top, which made the steep part down even more difficult than usual (and I find this part hard even when it is clear and dry! But the snow did make it quite pretty although a bit hard on the eyes). Other than that, the course was in pretty darn good shape. There's a puddle close to the end that has a bypass which I took for the first time ever since the course was so dry (although there was a soggy creek crossing just before the big puddle). I was feeling very sluggish and had planned to take this run easy, no PB's for me today. At the end I had the back of Pauline in my sights and she thankfully got me to the finish line.

There was hot tomato soup and grilled cheese and other standard post race snacks at the end of the race. I wasn't feeling hungry or great in general so I did not have the stomach for any snacks.

Unofficial results:

10 Mile

Greg B 1:44:28

Pauline N 1:55:40

Marika N 1:55:43

5 Mile

Bruce Hawkes 1:27:17

2022 STARR Gunner Shaw

By Leslie Ann Bent

Saturday, November 26th marked the 38th annual Gunner Shaw Classic trail race at Thetis Lake. This is a tough hilly race that throw everything at runners - rocks, roots, puddles, branches, boulders, six significant hills and stunning views. Nearly 200 runners were up for the challenge.

Two STARR runners participated. This race seems to be one of Marika's favourites so here is what she had to say about this highly recommended event.

"It was a pretty nice day with break in the weather for the race. The course wasn't very wet compared to past years. Puddle #1 wasn't very long but WAS very stinky. Puddle #2 wasn't very big either but very muddy. They had gilled cheese for after race snacks so that was nice."

STARR results

Marika Nagasaka 55:36

Bruce Hawkes, 1:28'20"

Congratulations to our runners.

Thetis Lake Relay 2022

By Andy Smith

Five awesome teams from STARR completed the annual Relay Race held on Remembrance Day; at Thetis Lake. This event is hosted each year by the Prairie Inn Harriers as a fun event to engage the Island running community. For those who have not attempted this event; it is suitable for all ages and ability levels. Teams compete in a relay format with up to four runners completing a 4.5k circuit (each) of Thetis Lake’s perimeter hiking trail. The trail is challenging but not intimidating; a good test of legs and lungs, but short enough to keep runners together. The location and format make for a fun event where you can support teammates and cheer on the competition representing other running clubs on everything from family teams, kids’ teams, open teams, masters and super veteran teams and even a few soloists! You can enjoy a hot chocolate and cookies on the beach as you watch the handoffs. Some teams even had tents and propane firepits to keep warm! STARR has a long tradition of participating in this race and in 2022 we had a good range of open women’s, men’s and mixed teams as well as two men’s super-veteran teams (60+). At the time of publishing this report, the official results were not yet available.

“Thetis Therapy”; a Super Veteran team composed of Greg, Jim, Claude and Andy brought home the gold this year followed in second place by “Slugs in Motion” (LOL) , another men’s super ( or is that super men?) veteran team composed of Mark, Steve, Bruce, and Paul.

“Don’t Call Us Shirley” competed in the women’s open category (with team members all from Shirley): Leslie Ann, Stephanie, Marika, and Val.

“Quads of Fury” was a multi-generational women’s open team composed of Sarah, Mel, Mackenzie (Mel’s granddaughter), and Lisa.

“A Fleet of Feet” competed as a women’s open team composed of Jackie, Bri, Alex, and Karla. Danny Eddy was first alternate and cheered everyone on while volunteering behind the coffee and cookies counter. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed catching up with other STARR members.

Qualicum Bay Trail Race

By Greg Balchin

Saturday, October 22 marked the last race in the Vancouver Island Trail series this year.

We expected a wet, windy, run. The weather forecast called for it, but instead, we had a perfect running conditions. Cool, dry, and sunny. 

The race offers two distances – 25km long course and the 11km short course – with breath taking views and great trails.  Together, both races attracted nearly 400 participants for the grand finale of the series. We had 5 STARR members out running the courses.

The course has about 350 metres of elevation gain, but you don't notice it much, because you are so focused on dodging trees and roots. The best description of the course is that, where Port Alberni, (everyone's most favorite course), is up and down, up and down, the Qualicum trail, is left and right, left and right. Both have a river run along a creek, and along straight gravel road section. Some people didn't care for that road bit on the way back, but I liked it. You could switch to road leg muscles, straighten out, and reset your breathing and metabolism, before diving back into the relentlessly twisty trail system in the woods. 

Marika - First place in her category for the series!

I think this run is now my second most favorite trail to run in the series. Port Alberni is still number one, but there were some really fun sections on the Qualicum trail, that really tested your ability to stay on your feet. Hard, short, up, down, left, right and runs that left me wanting to speed up and push harder. But the threat of more roots ahead and the constant need to balance speed  with endurance kept the pacing relatively steady.

With 164 runners doing the long course, we thought the narrow, single track trails would be a problem for passing people. The trail on either side was a pretty gnarly tripping hazard. But the open road areas under the power lines and the runners themselves, made sure anyone who wished to pass could do so safely. About 8km into the race, everyone was well spread out, or running in little same speed clumps anyway.

 

Results

Long course

Greg Balchin (M60-69)                      2:59:45, 3rdplace

MarikaNagasaka (F40-49)                 3:02:45

Pauline Nielsen (F50-59)                   3:07:31, 1stplace

Sarah McWhirter (F30-39) 3:32:34

Short Course

Maggie Curtis (F50-59)                      1:33:11

Predict Your Time, October 15, 2022

What a great day for a run.  The weather gods were with us as STARR runners and walkers took to the Potholes for some friendly competition – mostly against themselves but also to see who had the best handle on their own paces. STARR offered two distances the short course - 5.8km and the long course – 8.6km.

Thanks to Andrea, Lisa, Jackie and Andy, we had a well-marked course and top-notch timing!  We had 17 participants and 3 on-site volunteers. It was great to see so many people out enjoying the trails. Winners were:

Jenny Adams (8.6km) – 1st place, 21 seconds off her predicted pace

Claude Laforce and Jackie Eddy  (8.6km) – 2nd place tie, 34 second off their predicted times

Jordan (5.8km) – 1st place, 69 seconds off his predicted time

Sonya (5.8km) – 2nd place – 82 seconds off her predicted time.

Overall Results:

2022 Royal Victoria Marathon Weekend

Ocean view near KM 4. Photo courtesy of Joe Crazy Legs

By Leslie Ann Bent

This year the Royal Victoria marathon weekend was back in full swing after a few years of COVID interruptions.  The marathon, half marathon, 8km race and Thrifty Foods kids’ races were all live with options as well for virtual racing. The events attract about 8,000 runners each year over the Thanksgiving weekend. Four STARR members took part and weren’t disappointed.

This weekend of racing has something for everyone.  It was the first live marathon since 2019.  Victoria’s Teferi Kebede Balcha led the men’s marathon throughout the race and clocked 2:25 to take home the gold. On the women’s side, Rozlyn Boutin of Vancouver took home the gold with a time of 2:46.

The half marathon was by far the most popular race with 2,664 runners completing it. First over the finish line for STARR was Claude Laforce with a time of 1:50:29.  Here is what Claude had to say about this year’s race:

“It has been a few years for me so it was good to do the RVM event again. Weather was great, no wind, starting temperature about 14 degrees, by the time I was done more like low 20s.  The 1/2 and full marathon all started together, so the first few kilometers where a little crowded.

“I didn't want to zone out and miss the separation point or it would have been a long painful day. Beautiful course but it seems there is a lot more downhill on the first half so it's easy to start a little too fast. Definitely slowed down a little in the last third of the race, but it's good to do the event again.”

Steve Eriksen was also out on the half marathon race course that day and provided some comments on his experience. “The race was great although I did not take any photos. All of the pictures I took, were ‘mental ones.’ The weather was A+... what a glorious day for a race. I had originally planned on walking the whole half marathon, but ended up doing an on and off run/walk. It was hard to resist running once I was in the midst of all the RVM energy.  Doing the slower pace really allowed me to enjoy the beautiful scenery that Victoria has to offer... without sweat in my eyes. The volunteers did a great job ensuring that everyone stayed hydrated and the supporters were out in hoards cheering. Well done to all of the organizers, volunteers, supporters and participants. I love living in one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

I too participated in the race but had a less ambitious distance goal. The 8km race took the to the streets at 7:15am and it was hard to get a good rhythm going between the early hour and the crowd of runners for the first kilometer or so, typical of a large race.  The course changed from prior years (no Johnston Street hill). It was an out and back route along the water, primarily on Dallas Road.  This made it possible to see the lead runners and cheer them on which was a wonderful motivator in itself. I loved the vibe of racing live again with so many participants, the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the energy that comes with a large race. The scenery was also beautiful.  It was a great race, well organized and I’d highly recommend it for anyone wishing to race next fall.

STARR Results:

½ marathon

Claude Laforce (M 60-64)                           1:50:29

Bri Fitzgerald (F30-34)                                 2:18:07

Steve Eriksen (M45-49)                              2:43:56

8km

Leslie Ann Bent (F55-59)                            1:10

Congratulations to all of our runners.

Finlayson Double 2022

By Greg Balchin

The Finlayson Double is a grueling ultra challenge involving two trail races at Goldstream Provincial Park – the 100k and the 28k. The 100km race which actually covers 105km, has 20,000 feet of climbing, and for their efforts, are rewarded with spectacular views. The race is a night one starting on Friday evening. The 28km race is an out and back course starting on Sunday.

Well, I’d like to start the report with a whole list of excuses why I came in dead last!. But, bruised ego aside, every run, especially competitive trail runs, always end in a coulda ,shoulda ,woulda , if I had only done this, or that, my time could have been  better! There is always next year if I want to attempt a faster run time.

This running event, is really a fun one. Yes we have a lot of hill climbing to do, and a lot of hard, rocky, rooty, tricky,  winding, uppy, downy, back and forthy, and I swear to god more up than down trail than most people are used to!. But, the scenery is spectacular and the volunteers (who really make this run so special), are absolutely awesome. (Watch the video on the Coastline web)

Pauline and I love the night run. For safety, we cut back on our pace and enjoy entering each aid station, set up at regular intervals. Headlights, burning a path ahead, bright stars across an inky black sky. A near full moon this year, glowing a very strange yellow brown colour, from the forest fire smoke drifting up from south of the border.  

This time however, we started at 26'C temperature, hoping it would cool down during the night loop. It didn't happen that way. By the time we got to the Durrance aid station (Mt. Work), I had begun to feel quite sick, I thought that I had eaten some tainted food. I couldn't run, just power hike the hills and try a light run on the downhills. By the time we returned to our starting point, (Goldstream), I had severe stomach cramps. We decided to press on to the next 52k lap, but by the time we entered Durrance again, I was ready to pull from the race. After a break , an ice pack cool down ,and "tissue for my issue" pep talk from the volunteers,  we ran over Mt work to the Munn Rd aid station, and then back to the Durrance A.S.

(At this point, it had become apparent, that I was not suffering alone. More than 30 runners had dropped out with the same stomach cramps. Apparently, we were suffering from heat stroke, caused by a combination of the high temperature, plus a relative humidity, that decreased the effective cooling of our sweat.) 

Since I didn't know how much longer I could run feeling ill, Pauline and I decided that she should go ahead on her own in order to finish the race under the cut off times. Half way between McKenzie Bight and Jocelyn Hill , I got quite sick, and afterward felt good enough to actually start running  again. Some of the check point cut offs were close, by the time I hit the Roundtree aid station, I discovered that I had made the cut off by only 3 minutes! With only 72 minutes to go, I ran the last 5k in under 30 minutes.  I wish the rest of my run could have been like that!

The 28k run the next day was hot again, and I still felt queasy. Since the cut off time was a generous 7 hours, I decided to take my time. 

Pauline ran with me to Mt. Finlayson. Last year I ran out of steam half way up, but she revived me with some home made banana nut cake.  This year, half way up, I found her sitting on a rock, waiting for me, holding two pieces of chocolate cake. That little break, got me to Roundtree!. Thanks Pauline!

Unfortunately, the Jocelyn Hill aid station ran out of water, so I had a minimal amount to drink over 7k. By the time I reached Roundtree, I was overheating again, so the volunteers stuck me on a stretcher for 15 minutes and covered me in ice cubes. That gave me just enough energy to make it back to Goldstream in one piece and under the cut off.

Although this story sounds a bit grueling, normally, the run back from Jocelyn Hill, is like a really fun, flat out sleigh ride. The last 5k have some climbing to do, and a nasty detour piece, but overall, it's quite a fun run. And really, so is the rest of the course. 

It took me about 32:17: to do the whole 128k. Some people managed to do it in less than 23 hours!

 Every aid station had great treats and drinks for us. At Goldstream there were three or four kinds of beer, coffee, pop, water, Gatorade, burgers, hot dogs, chips, fruit, etc. As much as you wanted, all free, even for family members, friends and spectators.

And just to make my day, we also had very kind massage therapists, and chiropractors on hand, giving the runners free tune-ups at the end of their runs!

Some lessons learned: 

  • Every race, no matter how well you prepare for it, can go sideways on you. Analyze and make adjustments to your running strategies. 

  • Don't agonize over the last race, learn from the event and move on. Know that it will make you a wiser and hopefully, better runner .

  • Two experiences that I have recently learned, is how to recognize the onset of both heat stroke, and hypothermia (that's a Kludahk run story).

  • No matter how nice the weather is, run with someone, and carry extra rations, batteries, clothing, and gear if the run is over 30k.

  • Don't be afraid to test your limits. How else will you find out what you are capable of doing?

  • Running alone has its merits, but I have discovered that the best memories experienced when running are almost always ones shared with fellow runners.

Finlayson Arm 50km+ Trail Race by Marika Nagasaka

The Finlayson Arm 50km trail race climbs over 10,000 feet and actually measures 52.5km, but who's counting? There were 123 runners participating in this weekend's 50km race. The event includes 100k, a 28k and a double.

Saturday Sept 10th, I ran the Finlayson 50km (which is actually 52.5km). I have been training for this for the last 5 months to prepare myself for what I knew was going to be a challenging course. The course was even more challenging than I expected but I had a great time and I am happy to have that one checked off my list.

We started at 7am, it was a nice temperature, cool enough to start off in a very light long sleeve shirt. Within the first km the course takes us under the Highway through a culvert with no chance of keeping your feet dry! What a way to start a 50km (or 28km or 100km) race! Last year when I did the 28km the anticipation of this was worse, this year I knew what was coming so that helped. Then we run through Goldstream park up to the second dry but dark tunnel to get back to the Finlayson side of the highway. That's when the race starts to get real as it is quite a grind from here on in. I felt good going up Finlayson, I tried not to push too hard as I knew there was a lot more vertical to come and last year, I think pushing too hard up Finny was the main reason I experienced leg cramps for the first time ever. I think I may have still pushed too hard though as when I was approaching the 1st Aid Station and Bag drop at Rowntree (11.1km in) I started to get some of those awful leg cramps. I awkwardly changed my shoes here and said hi to my husband and dog Noodle all while being very worried about getting cramps so early on. I filled my hydration bladder and carried on, determined to get my cramping under control, which meant I needed to slow down a bit and especially not push so hard up the hills and start taking my electrolytes more regularly. Taking smaller steps up the steep parts seemed to really help. From here it seemed like a long way to the second Aid Station. It was unchartered territory for me as the turnaround for the 28km was a few kms after that 1st Aid station, at Jocelyn Hill. I passed Greg B and Pauline around Jocelyn Hill, it once again amazed me that they had been up all night and this was Lap 2 for them!

The course is lovely with amazing views of Finlayson Arm and the hills beyond. Up to this point it was quite clear. Most of the course was thankfully in the shade of the forest with not too much direct sun. Coming down to Mackenzie Bight and then up again to the 2nd Aid Station and Bag drop at Durrance Rd I was feeling kind of okay but happy to be able to stop for a few minutes and get more water, load up on more fuel, grab myself a cucumber from my bag and also some watermelon from the Aid folks. There were a lot of wasps so hopefully none of the volunteers or runners got stung! I missed my crew (husband and Noodle) so it made me worried about my pace and sad not to have a familiar face to encourage me on, it was so hard to judge how my race was going being green and I was starting to lose a bit of confidence here, not sure at all when I might finally be done.

More of a grind from here up Mt Work with lots of roots and technical trail which seemed harder than usual. It's basically an out and back course so I started to see more runners on their way back which was somewhat encouraging but also a bit of a downer as I wanted to know when do I get to turn around? How far ahead of me are these people? Up and up and the light started to get a bit weird around here with the hazy skies. The course started to even out onto easier flat trail and then there were some encouraging and funny signs so I knew I was finally coming up to the Munn Rd Aid Station. I didn't stop here for too long as I still had a good amount of water, just grabbed yet again more watermelon, I felt pretty good.

Here I turned around and headed back down the same trail but then after 1/2km I hit a junction with runners coming at me from both ways and my stomach sunk. I asked the runners coming from the left if I went the wrong way, they said yep there's a loop so back I went to retrace my steps to the Aid Station and then saw the signs to head through and carried on through the loop, kind of pissed off about doing extra so I foolishly sped up to try to regain some time. Finally I brushed off my bad attitude about my mistake and I started to feel a bit loopy by this point, I could feel myself on the verge of cramps so I went back to my baby steps up the steep parts and tried to enjoy seeing all the faces that were still heading up to Munn Rd and giving (and receiving) encouragement to/from the folks heading the opposite way. I started to get a second wind around here so I tried to enjoy that and also remember it wasn't going to last.

The downhills were really starting to feel hard at this point. Once finally back to the Durrance Aid Station (now the 4th Aid Station) I finally saw my husband and he seemed surprised in a good way to finally see me after missing me at Aid Station #2&3 so I felt better about my progress. I filled up on water again and had another cuke and watermelon and a much-needed bathroom break and then off to tackle the BS long steady downhill back to Mackenzie Bight. At this point I started to look forward to the uphill sections and dread the downhill sections. I was feeling pretty good again once we started back uphill to Jocelyn Hill so that was a nice surprise, my third wind was kicking in so I just ran with it and was able to pass a few people from this point on.

This is where you could really see the race was taking a toll on folks. I filled my small water flask at the bonus/surprise Aid Station set up at Jocelyn Hill and carried on down to the 5th and last Aid Station at Rowntree where I quickly got my wee flask filled again as I still had water in my vest bladder and at this point I didn't want to stop, I called to my husband who was ready with my bag that I was just going to keep going. Two kms along a bit of easy road and then there was a sign 5km left and we were back onto trail for the final leg, you can bet I was doing a serious countdown at this point. Some ups on fairly fresh trail here and there were a few trees down that we had to scramble over which was really hard by this point and I worried about that setting off my cramps.

This part is the Finlayson bypass and there's a steep downhill section of trail that was brutal but after that not too bad thankfully mostly uphill to the finish. I did go the wrong way again for about 50m as there was a few old ribbons at the part where at the start we head down to the culvert, so I sprinted back (oops, that got me dry heaving!) and headed towards the finish, if someone passed me at this point I would have been very annoyed. There was one lady with poles (my line-up friend) that I was trying to stay ahead of at this point as we had been jockeying back and forth since Munn Rd and I didn't know how far back she was. I was able to pick it up to cross the finish line and felt pretty good at the end, compared to some of the Trail Series races.

I gratefully received my beer glass and a fist bump from the Race Director and then hobbled over to find my bag and husband and dog. I felt nauseous but not crampy, super stiff and wobbly at this point and I just wanted to start to head home so we skipped the beer and burgers and I walked my old dog down the road while my husband went and fetched the car. My 14-year-old dog was able to walk faster than me at this point. My biggest surprise is that my stomach muscles (esp. the obliques) felt sore I guess from running for so long and all the uphills. I have been very hungry for the last couple days and my metabolism is revved right up.

I finished in 9:37'07" (second in age group) which I was happy about as I had been aiming for under 10 hours. This is my longest time on feet by a long shot.

This was a great race and I would like to try it again another year, I feel I could shave an hour off my time if things went well. I'm still not sure about trying the 100km Finlayson, but I am hoping to do more 50km races and maybe an 80km (the Brigade Race on historical trails, check it out!) for 2023. I am looking forward to a bit of a rest from training so hard and letting my body recover.

Mt. Washington Trail Race

August 13, 2022

By Leslie Ann Bent

Mt. Washington hosted the Vancouver Island Trail Race Series’ 5th race of the season. This past weekend, three of our STARR trail racers were out to take on the 14km long course including 820 meters of vertical climbs. The race website boasts running above the treeline, spectacular views of the Comox Valley and Strathcona Park, and lots of fun single track. There is also an 8km short course for those wanting something a little less challenging. Over 300 runners participated in this year’s races.

Here is what Greg had to say about the race:

“ Over 700 metres of climbing. 500 straight up the ski lift, then a fast run down then back up a 50° incline 300 metres, before winding down a road that should have been a fast flat out run. But it was loose heavy rock. Very difficult.

“Yes ,I did manage to go off track on the downhill portion. I missed a turnoff on the logging road, Fortunately, a guy I had passed 5 minutes before, yelled at me as I was disappearing around a corner, and I had to run back uphill again!

“Most of my friends were 5 to 30 minutes ahead of me. Marika killed me, coming in 10 min ahead. Pauline pushed ahead of me three times on the uphills. She was literally pushing me up the last 50 feet of the second hill. I came in 1 minute ahead of her in the end. Couldn't open up on the downhills, my knee was too sore.

“We were lucky, the weather was cool, and actually spritzed a little rain on us towards the end of the race. I doubt we could have run it at all had next weeks 34'c forecast had been race day. There was zero tree cover. It would have been brutal.”

STARR results

Marika Nagasaka (F40-49), 2nd 1:51:27

Greg Balchin (M60-69), 3rd 2:00:57

Pauline Nielsen (F50-59) 2:01:57

Congratulations to all of our runners.