We have to pick up the pace this week, trying to catch up with some of Nanaimo’s top runners who have placed well in recent high-profile road races…
Congratulations go first of all to Erin Burrett, who is back in town after competing as part of Team B.C. at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships held April 29 in Montreal. Conditions were cold and windy on race day, but Burrett still managed an excellent run. Her time of one hour, 21 minutes and 40 seconds made her the eighth out of nearly 1,000 female runners to finish. She was third in the F30-34 division.
The result in Montreal came on the heels of another strong performance for Burrett two weeks earlier in Vancouver. The annual Sun Run is the largest 10K event in the country and this year attracted close to 50,000 runners. Nanaimo had nearly 100 participants involved and Burrett was fouth in the F30-34 age group thanks to her personal best time of 36:44.
Fastest Nanaimo runner in Vancouver was Jaymi Dumper with a time of 35:55, which placed him 89th overall and 11th in the M30-34 age group. Following Dumper and Burrett, next local to complete the Sun Run was Edwin Johnston in a time of 37:37. That earned him 169th place overall and 18th in the M40-44 division. Irving Mortenson finished in 45:17, Brad Davidsen in 46:18 and Rick Hastings in 46:52. Kevin Palmer posted a time of 47:05 and Darren Angell was a mere second behind in 47:06.
Randy Arnault’s time was 47:20, Ryan Lamb’s was 47:29 and Darren Gill’s was 47:49. Mitchell Read finished the route in 48:44, with Fraser Read close behind in 48:52. Joel Morley had a time of 49:04, Daniel Young-Mercer at 49:28, Kevin Brocklehurst was at 50:39 and David Buchanan at 51:11.
Reaching the finish in 51:46 was Adam Pan, while Iain Meadows finished in 51:56, Ian Boers in 52:22 and Tim Stone in 53:46. Next from Nanaimo were more members of the Brocklehurst clan, as Michelle came in with a time of 54:35, followed by Matthew and Jessica Brocklehurst with identical times of 55:06. Other local runners to complete the Vancouver Sun Run course in less than one hour were Andrew Day in 55:13, Douglas Watson in 58:19 and Antony Braga with a time of 58:50.
In terms of participation, the second-largest 10K race in the country after the Sun Run is the Times Colonist 10K held each spring in Victoria. Last month a total of 12,490 runners pounded the pavement in our capital city. The fastest of them all was Kip Kangogo from Kenya, whose time of 29:51 won him the race for the second time. The women’s title went to the same person who won the Sun Run, as Port Moody’s Natasha Wodak-Fraser crossed the finish line in 34:32.
Nanaimo was well-represented at the Victoria event, with over 160 runners taking part. Of those, first to the finish was Byron Trajan, whose time of 34:31 earned him 27th spot overall and fifth in the M30-34 age division.
Next local to the line was Brian Zurek in 35:18, good for 30th in the field and seventh in the M35-39 group. Damian Allen finished 104th overall, 13th in the M30-34 division thanks to his time of 38:00. Julia Tschanz was the quickest Nanaimo female runner in Victoria. Tschanz finished at 169th overall and third in the F20-24 group with her time of 39:37.
Gary Croome posted a time of 39:54, Karl Nykwist was at 40:04 and Jordan Wilbey finished in 43:28. Third in the M65-69 division and 424th in the field was Nanaimo’s Arjan Gelling with his time of 43:37. Jim Lee completed the course in 43:46, Brad Fietz in 44:27 and Kevin Palmer in 45:29.
A time of 45:02 earned John Durkin ninth in the M60-64 division and 613th overall. Close behind him came Al Shirley in 45:43, Craig Blanchard in 46:49, Lonny Sullivan in 47:28 and Ben Leggett in 48:01. Other local runners to finish in the top two thousand of the large field in Victoria were Garfield Harvey, Kimberly Bell, Micah Chester, Leanne Lewis, Kylie Thorgeirson, Brandi Chesher, Kari Gannon, Stephen Hunter, Cameron Wong and Tracey Gold.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.
Ian Thorpe writes about sports Saturdays.