Way to go David! Photo courtesy of Dan Clayton
The 18th Annual Sooke River 10K along Sooke River Road was held 25 Mar. and hosted for the 1st time by Victoria TriStars. The weather was race ready with partly sunny skies, a light ocean breeze and a 7 degree temperature. There were 271 finishers (2017 262) covering the out and back hilly course. The OA winner was John Vanderveen (30-34) in a time of 34:54. The overall woman and with her 3rd win of the Series was Erin Burrett (35-39) from Nanaimo’s Bastion RC. She hit the mat with a 37:06 and was 7th OA. The top Master Male was TriStars John Greaves (45-49) in a time of 38:17 and 9th OA. The top Female Master was Marion Bryan (40-44) from the Comox Valley RR (CVRR) in a time of 44:20 and 56th OA.
STARR had eight runners in the field capturing 1 bronze medal and 7 ribbons in various divisions. Awesome run for everyone. First in was Jonathan Dvorak (40-44) with a 43:35. He was 4th in a field of 11 and 45th OA. Another fine run. Next in was David White (45-49) edging out Claude LaForce. White hit the mat with a 46:46 bettering his 2017 time of 53:36. He finished with an 8th in a field 13 and 79 OA. Well done. LaForce was in with a 46:47 and was also 8th in a field 17 and 81st OA. With some gas left in the tank, it was a good strong sprint finish to the line by both.
Our 1st woman in was Stephanie Croft (40-44) with a 47:49 and was 4th in a field of 13 and 92nd OA. Well done. Our next STARR in was Jason Seysener (30-34) with a time 48:20. He finished with an 8th in a field of 10 and 99th OA. Good job.
Next in was Mark Ziegler (65-69) who came in with a 51:36 and was 3rd in a field 9 and 135th OA. Next to cross the line was Bruce Hawkes (75-79) who has never missed a Sooke River 10K since it’s inception. Bruce was in with a strong finish of 1:00:18 and 4th in a field of 6 and 217th OA. Closing out our STARR field was Teresa Lennox (45-49). Bettering her 2017 time of 1:02:40, she was in with a strong 1:01:13. She was 7th in a field of of 8 and 223rd OA.
Congratulations to all our finishers. Our next race and the last of the Series will be the Bazan Bay 5K in Sidney on 8 Apr. The Series Awards will also be presented at this time. Congratulations to all our STARR’s who gave their all at every race in the Series to fly the STARR flag. You guys were awesome. Hope to see you all in 2019.