2023 Half Corked Marathon

The start of the run!

By Kari

Since I started running in 2016 I have generally told myself that I would never run a marathon, or even a half marathon. Honestly, I am still just thrilled that I get out and run (jog? amble?). But moms are persuasive and mine convinced me to run the Half Corked Marathon in Osoyoos this year. Its motto is “if you finish first, you missed the point” so I figured it might be a good intro half marathon for me.

Along the route!

The run starts at a different winery each year. The big yellow school bus picked us runners up at 7:10 am on Saturday, May 27 and took us to Rust Winery, where we were greeted with gorgeous views, granola bars and glasses of chardonnay. Never have I ever drank a glass of wine before noon, never mind 7:30 a.m., but, when in Rome…

The run organizers then got us organized (the run is organized in waves, each of about 50 people, starting at 20 minutes apart) and told us that, while last year the run was 24 km, this year the run was 18-20 km (no one really measured I guess). The first part of the run was up a long driveway, to our next winery, Culmina Family Estate. Our reward for ascending the hill was a lovely grapefruit/rose spritzer. Despite me promising to myself to not drink every wine that was offered, I accepted a glass. Then we ran back down the hill and were greeted by Road 13, where I indulged again. These are all small, sample sizes of wine but I am not a big drinker so by this point I had a stern talk to myself about not drinking at every stop. But the next winery had sangria. What winery was that, you ask? I don’t know as I was slightly drunk by that point.

Signs marking the way

After the sangria I drank a lot of water. It was starting to get hot – the day started out a bit overcast and cool but, in true Osoyoos fashion, the sun started to shine and the heat was coming on by 8:30.

Next up was Silver Sage Winery, which became my favourite of the route – they had a lovely spread for the runners, including antipasto, fruit, baked goods, real wine glasses, seating and loud cheering for everyone that came along. After I had some food (and a small glass of sparkling white wine), I headed off towards Nostalgia winery, the official half way point, where I limited myself to some apple fritter. From that point, I carried on, only stopping for a wine spritzer from Tinhorn Creek. At this stage the wineries become less frequent and the prickly pear cactus at the side of the road more abundant, but I could feel the end of my run getting closer and luckily, after one rather grueling and long hill, the rest of the way was mostly downhill (literally, not metaphorically) and, at one point, right through the rows of growing grapes of a vineyard. I ran across the finish line at the Oliver Community Park, happy to be finished and mostly sober. There is no official time keeping for the run and I am not sure how long I took – I do know that it took me longer than ever to hit the 10 km mark, but in my defense, I have never stopped for an antipasto platter mid-run and also there was wine. Did I mention the wine?

Once at the finish line I was given drink tickets for more wine tasting and ate delicious paella in the sun. After I was refueled, I danced with my mom to her favourite local band while we watched the rest of the runners come in. It was a really fun run and a great excuse to spend a weekend in Osoyoos with my mom.

Grape vines!

If anyone plans to go in the future (I would like to go back), costumes are encouraged and I saw some great ones – people dressed as bunches of grapes, the Cheshire cat and Mad Hatter, a bride and groom, T-Rexes, Care Bears, etc.  The run itself is expensive ($265) and the organizers make way too much use of all-caps in their communication but it is a fun run and likely the easiest “half” in the world (there were many, many, non-runners in the crowd).

Now I am considering running the half marathon at the RVM. Does anyone know what wineries that goes to?

Synergy Health Centre Bazan Bay 5k – April 2023

By Leslie Ann Bent

The final race of the Vancouver Island series was held on Sunday, April 23 in Sidney.  The race is fast and flat, and runs along the Lochside shoreline. The out and back course allows runners to see their teammates and lead runners as everyone makes their way along the course. This event draws a big crowd of competitive and recreational runners & walkers of all talents.  Participants totaled 565 this year. Some said there was wind. Others enjoyed the conditions with no rain. No one is too old or too young. The event attracted 34 runners 70 and older, and 35 in the under 16 categories. It was great to see the youngsters out despite them leaving me in the dust!

It was a great event to catch up with fellow STARRs.  Ten members were out to take on this challenge. I chatted with Donna, Maggie and Melanie at the start line, and caught up with Pauline as I did a walking warm up. Andy gave me a high five before the race began.  It’d been ages since I’d connected with friends at a race start. It’s great to see so many friends and people who inspire you.

The race was quick. Pounding feet and gentle waves set the background sounds early on in the race. To our right, colourful tulips dotted lawns – a sure sign that spring had arrived and a scenic route for the race. I was delighted and energized by a small cheering squad from UVic shouting my name as I passed the first kilometre mark giving me the boost I needed to pick up the pace. Not long after that I settled into a rhythm and cheered with a wave and a smile to each STARR runner as we passed each other on the course.  It was a great course from start to finish – a race with lots of energy from the runners and spectators. The volunteers were terrific too.

Andy was the first STARR runner to cross the finish line with a time of 18:56. Like the Sooke 10k, Lucy Smith was breathing down his neck throughout the race, pushing him, without her knowing it. She crossed just 2 seconds behind him. Our first female runner was Stephanie Croft with an amazing time of 22:46. 

Thanks to Joe Crazy Legs for all of our action shots. Click to enlarge photos.

The competition was fierce and impressive.  The winner of the Bazan Bay was Yemane Mulugen (M16-19) of Surrey, B.C. with a time of 14:36. The top female runner was Jennifer Erickson (F30-34) from Victoria with a time of 16:41. The top 16 runners ran the course in under 16 minutes. The top 8 female runners all ran under 18 minutes.

Here’s what Donna had to say about the race. “Today’s race was great weather and the view is amazing.  Finished at 42:28 which was fantastic, not what I was expecting but very happy.”

Bazan Bay Results (net)

Andy Smith (M60-64)                18:56, 2nd

Greg Balchin (M60-64)              22:11, 7th

Jordan Zalba (M35-39)     22:19

Stephanie Croft (F45-49)            22:46, 8th

Sonya Huser (F35-39)                23:44

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54)            23:53, 6th

Melanie Eskildsen (F40-44)        26:33

Maggie Curtis (F50-54)              27:48, 10th

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84)            39:14, 2nd

Donna Heeley (F40-44)              42:25

Leslie Ann Bent (F55-59)            44:36

STARR runners were also honoured with race series age-group awards:

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) 1st

Andy Smith (M60-64) 2nd

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) 2nd

Greg Balchin (M60-64) 7th

Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 7th

Melanie Esklidsen (F40-44) 8th

Congratulations to all of our runners! Bruce remains the most prolific runner in Island Series history. He has run 221 races accumulating 2,422 kms. STARR placed ninth in the Island Series Cup and 12th in the VIRA Cup.

For awards photos below, the blue ribbons are for Bazan Bay 5k awards and red ribbons are series awards

2023 Vancouver Sun Run

By Ken Pungente

Here's a report on the Vancouver Sun Run 2023, which I ran with my son, a couple of friends and 32,000+ other participants. I've done this race once before in 2010 and there was 42,000. It's quite a spectacle to see  and run in. For those that are familiar with Van, I will tell you the course: starts on Georgia heading towards Stanley Park, turns left on Denman, goes straight to English Bay then curves left onto Pacific Blvd. and straight to Burrard Bridge, right over the bridge then left heading west along 3rd,4th, 6th to one block short of Main St. then left toward Chinatown and into the old Expo grounds and finish a BC Place where there's a gathering inside ( see pic). It's a wonderful course visually, one to put on your bucket list. It was cold and raining for our start and glad to get going to warm up. My time was 1.09.43 and was 4th of 25 registered in my age group ( 80-84). The first man in 29.40  with 8 seconds apart for the first 5 men. 1st prize, $25,000. Must have been quite a finish to see. First female 32.22 with second at 32.35. When I cross the finish line the clock read 1.49 so that means the winners had crossed the finish 10 mins before we were released from the start. They release groups in blocks to ease congestion.

Some other facts, starting line 6 blocks long, 15,547 women, 16,628 men, 7 from Sooke listed.

2023 Royal Roads Trail Race

By Greg Balchin

The weather was perfect for our first of the Vancouver Island Trail Series runs of the year. No rain, mostly dry trails, and a cool air temperature.

The Royal Roads long course is an 11k, 300m climb, and the short course is a 7k, 100m climb.

There are lots of twists and turns, and lots of fast, downhill sections, that are punctuated with short sharp climbs.

Anyone who has run in the woods at Royal Roads, knows how deceptive the trails are in there . They are wide, and relatively flat, which to the uninitiated, causes one to run them like a road race. On a road run, most tripping hazards can be easily circumnavigated, and runners adopt a more relaxed , energy conserving running style. One’s feet follow an imaginary line on the ground, toes point downwards, and stay fairly close to the ground.

Trail running however, requires a different style of running. Varying, rough terrain requires runners to move with their toes up, and turned out slightly to minimize tripping and rolled ankles . The knees are bent a little more to absorb impacts with the uneven ground. 

Trail running is like playing high speed hop scotch!

  Royal Roads has hundreds of tree roots and root burls interspersed along its trails. Any one of these barely visible protuberances can cause a stubbed toe, or worse a rolled or broke ankle. 

Everyone I know has done at least one summersault in there at some point running those trails!

Technically, it's an easy run as trail runs go, but because it's a fast course, with sharp turns, and lots of little speed bumps, one must be both focused and nimble.

The course was well marked, and had lots of volunteers cheering us on and telling where to turn. It's such a fun run that I always wish that I had more gas in the tank, especially on the final part of the run up Charlies' Trail. You exit the trail at the greenhouses, facing the finish line out of breath, with heavy legs, and no time to recover. You swing your arms and legs like mad, and hope you can catch at least one of the runners in front of you, who are also doing the same thing!.

It's at that exact moment , you wish you had done a little more homework prior to this exam! (That's my life in a nut shell).

The food was great after the run. Lots of candy for the kids, who also had a fun run.

There were some nice prizes handed out. I got a really nice Black Diamond rechargeable headlight from Front Runners! Pauline scored a bag of oranges and a cantaloupe. 

No ribbons or medals were awarded for some reason. I told Pauline I'd make one for her.

Here's a link to the trail route:

https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/victoria-royal-roads/

And  the race results:

Long course:

https://startlinetiming.com/en/races/2023/vitrsroyal/event/LONG/page

Short course:

https://startlinetiming.com/en/races/2023/vitrsroyal/event/SHORT

Westcoast Sooke 10k: 3 Medals, 6 ribbons and the grand prize - Sunday, April 9

By Leslie Ann Bent

Grand prize winner!

When some forecasters announced an atmospheric river on the weekend of our 10km race, I had visions of running through heavy rain and muddy puddles. However, the weather hype was just hype. STARR members came out to enjoy a local race, the 7th race in the Vancouver Island Race Series. Twelve STARR members were out in full force, rain or no rain. Most of our club members are very familiar with the route – a rolling road run along Sooke River Road that can get your heart pumping. Clucking chickens, cawing crows and flowing creeks, heavy with spring run offs accompany the sound of pounding feet along this popular VIRA course.

The race started with an Easter kids run complete with chocolate bunnies for the finishers. Stephanie’s daughter participated in that event. Lots of smiling kids held their valued prizes while the adults raced.

It was satisfying to run on a familiar course, knowing the location of the curves, descents, and steeper hills for better pacing. Not wanting to chance the weather and given no official early start for this race this year, I decided to start early under a clear sky and forfeit my official time. This choice worked out well as I was able to see all of the runners on the outbound route, cheer for our fellow STARS and see the lead runners perform as I’m never in their midst at a race. Brennen Smith (M25-29) of Speedfarm had a decent lead early in the race and held onto it. He was first to cross the finish line with a time of 32:17. Jennifer Erickson (F30-34) also of Speedfarm, placed first in the women’s filed with a time of 37:13.

The first STARR member to cross the finish line was Andy Smith with a time of 40:52, earning him a gold age-group medal. Perhaps it was Lucy Smith breathing down his neck en route that inspired him to run a little faster, shaving off a few seconds from his 2022 time. Our first female runner to cross the finish line was Pauline Nielsen with a time of 48:39, earning her a 3rd place age-group medal on home turf.

The post-race food was great (pizza, hot cross buns, carrot cake and other goodies). There were also a substantial number of fantastic door prizes for those who stuck around to the end. STARR scored big time with Stephanie winning the grand prize of a night at the Magnolia Hotel. Greg was also a prize winner.

STARR results

Andy Smith (M60-64) 40:52, 1st

Greg Balchin (M60-64) 46:47, 5th

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) 48:39, 3rd

Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 49:45, 7th

Karla Sache (F35-39) 51:19, 9th

Melanie Eskildsen (40-44) 59:02, 9th

Maggie Curtis (F50-54) 59:30, 9th

Bri Fritzgerald (F30-34) 59:52

Kari Toovey (F45-49) 1:02:56

Sue van der Poelen (F60-64) 1:11:47, 8th

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) 1:13:19, 2nd

Donna Heeley (F40-44) 1:29:19

Congratulations to all of our runners. It was a healthy way to start Easter morning!

STARR – Around the Bay Simulation 2023

By Leslie Ann Bent


The heavy rain in the wee hours of Saturday morning had me a bit worried about how our 4th annual Around the Bay (ATB) simulation would turn out.  By 9am, the rain had subsided but the cold fresh air was ever present and our hearty west coasters came out in full anticipation of a great club event.

Around the Bay is one of Canada most famous races, and is the oldest race in North America – 129 years young this year. It’s held on the last weekend of March each year and attracts a broad field of runners from elite to first-timers. The categories STARR offered were the same as Hamilton’s ATB race – 30km for solo, 2-person relay (15km/runner) and 3-person relay (10km/runner).  Runners, joggers and walkers were all welcome to come in person or do their sections as virtual. Five 3-person relay teams, two 2-person teams and 2 solos made up our 2023 field. We also had 3 members out cheering, taking photos and sending off the runners.  Transition area got a bit cold waiting for teammates to hand off, but no one seemed to complain. 

Like every year, we had a few last-minute changes due to illness.  A special thank you to Claude, David and Marika for offering up your legs to fill in the gaps. 

Congrats to everyone who participated.  It was so rewarding to see so many members out on the Goose. 

2023 Comox Valley ½ Marathon Race Report

Bruce

By Andy Smith

The Comox Valley RV Half Marathon is one of the best organized and supported events on the spring running calendar. A huge field of Five Hundred and Forty-Seven runners crossed the start line on Sunday, March 19 for race five of the Vancouver Island Race Series. It is the longest course in the series and, for many runners, the biggest challenge of the running season. Despite its length, this route is a favourite with snow covered Mount Washington in the background and quiet rural roads passing horse farms and lush forest scenery. It’s downhill to the finish and conducive to fast times. The host Comox Valley Road Runners always put on a great spread of post-race food and the volunteers along the route and at the finish line cheered everyone on enthusiastically.

Overcast but dry and eight degree temperatures….perfect for running! Many age group results were hotly contested by runners from all over the Island. The men’s race was won by Jackson Bocksnick from Victoria (M30-34) in a stellar time of 1.08.40. The women’s race was won by Kylie Ackford (F35-39) from Victoria in an equally impressive time of 1.20.19. Most inspirational performance of the day was Roslyn Smith from Comox (F75-79) who set a new Canadian age group ½ marathon record with a sensational time of 1.44.28!

Ten runners represented STARR across eight different age categories. Congratulations to Pauline Nielsen who took first place in the F50-54 age category and Bruce Hawkes who placed first in M80-84 age category! In addition to our two medalists, three Starr runners won ribbons for placing top ten in their age group

Overall, it was a wonderful event and a fun day to get out to celebrate spring with such an enthusiastic group of runners. Congratulations to all our STARR competitors and to Comox Valley Road Runners for staging a fine event!

2023 Frontrunners Hatley Castle 8k Race – STARR earns 2 medals, 2 ribbons

Jordan. Photo courtesy of Joe Crazy Legs

By Leslie Ann Bent

Sunday, March 12th marked the 4th race in the Vancouver Island race series at Hatley Castle. This 8km race has everything – steep climbs, fast descents, gravel, asphalt and even a castle to keep the route interesting. The race site describes it as a character course with spectacular vistas of the Olympic Mountains and the Esquimalt Lagoon. This race was popular, attracting 445 participants and is not so far for runners coming from Sooke.

Eleven STARR members took on this challenging course and managed to dodge the rain that came later that day. Our first runner to cross the finish line was Jordan Zalba (M 35-39) with an incredible time of 37:44. A few minutes behind, our top female runner, Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) clocked in at 39:33, earning her a 2nd place age-group medal. The most senior member of our club was Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) who scooped up a second-place age group medal as well.

The competition on the course was tough. The winner, Brennen Smith of Speedfarm took first place with an amazing time of 25:55. Emily Bugoy (F30-34) was the top female runner, crossing the finish line with a fast time of 30:48, with Catrin Jones of the Prairie Inn Harriers hot on her heels, 3 seconds behind. Eleven runners finished the course in under 30 minutes.

Here’s what STARR runner, Maggie Curtis had to say about the race:

“It was a gorgeous day--the rain held off for us. The course has a lot of hills in the first 3-4 km (including a couple good ones) but then there is forest trail and downhill. My tìme was not great for me but it still felt good to finish. Hot dogs and cookies at the end too!!”

STARR Results (net)

Jordan Zalba (M35-39) 37:44

Greg Balchin (M 60-64) 38:12, 6th

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) 39:33, 2nd

Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 40:51, 8th

Sonya Huser (F35-39) 41:31

Melanie Eskildsen (F40-44) 45:15

Justin Heeley (M50-54) 47:33

Maggie Curtis (F50-54) 49:44

Joldine Lee (F60-64) 58:50

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) 1:03:06, 2nd

Donna Heeley (F35-39) 1:12:39

Congratulations to all of our runners.

Photos below courtesy of Joe Crazy Legs.

2023 Fat Ass Ferry Run

By Andrew Smith

On Saturday, February 18 a group of local ultra runners set off on a challenging 72k trail loop from Thetis Lake up the Malahat and across the Mill Bay Ferry and back to Thetis Lake. Known as “The Ferry Run,” the event is not a race but a challenge along trails and paths with plenty of vertical and lots of distance! At STARR, we love to run trails as well as roads and the group included three club members: Greg Balchin, Pauline Nielsen and Sarah McWhirter. Here is Greg’s description of the event:

“We got lucky with the weather. It was overcast and a little misty. Perfect for a long climb from the Thetis Lake parking lot to the top of the Malahat. Sixteen runners, mostly from the Fat Ass club, and a few STARRs sprinkled in for good measure, took off Saturday morning at 8 am. The pace was steady, not fast; these were experienced ultra-runners, they knew how to conserve energy. The route was over 70kms and a climb of more than 2,200 meters. This was a fun run, not a race. We were going for distance over terrain that ranged from rough technical logging roads to wide open fine gravel paths. We were shooting for the 3 o’clock Mill Bay ferry but arrived early enough to catch the 2 pm one. That was a nice ride, and an opportunity to eat lunch. Our volunteers kindly set up a food and water stop at the top of the Malahat, met us at the Mill Bay ferry, the Munn Rd parking lot, and finally back at the Thetis Lake parking lot. They provided water, different drinks, fruit, and as a bonus, a hot cuppa tea at the Munns Rd parking lot!! That, for sure, helped me finish the run! They also provided rides for those runners who only wanted to run part of the course. Thanks to their efforts, our journey was far more comfortable. Most of the runners were carrying 8-10lbs of water, snacks, raincoats etc., in their hydration vests. We arrived at the Thetis parking lot in the dark. The last hour we ran with our headlights on. Those beams of light throw strange shadows on the trail, making tripping hazards trickier to navigate. I like it though, it makes you so focused on your breathing, and your next step, that you forget how far you have run, and how far you have left to run”

Sounds like an epic adventure Greg! Thanks for sending your account and photos so the rest of us can share the experience vicariously. Kudos to our three participants for representing STARR and congratulations to all who took part!

2023 Cedar 12K

By Leslie Ann Bent

Sunday, February 12, marked the third race of the Vancouver Island Race Series. The Cedar 12km race in the Naniamo region is a fast, flat out and back course, with lake and farm field views. The race attracted 431 runners of all ages and abilities. It’s a great course for anyone wanting that longer series run. STARR had 8 members participate.

There were some fast times at the top end of the field. The first runner was Logan Roots (M30-34) with an amazing time of 38:56. Logan may be familiar to some as he won last year’s Westcoast Sooke 10k and is active in this race series. The first female runner to cross the finish line was Meg Lewis Schneider (F25-29) with a time of 43:57. Both runners train with the Esprit Running Club out of Victoria.

STARR took home one medal and two ribbons. Bruce placed 2nd in his age group while Pauline placed 5th in her age group and Stephanie was 7th in hers.

STARR results:

Pauline Nielsen (F50-54) 59:29 (5th)

Stephanie Croft (F45-49) 1:00:09 (7th)

Justin Heeley (M50-54) 1:08:49

Melanie Eskildsen (F40-44) 1:09:51

Maggie Curtis (F50-54) 1:10:55

Joldine Lee (F60-64) 1:28:34

Bruce Hawkes (M80-84) 1:35:28 (2nd)

Donna Heeley (F40-44) 1:49:08

Congratulations to all of our runners.

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.