UPDATE. Our auctions have begun. The first auction benefiting the BCSPCA brought in $200. A new auction will be held every week. Go to the First Half page and enter your bids!
800+ spots opened at 3:50 pm Sunday November 7and sold out by shortly after 4:30. If you didn’t get into the race - watch the race website for auction entries! Also - 200 entrants are expected to transfer out of the race - you may be able to find one of those people. And finally - Forerunners has a few clinic spots available. You must visit the store in person - and you can only sign up for yourself. No phone, no fax, no signing up for friends.
Thank you all for your patience. See you on Feb 13!
Portland Marathon
A ton of our members headed stateside this Thanksgiving weekend to try out the Portland Marathon. It was wet and miserable the entire length of the run, but there were some spectacular results, and a couple of debuts! Here are the details:
GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon + Half Marathon
Not the same numbers as last year, but we had a few PRRers stay more local for their Thanksgiving Marathon in Victoria. The weather was considerably better than Portland, but that didn’t make the hills any easier. Here’s who ran:
Full Marathon:
Turkey Trot
If you didn’t feel like doing a marathon this Thanksgiving, but still wanted to run, this GI-based 10k race was a great option.
GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon
Mark scored a PB in stinky old Toronto (sorry, couldn’t resist)!
Rubber Ducky First Half
Jackie and Dave both scored half marathon PBs on this double-loop of Burnaby Lake. Congrats to you both!
Around the Lake Give’r Take 30
Doug took part in this beautiful loop around Cultus Lake.
Marathon du Medoc
Ahhhhh…. Easily the most stress-free, easy going marathon in the world. Wine aid stations, a median finishing time of over 6 hours - and it all goes down in the south of France. Here are the results:
This race (point-to-point from Kits beach to Ambleside park via the Lions’ Gate Bridge) is officially billed as the most scenic race within BC’s Lower Mainland. It’s also unofficially billed as the race where it never rains. Well, guess what? It rained hard and the “scenic” part was mostly obscured by fog, but we had fun anyway.
Dan tackled the first 27k of this notoriously difficult (hilly!) ultra in Manning Park.
Doug ran the “Ultra” Half Marathon option (closer to 25k than 21.1) on this last episode of the great Five Peaks trail series.
One of the big ones. Part of the Marathon ‘Grand Slam’, and where the current world record was set. 6 of our members ran this one:
Willis Greenaway Half Marathon
Dan ran this one in the heat and smoke of Summerland in August.
STORMY
This Squamish 50-mile Ultra was probably marked most prominently by a fierce rivalry between PRRs 2 3-person teams; the veteran PRR JeTS (John, Susan, Terry) and the young upstarts, PRR BaDaSs (Barry, David and Sarah). In the end, experience won out over youth, though it also didn’t help youth to have Barry get lost at the beginning of the race.
Here are the Team Results:
Sukhi was our only solo runner this year:
Wreck Beach Bare Buns Fun Run
Look, I don’t judge. If you want to run naked on the the beach for 5 kilometers, I fully support you. I just don’t want to know where you pin your bib. Arthur and Dan returned to do this one again.
Four Lakes 10k
Jackie and Dave M. headed back to the Sunshine Coast to run another race, and this one saw Nicki temporarily re-emerge from running retirement to run the 3k option!
Five Peaks: Whistler
This isn’t the most technical of the five peaks series, but running at altitude makes it the most uncomfortable. Grant did the Enduro course (10.6 km)
Hood To Coast Relay
The mother of all relays: 197 miles from Mount Hood, Oregon all the way to the town of Seaside on the Oregon Coast. Not recommended for people who like sleep. 11 Members and 1 guest took part. Dan, Lan, Sarah, Lynne, Grant, Monika, Karen, Barry, David P, Victoria, and Ross all participated, while Paul and Dave H kindly offered their indispensible services as drivers of our 2 soon-stinky vans. It was a pretty amazing adventure that will not soon be forgotten.
Managed 11th place in our category and finished 225th Overall out of 1023 teams. Woot!
Seek the Peak
This is a fun one… popular to do as a four-person relay, but Monika did it solo: starting at Ambleside park, she ran up through Capilano Canyon up Nancy Greene way, up the Grind, and up again to the top of the Grouse Mountain.
Knee Knacker
Ugh, this race. Its legend precedes it… 30 miles across the entire Baden-Powell Trail with over 8000 feet of climbing and barely runnable downhills. Yuck! To top things off this year, it was really hot! Despite the adverse conditions, we had some really good times from our club members.
Also of note: Former member and friend-of-PRR Ellie Greenwood broke the female course record by over 12 minutes and finished 5th overall (and first female, obviously) with 5:06:09. Congrats to her and everyone else crazy enough to endure this horrible race!
5 Peaks: Sun Peaks
Now, Grant and Laura were the smart ones here. Instead of a 50k slog through the BP trail, they opted to slip off to the lovely Sun Peaks resort and take part in one of the (short!) 5 peaks trail races. They both placed in their divisions:
Enduro course (15k)
Sport course (8.5k)
5 Peaks: Mount Seymour
Doug did the Enduro course and Rachel did the Sport course on this one, the shortest but by far the most technical race of the series.
Enduro course (11.7k)
Sport course (6.2k)
Fat Dog 100
Oy. I take back everything I said about KneeKnacker. Fat Dog, Hot Dog, Lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng Dog. This was the inaugural running of BC’s first ever point-to-point 100 miler that stretched from Keremeos back around to Manning Park. There was also a 100k and relay option too. Given that this was the first year, we expected a few hiccups, but we didn’t expect a course that was almost 20% longer than advertised, and super-technical terrain that was supposed to be runnable. Oh, and did I mention the heat? But all in all, more fun was had than not.
100 mile relay:
It’s important to note that these 100 miles were actually closer 117 miles. This doesn’t include the extra 4 miles that Ross ran getting lost.
100 kilometer solo:
Jess got some bonus k too! Hers turned out to be closer to 120k.
Ed tried the conquer the 100 mile solo, but ran out of steam around the half way mark. Here’s to next year, Ed!
Vancouver 100
Bill took on 3/4 of this gruelling Club Fatass Run which covers the entire Baden Powell trail from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay and back again. Basically, 2 Knee Knackers in a row. Since he only did 75k, I guess he’s only 75% crazy, but that’s still more crazy than sane. Congratulations, Bill.
Ambleside Masters Mile
This is North America’s largest masters mile, and three of our members went all out to see how fast they could cover it. Some pretty impressive times:
Oliver Half Iron
Having the word “half” in the title shouldn’t diminish the amount of effort required to do this race: 2km swim, 93 km bike ride, and capped off with a half marathon. Amanda did this one, while Monika had a go at her first Will we see her in Penticton in 2011?
Sandcastle City Classic 10k
White Rock was the venue for the latest race in both the Timex BC and the LMRRS Series.
Edge to Edge Marathon Relay and Half Marathon
This one got a little bloody for our competitive teams, but it ended up being a story of triumph in the end, as we came in 1st among the mixed teams and 2nd overall, despite having two of our runners doing double legs, and starting 5 minutes late due to a runner/photographer collision.
Janet also did a great job in the half marathon, finishing first in her division!
Five Peaks: Burnaby Mountain
Doug did the Enduro Course (9.8 km) of the second race in this local trail-running series out at SFU.
Longest Day 10k/5k
Huge PRR turnout for this one. Lots of great times, too.
10k times:
5k times:
Scotiabank Half Marathon
Big turnout and gross, cold wet weather (great for running!) made this a fun one. Here are the results:
Scorched Sole 50 Mile - 50k - 25k
Another year, another new course. Lots of great showings for PRR members at this ultra in Kelowna that saw both sun and snow.
50 Mile:
50k:
25k:
Elk/Beaver Ultra
Sukhi was one of two pacers for PRR Hall of Famer Ellie Greenwood’s first stab at a 100k Ultra. The Elk/Beaver 100k consists of 10 consecutive loops of the its namesake’s lake. For those who haven’t yet heard, the result was…
Only Carol and Arthur decided to do the full marathon in 2010, a year where we might have had more volunteers than runners! Their results were:
Dan headed down to Oregon to try this marathon which finishes at the track on legendary Hayward Field. He describes his experience as so:
“Great race and a wonderful vibe around Hayward Field. There is so much history there. And now, I am part of it.
I had another recent personal best at 4:28:15, which was good enough for Third M65-69. NOT good enough for Boston, but hey, it is my best raw time since October 2000 and third best raw time! And, since I so love Age Graded times, it is now my second best graded time, ever.” Vancouver Sun RunThanks to Victoria and Dean for volunteering!
Tenderfoot Boogie
This was the inaugural running of what is sure to be an annual event. This race was offered in 50 Mile, 50 km, 28 Km, and 50 Mile relay versions. The 50 Mile route went all the way from Squamish to Whistler. Bill and Jess did the 50k*, and Rik was one of the (scarce!) volunteers. Here are the results:
*GPS data revealed that the distance was actually 57 km, so even more impressive!
Shaugnessy 8k
Part of the Timex Road Running Series and the Lower Mainland Road Race Series.
SOWA Half Corked Marathon
The first running of the Okanagan’s version of the Marathon du Medoc sounded like a lot of fun: just over 17k, with delicious Okanagan wines from the local wineries served at each aid station. Thankfully, all of our runners somehow managed to make it to the finish line:
Also, congrats to Dave and Jackie for winning first prize in the costume contest!
Calgary Marathon
Not content with having just one monumental victory this month, Ellie ran the Calgary Marathon on the 30th, winning first female, and breaking the course record for women by over 10 minutes. Congratulations!
Diez Vista 50k
John was the only PRR member to tackle this 50k course, which is probably second only to kneeknacker as the toughest 50k in BC. He had a bit of a spill, but managed to soldier on to a great finish.
April Fools’ Half Marathon
Lots of PRR folk at this race on the Sunshine Coast.
5th in the Club Standings, too. Well done!
Five Peaks: Golden Ears
Doug was the only PRR member participating in this; the first of 5 great short-track trail races that takes place throughout BC this summer. He chose the longer, Enduro course(14k):
Alright, looks like racing season is in full gear, and a lot of us have been showing up at a lot of races.
Harry’s Spring Run Off 8k
Dirty Duo
25k:
50k:
For those of you keeping track, this is a 1 hour 15 minute+ time improvement over Ed’s time last year, and also his best 50k time to date. Well done!
St Patrick’s Day 5k
Chuckanut 50k
This was a tough one. It was my best trail ultra time by over three quarters of an hour, and I probably would have placed significantly higher if this race wasn’t totally stacked with ultra-running superstars like Erik Skaggs, Hal Koerner and Gary Robbins. So yeah, my final placing - a glorious 146th. Speaking of superstars, PRR hall-of-famer Ellie Greenwood came in first in her age category but missed the overall women’s top place by a mere 13 seconds. Hopefully, this will keep her humble…
Los Angeles Marathon
David was suffering through a man-cold during this race, so that makes his time all the more impressive.
Birch Bay International Road Race
5k:
15k:
30k:
Even with these stellar times, we sadly did not win the Group Challenge this year, as the Runner’s Den beat us by one point. ONE POINT! It should be said that we only had 16 runners to their 35, so we did much better in terms of placing; they just had a lot more people. Next year!
Dave Reed Spring Classic 5k
The “other” winter half marathon was run in Langley this weekend, and a lot of PRR folks showed up. It’s a pretty hilly course, but there were some great times. Here they are:
Bill C: 1:31:45
Sukhi: 1:38:34
Grant: 1:41:45
Graham (soon to be a member!): 1:46:15
Jon F: 1:56:00
I sat out due to injury, but my dad wore my timing chip on my behalf. So while 1:56 is not my best half marathon time, it is the best half marathon time I have gotten while actually being asleep, in bed, 40km away from where the half marathon was taking place. Yay me!
A bunch of us got on the ferry to Orcas Island from Anacortes to try our hand at this race. Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan, and we basically got to take over one of its campsites at Moran State Park. The acommodations were less than deluxe, but that’s not why we were there. The trails around the park offered amazing views, gorgeous terrain, and some horrible, horrible climbing. There was a 25k race and a full 50k ultra. Here are the Results:
25k
50k
We had 3 PRR members participate in this 8k race. All good results, and we got one member taking top place for their age group. times were as follows:
Russell - 28:57(first in his age group)
Paul P - 43:28
Dan C - 44:21
Good job, guys!
There were 6 PRR members who came out to Langley to run 10 and 15k races this weekend. The turnout was great and the results were even better. Five of us had personal bests and ALL SIX of us placed in the top 3 of our age groups.
Here’s who ran:
10k:
Bill C - 40:24 (3rd in group)
Ross - 40:41(1st in group and PB)
David P - 41:14 (2nd in group and PB)
Sarah - 44:49 (2nd in group and first ever 10k - Automatic PB!)
15k:
Grant - 1:05:38 (2nd in group and PB)
Laura - 1:13:41 (2nd in group and PB)
Some of us decided to start out the New Year with a big long run. Some of us might opt to stay in bed this time next year.
For 17 years Club Fat Ass has run a race that goes from Brockton Oval through the trails of Stanley park, along the entire seawall until UBC, and then all the way through the endowment lands until you reach Marine Drive. Oh, an then you gotta go all the way BACK.
Only 2 PRR members were dumb enough to do the whole thing:
Ross - 4:42
John N - 5:10
Other more sensible members chose more reasonable, customized courses:
Stephen - 30k - 2:48
Sukhi - 29k - 2:40
Doug - 25k - 2:28
Ed - 25k - 3:21
Susan - 24k - 2:25
JANUARY
01/09/10 - Registration opens for the Chuckanut Ridge 50k in Bellingham- Expect this to sell out in a couple of days, if you’re interested.
01/17/10 - Stevestion Ice Breaker . This 8k race in Richmond has been quite popular with PRR members in the past and is number 2 in the TIMEX series and number 1 in the Lower Mainland Road Racing Series (LMRRS).
01/17/10 - Chilly Chase. This Langley Race is also quite popular and I know of quite a few members that have already signed up for this. 5k, 10k, and 15k options on this one.
FEBRUARY
02/06/10 - Orcas Island 25k & 50k. Lots of PRR members have signed up for this and at press time (January 1st, 2010) there is still time to book accommodation here.
02/21/10 - Historic Half Marathon. Lots of people in the club are on board for this one.
02/28/10 - Last day to put your name forth for the lottery to get into the Knee Knacker , a/k/a The Nightmare Factory, a/k/a Operation: Barf! Ugh… This race is recommended to all PRR members who hate themselves (I’m in!).
MARCH
03/07/10 - Harry’s Spring Run Off . This 8k race around Stanley Park is popular.
03/13/10 - St. Patrick’s Day 5k . A fun little jaunt which I’ve heard has involved post-race beer in the past. #2 in the LMRRS.
03/13/10 - Dirty Duo. This can be run or mountain-biked from any distance from 15k-50k.
03/20/10 - If you got in, you’ll be running the Chuckanut Ridge 50k today.
03/27/10 - Dave Reed Spring Classic 5k (Timex #7, LMRRS #3) - 5k blast around Stanley Park.
03/27/10 - Birch Bay Road Race! Oh yeah! PRR, represent! Granted, we’re missing some of our big guns (Ellie and Brendon) but it would be awesome to take this race again….
APRIL
04/04/10 - My First Trail Race - Okay, this isn’t a PRR perennial , but I’m shoehorning it in here because it’s a great intro to trail racing for those you haven’t tried it and would like to (6 and 10k options available). Highly recommended by yours truly.
04/11/10 - Sunshine Coast April Fool’s Run Half Marathon . These people are staging an April Fool’s day run 10 days after the actual event - that’s tenacity! Oh, and it’s LMRSS #4 and takes place in beautiful Gibsons!
04/17/10 - Diez Vistas 50k - Under new management and no less unpleasant! Part of the BCUTS series and registration is open NOW!
04/24/10 - 5 Peaks: Golden Ears - Again, a great intro to trail running for the uninitiated. You can run either 8.8k or 14k on a beautiful course.
04/25/10 - Times Colonist 10k - If you want to spend all that money to ferry to Victoria to run a 10k, I’m not gonna stop you - though I hear it’s a fast course. Also - Timex #8.
MAY
05/02/10 - BMO Vancouver Marathon - What can I say? The hometown hoe-down for those so inclined. Available in Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 8k sizes. March 22nd is the deadline before the last price increase.
05/08/10 - Pacific Spirit Run - 5 and 10k through the UBC Endowment Lands.
05/09/10 - Vancouver Sun Run - Oh dear, we have our classic 10k benchmark course happening one week after the marathon…. oh well… hope everyone tapers correctly! Oh, and btw, Timex #9.
05/30/10 - Running Room Shaughnessy 8k - Good times… a surprisingly challenging course in Shaugnessey. Also, if the economy hasn’t improved by then, you can throw eggs at the houses you run by! (Timex #10, LMRRS #5)
05/30/10 - Tender Knee / Iron Knee - Formerly known as the Half Knacker. This can be run as 12.5k and 25k races. One of the North Shore’s premier trail races.
JUNE
06/06/10 - Sandcastle City Classic 10k - I’m pretty sure this doesn’t involve stomping on sandcastles (it should) but hey - Timex #11, LMRRS #6.
06/12/10 - Five Peaks: SFU - A great race on the trails around Burnaby Mountain - 6.3 and 9.8k versions available.
06/13/10 - Edge to Edge Marathon , Half Marathon and Relay - No explanation necessary: PRR will have a substantial presence here.
06/18/10 - Longest Day 5k/10k - A lot of PRR PBs have been set here. Also, Timex #12, LMRRS #7
06/19/10 - Chip’s Not Dead Yet Mile - Usually attended by many PRRs.
06/20/10 - Summer Solstice Trail Marathon & Half - Second Running of this race… Ed finished last last year - try and beat him!
06/26/10 - The Scorched Sole 25K, 50K, 50mls - This is a good race for everyone who doesn’t get into the Kneeknacker. This is an even better race for those people who want to get a really bad sunburn.
06/27/10 - Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon & 5k - This is a good race for people who want to get a good time, as it’s mostly downhill. Because it takes place in Vancouver, however, I can’t guarantee the weather.
OK… that’s it for the first half of this year… let me know if i left anything out. Happy 2010 to everyone!
As it stood my time was as follows:
“My time was 4:31:38, which was still my third best marathon after Vancouver in 1988 and Victoria in 2000. It was number 12 and for those who believe in age grading it worked out to 3:30:48 and my second best effort ever. So, while I really wanted to go to Boston, I am very happy with the result yesterday. Weather was pretty good but there was a fairly strong headwind. Thankfully it was bright sunshine, so even though air temp was cold, the radiant energy from the sun kept things reasonably warm.”
Only one PRR Member braved the legendarily unpleasant weather of the pacific northwest to compete in the Seattle Marathon this year.
Len ran the half in 2:25:27.
Hopefully he was able to treat himself to some Black Friday Booty after enduring that hilly, rainy course.
Congrats, Len!
A warm welcome to the new PRR Exec team - and a heartfelt thank you to the “retiring” executives.
Your new President: Ross Fleming
Vice President: Monique Simard
Treasurer: John Neels
Secretary: Lynne Beszant
Membership: Monika Kriedemann
Social: Jess Bassil
Newsletter: Karen Hayley
Clothing: Paul Bouchard
Retiring to a life of leisure: Nicki, Roger, Suki, Paul P.
Seems fitting that in our 25th year as a club our President is also our first “second generation” member. Does that make anyone feel old? That’s okay - keep running. You’ll be fine.
Here’s to a great 25th year.
Two PRR Members participated in this trail race on the North Shore this weekend. It takes place in and around the Lynn Canyon area, starting and finishing in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. It is offered in 12k, 19k, and 24k sizes and had a 60% increase in signups over last year. Everyone seemed to enjoy the race despite the cold and the odd bits of hail and ice.
Both PRR Members chose the 24k course:
The Pacific Road Runners Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday November 19 at 7:30 pm in the False Creek Community Center “Granville Island Room”. All members are welcome.
All positions on the exec are open to competition. The following 2009 exec members have offered to come back - but if you really really want their jobs I’m sure they’d welcome you.
Returning
John - Treasurer
Karen - Newsletter
Jess - Social
Lynne - Secretary
Departing
Nicki - President
Roger - Vice President
Sukhi - Membership
Paul - Clothing
Monika has already stepped up to fill the Membership position; Monique is in for VP - and I’m planning to take on clothing. So we’re down to President.
Time to step up! (Note that the new President has the right to redefine the role. There is nothing in the rules that requires the President to do all of the announcements or the blog postings. These duties can be shared with other members of the exec.)
