December 25, 2006
Debbie Scott and Sabina Reska
Deb and Sabina kindly offered to care for Molly and Pepsi at their home in Shawnigan Lake for 10 days while I was healing from hip replacement surgery. This enabled me to safely get around the house on crutches without the danger of being knocked down by an enthusiastic dog looking for her supper or barking to be let out at 3:00 a.m. for a piddle. Many other PIHers have rallied around the cause and taken Molly and Pepsi for runs so their daily exercise can continue while I am in recovering. I am very thankful for the 12 individuals from the Harriers who have stepped forward to help. Look for a rejuvinated Deb and Sabina to participate in the 2007 Island Race Series after a few years off. Welcome back!
December 16, 2006
Cam Levins
Our new Black Creek junior member, Cameron Levins, finished first overall in the second annual Comox Sprint to the Spit 10K last Sunday and collected top prize money for the event. He finished in 34:09, more than a 3 minute margin of victory over second place finisher Terry Nielsen who finished in 37:14, to claim top master. Tom Howard's son, 22 year old Andrew Howard, took third in 39:28. The top female was Mary Bridges in 46:10. There were 33 finishers in the 10K race and another 22 finishers in the 5K race won by Jaimen Cronk in 27:15. Cam has had a series of strong races within a consecutive five-week period, placing 5th overall in the RVM 8K to make the Select Team in 25:50. He took the silver medal in the BC Cross Country Championships at Lambrick Park, a silver medal at the BC High School Vancouver Island XC Championships at Beaver Lake and was the second highest PIHRT junior finisher at the Canadian Cross Country Chanpionships at Jericho Beach Vancouver.
December 9, 2006
Ian Hallam, Gord Christie and Wendy Davies
Ian won the 3rd annual Stewart Mountain 10 Mile Cross Country Challenge today in 1:09:47 under snowy and icy conditions which cut some runners shins through the ice-filled Gunner Shaw puddle. Wendy, 1:42:27, and Gord, 1:18:06 good for fifth overall, were the top masters in the race. Josh Henderson was second overall in 1:12:46 and Brad Cunningham took third in 1:13:02. The top three women were Melanie McQuaid in 1:29:16, Emily Solsberg, 1:31:27, and Kim Ebbs-canavan finishing in 1:35:24. There were 152 finishers, down 10 from last year.
December 4, 2006
Shane Ruljancich
Shane had what he thought was probably the best race of his life as he ran 27:14 and outkicked Hugh Trenchard to win the popular, annual pre-Christmas fixture, the Merrython 8K at Henderson Recreation Centre. There were about 400 finishers including many Harriers and the event, organized by Oak Bay Firefighters, raised $4,000 for Santas Anonomous.
December 2, 2006
Simon Whitfield and Carolyn Murray
Simon finished 9th of 66 runners in the Senior Men's race and Carolyn was 7th of 41 finishers in the Senior Women's race at the National Cross Country Championships in Vancouver today. Prairie Inn's Senior Men's team comprised of Simon Whitfield, Kyle Jones, Steve Osaduik, Aaron Holmgren, Adam Campbell and Colin Jenkins won the bronze medal while our Senior Women's team consisting of Carolyn Murray, Lucy Smith, Tina Connelly, Cheryl Murphy and Natasha Filliol easily took the gold. Both Simon and Carolyn qualified to represent Team Canada at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kenya in April should their triathlon training plans and racing schedule allow it.
December 2, 2006
Joan McGrath and Brian Connon
Joan won the Canadian Master Women's National crown, while Brian anchored the PIH M60+ team of Maurice Tarrant, Herb Phillips and Bill Hollingshead to a gold medal performance at the National Cross Country Championships at Jericho Beach, Vancouver today. Unfortunately Nancy Tinari took ill with the flu the night before the race, otherwise the PIH master women's team of Joan, Wendy Davies and Gwyn Woodson would have also been assured of a gold medal team performance. The PIH Master Men's 40+ team of Dave Reed, Norm Tinkham, Gary Duncan and Chris Kelsall took the silver medal. There were 103 finishers in the master's 8K race under very snowy conditions.
November 27, 2006
Aaron Holmgren, Ian Hallam, Paul O'Callaghan and Carolyn Murray
Aaron and Ian finished 2nd and 3rd overall, Paul was top master, and 5th OA in 34:30, while Carolyn topped the women's field in 38:49 at the 22nd annual Gunner Shaw Cross Country 10K Classic today. The race was won by Mike Vine in 32:35. Aaron was 13 seconds back in 32:48 while Ian hit the finish line in 32:59. This is the fastest three finishing times in the same race in the history of the Gunner Shaw event. Carolyn dominated the women's race by beating second place finisher Laurel Draper, of Pacific Athletics, by about a minute and a half, while Emily Solsberg was 3rd in 40:43. There were 382 finishers, tieing last year's mark for the highest number of runners/walkers in the 22 years that the race has been staged at Thetis Lake Park. Bob Reid has been Race Director since the inaugural event in 1985. Next year his goal is to run GS with a new hip!
November 20, 2006
Eric Findlay, Aaron Holmgren, Paul O'Callaghan and Judith Leroy
Eric, Aaron and Paul finished 2-3-4 in the inaugural running of the Bear Mountain 10K today, a very challenging, extremely hilly, concrete golf cart course, run in the pouring rain making footing difficult on the downhills which involved a turn. Many runners wiped out. Nik Southwell won the race in 34:04; Eric hit the line in 34:33, Aaron in 34:46 and Paul was top master, in 35:32. Judith won the women's race in 40:36; she was 15th overall of the 207 finishers. Second female was Nancy Fedoruk in 43:06 and third was Lyz Gillgun in 44:45. The facilities, food and draw prizes were first class and a huge congratulations has to go to Frontrunners Westshore, under the leadership of Mark Nelson and Nick Walker, for hosting this new event. It will grow in popularity and attendance!
November 13, 2006
Simon Whitfield and Judith Leroy
New Harrier, Simon Whitfield, anchored the team "Mahone is Simply the Man" of Brent McMahon, Kyle Jones and Colin Jenkins to the second fastest time in the ten year history of the Thetis Relay event by being only the second team to finish in under an hour. Their winning time was 59:56, 36 seconds off the course record record. "I Wish I was Southie" finished second in 1:00:23 and "PIH Riders and Lions" were third in 1:01:33. Judith won the solo division, in 1:15:30, beating the other 8 men's solo runners and breaking the solo women's record by 15 minutes. She finished 16th overall of the 115 teams and averaged 18:45 per 5K lap in her 20K effort preparing for the Sacramento Marathon on December 3. She will do very well.
November 6, 2006
Jeffrey Phillips and Robbie Cracknell
Jeff won the BC High School cross country championships at a cloudburst, extremely wet course at Beaver Lake today. There were over 150 runners in the boy's race and 100 in the girl's race won by Justine Johnston. Robbie finished 10th overall to anchor the Oak Bay Secondary School to the senior boy's provincial championship. These young PIH runners are our club's future.
October 29, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Tina Connelly, Mike Lord, Nancy Baxendale, Eric Findlay and Aaron Holmgren
Steve and Tina won the James Cunninghan 9.5K Seawall Race today in Vancouver in 29:17 and 33:36. Steve beat Phil Rist by 35 seconds while Tina, 16th overall, beat second female Suzanne Evans by 1:16. There were 1,197 finishers at the 36th annual Seawall event. Mike took the victory, leading from wire to wire, at the 32nd annual Shawnigan Half Marathon today in 1:19:03. Nancy was top female, 10th overall of the 207 finishers, in 1:28:40. The third race of the day, the 5K Creepy Crawl, was also won by Harrier Eric Findlay in 15:49. The next five finishers were also Harriers - Paul O'Callaghan 16:06, Shawn Nelson 16:30, Arturo Huerta 16:45, Phil Nicholls 17:11 and Gord Christie 17:13. There were 119 finishers at the 14th annual Crawl. The top female was Vikes' Becky Schumacher in 20:52, she was 22nd overall. Finally, Aaron, currently living in Ladysmith, led the field easily outdistancing Rob Harmsworth at the Peninsula 6.3 Cross Country senior race today at Centennial Park in Central Saanich.
October 23, 2006
Nancy Tinari, Steve Osaduik and Gord Christie
Nancy collected a gold medal, Steve a silver and Gord a bronze at the BC Cross Country Championships, hosted by the Prairie Inn Harriers Racing Team on Saturday at Lambrick Park. Nancy placed first in the Master Women's division in 22:26 for 6K. Steve placed second to Ryan Hayden 30:16 to 30:19 in the Senior Men's 10K feature race. Gord was third in 27:54 in the Master Men's 8K race won by Rob Lonergan, of Hersey Harriers, in 25:56. The BCXC Championships consisted of 13 races attracting 427 finishers in age divisions ranging from 9 year old boys and girls to juvenile, junior, senior and master runners.
October 16, 2006
Dave Jackson, Eric Kiauka, Eric Findlay and Paul O'Callaghan
Dave, Eric, Eric and Paul finished 1-2-3-4 in the Royal Victoria 8K Road Race last weekend with each of them winning their respective age category. Their times were 24:42, 25:24, 25:38 and 25:39. The top female, 14th overall, was Kirsty Smith in 27:33. There were 1,582 finishers in the 8K.
October 9, 2006
Steve Osaduik and Adam Campbell
Steve broke a 25 year old course record with a brilliant 2:16:49 win at the Royal Victoria Marathon on a drizzly Sunday. It may have been the race of Steve's life! He collected $1,000 for the victory and a $4,000 bonus for breaking the course record. Adam finished third overall, running his first marathon in 2:29:11. Outstanding. The top female, for the second straight year, was New Westminster's Suzanne Evans with a personal best time of 2:47:03. She was 14th overall of the 1,863 finishers at the 27th annual RVM.
October 9, 2006
Cheryl Murphy, Judith Leroy and Jim Finlayson
Cheryl and Judith finished 1-2 in 1:18:01 and 1:18:49, and Jim was second in 1:09:37 in the Royal Victoria Half Marathon yesterday. The race was won by Nik Southwell in 1:08:24. There were a record number of 4,027 finishers in the half.
October 8, 2006
Lucy Smith
Lucy won the Canadian 10K road racing championship title in Ottawa yesterday with a time of 33:52, placing her 17th overall of the 120 elite, invited, high performance finishers from across the country. Simon Bairu won the men's race in 29:19. Runners-up were Ryan Hayden in 29:33 and Nichole Stevenson in 34:06.
October 2, 2006
Lucy Smith, Kate Sloan, Graham Cocksedge and Dave Jackson
Lucy and Kate finished 1st and 5th in the Women's New Balance 4K Invitational cross country race at Beacon Hill Park on Saturday, while Graham and Dave finished 3rd and 4th in the men's 8K race. The highly competitive men's 8K was won by Vancouver's Jerry Ziak in 24:30. UVic's Geoff Martinson was 2nd in 25:24, Graham 3rd in 25:25 and Dave 4th in 25:33. There were 40 finishers in the men's race. Harriers' Paul O'Callaghan was top master in 26:55. Lucy's winning time was 13:35. Natasha Filliol took 2nd in 13:51, Marilyn Arseneault was 3rd in 14:07, Kirsten Sweetland 4th in 14:35 and Kate was 5th in 14:44. There were 34 finishers in the women's 4K race.
September 25, 2006
Todd Howard, Herb Phillips and Gary Duncan
Three different locations, three different events, three outstanding results from Harriers in Berlin, Abbotsford and the Western Communities on the weekend. Todd ran a personal best of 2:28:37 at the Real Berlin Marathon to place 27th overall of the 30,118 finishers (24,042 men and 6,076 women). The winner was Halle Gebrselassie, of Ethiopia, in 2:05:56, while country mate, Gete Wami, topped the women's field in 2:21:24. Unfortunately, Harriers' Jim Finlayson had to withdraw at 34K due to leg cramps. At that point he was on 2:18 pace which would have placed him in the top ten. Herb finished third overall at the Abbotsford Police Challenge 10K on Sunday with a time of 38:45. Abbotsford's Steven Emard won the race in 38:08 with Michael Ross, of Mission, placing second in 38:16. There were 261 finishers in the Abbotsford 10K and the top female was Rene McKibbin in 39:39. She placed 10th overall. In his inaugural event, Gary finished second to John Botelho in the M45 division of the Juan de Fuca Duathlon with an impressive time of 1:12:22. John's time was 1:11:45. Gary was the top Harrier in the JdF Du won by IRR's Hugh Trenchard in 1:03:12. Marie-Claude Poirier was the top female, 17th overall, in 1:13:38. There were 26 finishers in the kid's race and 92 finishers in the adult's event.
September 25, 2006
Carlos Castillo, Marcia Stromsmoe and Randy Jones
Carlos, Marcia and Randy finished 3-4-5 in the Coast to Coast 50K Foot Roast on Saturday. The gruelling event traverses a gravel logging road from Holberg, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, to Port Hardy on the east coast. Holberg and Port Hardy are the two most northerly communities on the Island, just south of Cape Scott Park. The race is organized by Harriers' member, Nancy Wilson, who set the female course record of 4:5:58 at this event in 2001. Kevin Eby also set the men's record of 3:54:12 that year. There were 29 finishers this year at the CTCFR which was won by David Johnston in 4:12:59. Brad Holmes placed second in 4:42:18. Carlos took third in 4:47:09, despite a sore heel, and hot on his heels was Marcia, top Harrier, top master and top female, in 5:01:44, only 6 minutes off the course record. Fresh off his 90 minute personal best at the Great Lake Walk at Cowichan Lake last Saturday, Randy established another 80 minute personal best at the CTCFR with an outstanding time of 5:12:18. Both cougar and bear sightings were experienced along the route.
September 18, 2006
Nick Walker, Buddy Bhandar and Randy Jones
Nick won the Great Lake 56K Walk on Saturday with a new course record of 4:40:40, a 7 minute improvement on the previous record. Bob Wall, from Campbell River, was second in 4:54. Buddy finished third overall in 4:59 after running a negative split and passing quite a few runners in the second half of the loop around Cowichan Lake. Randy showed a huge improvement of ninty minutes to finish a very respectable 22nd overall of the 500+ finishers. His time was 6:26 for 56K. Mark Nelson ran in second position for most of the race but suffered some leg cramps and had to withdraw about 50K. Carlos Castillo finished in 5:32 while Harrier team mate, Terry Turcotte, ran 7:45.
September 13, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Mike Lord and Paul O'Callaghan
Tonight Steve won the inaugural Tour de Rock 5K in 14:44 and Mike won the Tour de Rock 3K in 9:55 in an event organized by Harriers Chris Kelsall as a fundraiser for cancer research. There were 109 finishers in the 3K and 127 finishers in the 5K for a total of 236 participants. The event raised $1,350 and the largest contributors were a coprorate firm called Power Measurement Ltd. which donated $825 and produced 75 participants, many of which walked the 3K. Paul O'C. was top master and second overall to Steve in the 5K event in 15:51, while team mate Arturo Huerta finished third in 16:39. Marliyn Arseneault was second overall to Mike Lord in the 3K race and top female in 10:12. Sylvan Smyth finished third in 10:35.
September 11, 2006
Jon Brown and Lucy Smith
Jon was the top male and Lucy was the top female in the fourth annual Harbour City Half Marathon in Nanaimo on Sunday. Jon, coming back after eight months of nursing a calf injury, ran a tactical, controlled race staying just ahead of Jerry Ziak and Harriers Jim Finlayson and Dave Jackson. Jon won in 1:07:28, Jerry was second in 1:07:49, Jim third in 1:08:21 and Dave fourth in 1:08:45. Lucy ran a blistering 1:15:03 to finish eighth overall of the 246 half marathon finishers. Team mate, Nancy Baxendale, was second and top master in 1:23:44 and Rita Ivanauskas, from Vancouver, was third in 1:25:24. What made Lucy's race so impressive was the fact that only two weeks earlier she was eighth female at the Iroman Canada Canadian Championships in Penticton making her debut at a full distance triathlon in 10 hours, 18 minutes and 15 seconds. Her next race is the National 10K Championships in Ottawa on October 8 to continue her outstanding year of racing. In the accompanying Harbour City 10K event, Richmond's Ryan Hayden won the race in 30:11, Steve Osaduik was second in 31:12 and UVic's Kris Swanson took third in 32:18. Harriers Graham Cocksedge, Nick Walker and Ian Hallam finished fourth, fifth and sixth. The top female was Marilyn Arseneault in 36:40. There were 234 finishers in the Harbour City 10K.
September 11, 2006
Camie Bentham, Sandi Heal, Phil Nicholls and Gord Christie
Camie and Sandi finished 1-2 and Phil and Gord finished 1-2 in the masters ranks at the third annual Lands End 10K yesterday. Camie narrowly missed her 10K P.R. by 12 seconds by finishing in 41:27. Sandi, on the other hand, nailed a 27 second personal best time of 41:29, only 2 seconds behind Camie. Her previous P.R. of 41:56 was set at the TC10K earlier this year. Phil finished second overall in 35:25 and Gord was fourth overall in 36:26. Jeffrey Phillips, 17, won the race in 34:56. There were 80 finishers in the 10K. In the accompanying eleventh annual Lands End Half Marathon, Brad Cunningham broke the tape in 1:17:20 while the top female was Rochelle Veronneau in 1:33:27. Shane Ruljancich was the top Harrier, finishing sixth overall, in 1:20:43. Lara Jones had a strong run in 1:39:48 to finish second in the F20 division. There were 258 finishers in the Lands End Half hosted by Peninsula Plodders.
September 4, 2006
Jim Finlayson, Todd Howard, Paul O'Callaghan, Kate Sloan, Sandi Heal and Sisi Hallam
Jim, Todd and Paul finished 1-2-3 in the men's division and Kate, Sandi and Sisi finished 1-2-3 in the women's division at the 9th annual Songhees 5K Foot Race yesterday. Jim and Todd finished in a dead heat for first place in 15:50, after doing a 2 hour tempo workout prior to the race, and Paul, top master of the day, was just 8 seconds behind. Kate finished 15th overall of the 96 finishers in 19:33. Sandi was second female in 20:34 and Sisi claimed third in 21:46. All three Harriers men and women were named to the Songhees 2006 Select Team and received a long sleeved ST garment. Of the 96 finishers, 46 were Prairie Inn Harriers. There were also 26 PIHers who volunteered on the course as marshals, worked the finish line, presented awards and prepared food and refreshments for the runners. Next year will be the tenth and final year for the Songhees 5K race. Register early for the coveted t-shirt, one of the best graphic designs in B.C.
September 4, 2006
Becky Kendrick and Wendy Davies
The mother and daughter combination of Wendy and Becky both claimed gold medals at the 9th annual Harriers Songhees 5K on Sunday. Running her first 5K race ever, Kung Fu artist Becky, dominated the junior division by winning with a time of 24:16 to place 45th of the 96 finishers. Wendy was the top female master in 21:47 and placed 32nd overall. Wendy received an attractive plaque as top master and Becky was lucky enough to win the major draw prize, a pair of running shoes, compliments of Frontrunners. Next year will be the tenth and final year for the Songhees 5K race. Register early for the coveted t-shirt, one of the best graphic designs in B.C.
August 28, 2006
Gerry Etcheverry, Isao Hirayama and Lucy Smith
Gerry had an incredible experience by finishing 172nd overall, 13th of 247 in the M45 division, with a brilliant debut time of 10 hours, 43 minutes, 58 seconds in the Subaru Ironman Canada Championship long course triathlon yesterday in Penticton. The gruelling, endurance event features a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride then a 26.2 mile run. Gerry's splits were 1:06:24 for the swim, 5:18:42 for the ride and 4:10:50 for the run. Isao ran a very controlled, conservative race this year after bonking badly following the cycling portion last year. The end result is that he finished nearly two hours and 20 minutes faster than his time of 2005. His swim was 1:17:03, bike 5:41:54, and run 4:36:09, for a finishing time of 11:33:46, 536th overall. Lucy, also doing her first Ironman ever, was 8th female finisher, 90th overall in 10:18:15. Her splits were 1:08:08, 5:23:31 and 3:36:30. Victoria's Jasper Blake won the race in 8:33:58 finishing about 14 minutes ahead of Australian Courtney Ogden after starting 5 minutes behind Ogden on the run. Blake nailed an impressive 2:48:12 marathon. Another Australian, Belinda Granger, won the women's race in 9:25:13. She finished 3 minutes ahead of runner-up and five-time Ironman Australia winner, Lisa Bentley. There were 2,500 registered in IMC and 2,178 finished before the 17 hour cut-off time. Next year marks the 25th anniversary for the event and 500 people camped overnight at the registration line in order to enter. The 2007 event was immediately sold out, only one day after this year's race.
August 21, 2006
Todd Howard, Angela Plamondon, Paul O'Callaghan and Randy Jones
Todd led the field of 158 finishers in the eighth annual Sound and Silence 10K on Sunday with a winning time of 32:05. He is currently training for the Berlin Half Marathon on September 24, then the Royal Victoria Marathon, or Half two weeks later. Second place in the S&S race went to Campbell River's Mark Cryderman in 32:57 while Harriers' Paul O'Callaghan claimed third in 33:06 to collect the top master's award in the race. Angela placed 12th overall in 39:49 to not only win the women's division, but she too, was the top master in the event. Anna McCutcheon was second, in 40:41, Gwyn Woodson was third in 42:12, top F50 runner, and Sandi Heal placed fourth in 42:37. Randy Jones ran the race of a lifetime, narrowly missing his all-time personal best for 10K by a mere 3 seconds. His time of 47:20 placed him 10th of 23 in his age division and 55th overall of the 158 finishers. There were 42 finishers in the accompanying 5K walk won by Roy Livesey in 43:00. The top female in the 5K walk was Harriers' Helen Jaques in 45:01 to place fifth overall.
August 14, 2006
Lucy Smith, Steve Osaduik, Jim Finlayson and Scott Simpson
Lucy and Steve captured the National Half Marathon titles at the Canadian Championships in Edmonton yesterday and will represent Team Canada at the IAAF World Championships later in the year. Steve led a strong field of 968 runners to break the tape in 1:07:21 under hot and humid conditions over a new, hilly Edmonton course. Lucy finished 13th overall in 1:14:24 beating Lisa Harvey, of Calgary, by almost four minutes. Tanya Jones, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, finished third in 1:18:28. On the men's side, Harriers' Jim Finlayson finished second in 1:07:37 and team mate Scott Simpson finished fourth with a personal best time of 1:08:12. Victoria's Nik Southwell was sixth in 1:09:09 and Mark Bomba, from Coquitlam, was tenth in 1:12:56. The National Energy Capital Half Marathon Championships were held in conjunction with the ING Edmonton Marathon won by Stephen Lott, of Aukland, New Zealand in 2:40:55. There were 456 marathon finishers. In an accompanying 10K race, Edmonton's Darren DeForge won in 36:38; there were 338 finishers in the 10K. With 968 finishers, the half marathon continues to be the most popular distance.
August 14, 2006
Dave Reed
Dave was not only the top M50 runner, top master, top Harrier, top B.C. runner, but he was also the top overall runner on his way to victory at the North Kawartha Health Centre 5K on Saturday starting at 7:00 a.m. from the Apsley Community Centre in Ontario. There were 86 finishers in the event, most of which were from Mississauga, Peterborouigh, London or Toronto. Dave's winning time was 16:57. Second place went to Tom Boone, of Calgary, in 17:05 and Stouffville's Fred Robbins took third in 19:08. The top three women were Emily Moore, of Toronto, in 21:42, Jess Arnott, of Burlington, in 22:08 and Toronto's Claire Boone, in 22:41. At 52, Dave just proved that you're never too old to break the tape!
August 7, 2006
Leah Pells
Leah was top female, top master, and 16th overall of the 187 finishers at the flat and fast course of the Squamish Days 10K yesterday. Her time was 36:41. Second female was Kristina Rody, of Whistler, in 36:59, while North Vancouver's Darcie Montgomery, took third in 38:15. Ryan Day, of Vancouver, won the race in 32:01. Jamie Epp placed second in 32:51 and Patrice Le Bihan was third in 33:49. Victoria's Craig Odermatt was fourth in 33:55.
August 7, 2006
Bertrand Bozek, Marie-Claude Poirier, John Botelho and Hillerie Denning
Bertrand and Marie were the top Harriers in the triathlon and John and Hillerie were the top Harriers in the duathlon at the 27th Annual Self-Transcendence event held at Elk Lake yesterday. Bertrand was 8th overall of the 269 finishers with a time of 2:13:48. He was second in his age division and recorded the third fastest run time. Marie had a brilliant swim, coming out of the water in fifth place overall leaving 264 other swimmers in her wake. She was fourth female finisher in the triathlon in 2:21:29. Ben Cotter, of Victoria, won the race in 2:03:56, while Kirsty Smith was the top female in 2:13:07. John placed fourth overall in the duathlon, 2nd in the M45 division, in 2:19:15. Hillerie was third female, 1st in the F45 division, in 2:27:08. There were 34 finishers in the duathlon, won by Hugh Trenchard in 1:59:33. The top female was Jorja French in 2:21:00.
August 6, 2006
Eric Kiauka
Eric collected a silver medal in the 3,000 Metre Steeplechase today with a time of 8 minutes, 51.29 seconds. Matt Kerr, from Tri-City, Ontario, won the event in 8:47.26. Eric tripped on a hurdle on the second lap and had to battle his way back through the entire field before finishing second at the National Track and Field Championships held in Ottawa. He has been racing track meets in Europe before returning to Victoria to anchor the Harriers' team in the provincial cross country championships, hosted by PIH in Victoria on October 21, and national cross country championships, held on December 2 in Vancouver.
July 31, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Scott Simpson, Todd Howard, Paul O'Callaghan and Sandi Heal
Steve won the second annual Esquimalt 8K with a course record of 23:59, lowering his previous record of 24:10 set last year. Scott was second overall in 24:35 and Todd was fourth in 25:29. Paul was the top master, fifth overall, in 26:21. There were 249 finishers at Esquimalt, up 12 from the 237 that competed in the inaugural race in 2005. The top female was Kirsty Smith, of the National Triathlon Centre, in 27:55. UVic's Nancy Fedoruk was second in 30:32 and Sandi Heal was third female overall, first in her age division, in 32:59.
July 24, 2006
Richard Lee, Leah Pells and Nancy Tinari
Our mainland Harriers, Richard, Leah and Nancy, continue to shine, proving to be some of the top masters in the country. Richard placed 5th overall, 2nd master, in 34:52 at the 18th annual Stanley Park Seawall Summerfast 10K on Sunday. The winner was Hayden Prosser in 32:42 while Warren McCulloch, 4th overall, was top master in 34:50. Oliver Blake was 2nd in 33:24 and Jamie Epp placed 3rd in 33:48. Kristina Rody, 23, from Whistler, was the top female in 36:22 while Leah was top master, 2nd female, in 37:11. Nancy was 3rd female and 1st in the F45 division in 37:24. The race is organized by former-Harrier Simon Cowell. There were 307 finishers at the Summerfast 10K.
July 24, 2006
Lindsay Pellow and Wendy Davies
Kusam Klimber Lindsay and Gutbuster Wendy both did extremely well in the Three Ferries Bike Ride yesterday. For Lindsay, it was only her second group ride and her longest at 94 kilometres. Wendy also rode from her home in Victoria to Sidney which tacked on another 36K to give her her longest ride ever at 130 kilometres. The ride featured a 34K ride on Saltspring Island from Fulford Harbour to Vesuvius Bay via Ganges and Saint Mary Lake. From there is was a 41K ride south from Crofton to Mill Bay and a 20K ride from Brentwood Bay to Sidney. Both Wendy and Lindsay finished with a smile and all riders sat down to a tremendous victory dinner at the Odyssia Steak House in Sidney. 14 cyclists did the ride, 7 of which enjoyed the meal together.
July 17, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Claire Morgan, Cara Obee and Gary Duncan
Steve won the Westwood Lake Half Marathon in 1:33:09 while Claire was top female in 48:36 in the 8.6K short course as the Gutbuster Series wrapped up with race #4 in Nanaimo yesterday. Second place in the half went to Stefan Jacobsen in 1:36:39 and Whistler's Morgan Titus was third in 1:37:09. The top female in the long course was Katrina Driver, from Vancouver, in 1:54:58. Second place went to Cara, in 2:02:44, who was crowned Series Champion based on her bronze medal performances at Royal Roads and Mt. Tzouhalem, her gold medal at Mount Douglas and silver at Westwood. Gary continued with his string of victories at three straight Gutbuster races and was awarded top master of the Series following his win at Westwood in 1:54:45. Harriers teams won both long course and short course honours. There were 121 finishers in the half and 149 in the 8.6K for a record field of 270 finishers.
July 17, 2006
Lori Bowden
Lori finished second to Australian Rebecca Preston in the Ironman Austria event on Sunday. Her time was 9:14:59, two minutes and fifty seconds behind Preston's winning time of 9:12:09. Lori gained almost 8 minutes in the marathon but ran out of road and had to settle for silver. Two-time Ironman Hawaii world champion, Lori, hopes to have another crack at it this year, 10 months after giving birth to her first son, Tyler. Besides winning twice, she has also placed second twice at Hawaii and has been in the top three for 9 consecutive years from 1996 to 2004. Lori won the silver medal at the New Balance Half Ironman at Elk Lake in June, her first comeback triathlon since becoming a mother. She was 22nd of 601 finishers.
July 10, 2006
Jim Finlayson
Jim placed 2nd overall to Kenyan Henry Gituka in the LA Weight Loss 10K in Calgary on Sunday, a race held in conjunction with the HSBC Calgary Marathon and Half Marathon. Gituka's time was 30:02 while Jim hit the line in 31:57 and Coquitlam's Mark Bomba placed third in 32:15. Paul McCloy was the top master and finished 4th overall in 33:03 while Etheopian Aster Demissie was the top female in 34:52 placing 8th overall. There were 1,163 finishers in the 10K. Jason Loutitt, from Banff, won the Calgary Marathon in 2:34:57 which had 828 finishers and Kenyan Abel Ondeyo won the Half Marathon in 1:07:07 which had 1,965 finishers.
July 10, 2006
Bertrand Bozek and Marie-Claude Poirier
Bertrand was the fastest runner of the day and Marie was the top female of the day in the Cowichan Challenge Triathlon yesterday near Chemainus. The 1K swim in Fuller's Lake was followed by a hilly 34K bike ride and a 9K trail run. The race winner was Adrian Walton in 1:54:26, second place went to Sean Cunningham in 1:55:24 and Bertrand was third overall in 1:56:08. There were 109 finishers. Marie was second out of the water, 22nd on the bike and 13th on the run to finish 11th overall in 2:02:59 and win the women's race by almost 7 minutes. Bertrand had the fastest run in 33:44, beating the race winner by one minute 32 seconds for the 9K trail run. He was 10th for the swim and 10th on the bike.
July 10, 2006
Angela Plamondon and Phil Nicholls
Angela and Phil were the top masters and top Harriers in the Great Sooke 12.4K Foot Race on Sunday. Phil finished third overall in 46:38 and Angela finished fifth overall in 51:57. There were 60 finishers. The race was won by Nick Walker in 44:24 and second place went to Mark Nelson in 44:59. Angela destroyed the women's field in winning by almost 6 minutes. Kim Ebbs-Canavan was second in 57:37 and Jane Gibson was third in 1:00:36. Other Harriers recording good races were Gord Christie, 4th overall and 2nd master in 46:47, Randy Jones, 1st M50 in 1:01:30 and Alexa Turcotte, 1st walker in 1:25:55.
July 2, 2006
Jim Finlayson, Dave Jackson, Lucy Smith and Nancy Baxendale
Jim and Dave finished 1-2 overall in 31:28 and 31:32, Lucy was the top female in 34:04, good for 4th overall, and Nancy was the top master in 37:29, 12th overall, at the second annual HBC10K yesterday. Conditions were hot and the 440 finishers represented a slight drop from 526 that completed the inaugural event last year. Harriers Eric Findlay, Cheryl Murphy, Ben Kingstone, Gary Duncan, Rui Batista and Chris Callendar all had excellent performances at the HBC10K.
July 2, 2006
Arturo Huerta, Sandi Heal, Sandy Mullen and Linda Dobbie
Arturo was the top master, 3rd overall, and top Harrier, in 16:42, Sandi H. was the top female Harrier, 4th female overall, in 20:39, and Sandy M. was top the master, in 21:35, 7th female, at the 29th annual Sidney Days 5K yesterday. Linda ran very well in her first ever race with a time of 34:39, placing her 131st out of 154 finishers. Conditions were very hot and Peninsula Track Club did an outstanding job with the food and awarding numerous, unique draw prizes. There were 17 Harriers finishers, most of which won a prize.
June 26, 2006
Jim Finlayson, Steve Osaduik, Dave Jackson, Leah Pells, Nancy Tinari and Joan McGrath
Kenyans swept the top three spots but positions 4, 5 and 7 represented the top three Canadians and they were all Prairie Inn Harriers at the Scotiabank Half Marathon in Vancouver on Sunday. The race winner was Gitah MacHaria in 1:04:29 while the top female was Calgary's Lisa Harvey in 1:17:58. Jim placed 4th in 1:06:55, Steve was 5th in 1:07:25, and the ever-improving Dave, nailed a huge personal best with a 1:07:47 for 7th. Sixth place went to another Kenyan, Nourddine Betchim. The Harriers ladies finished 2-3-4 in the female division and were also the top three masters in the race. Comeback runner of 2006, Leah Pells was 2nd in 1:18:48, Nancy Tinari finished 3rd in 1:22:09, while Joan McGrath placed 4th in 1:23:18. There were 3,424 finishers at Scotiabank, the most popular half marathon of the summer.
June 21, 2006
Ken Bonner
Long time Harrier and long distance running and cycling phenom, Ken Bonner, has just recorded five consecutive wins at the 2006 BC Randonneur's ultra cycling Series on Vancouver Island. On April 8 he won the Tour of the Cowichan Vally 200K race in 7 hours, 20 minutes. Second place went to Cheryl Lynch in 7:29; there were 40 finishers. Two weeks later Ken won The Hills are Alive 300K race in 12:43. Second place went to Jim Fiddler in 14:08 and there were 9 finishers. On May 13 he took the victory in the Highway to Hell 400K in 17:25. Luke Galley was second of the 7 finishers in 20 hours, 45 minutes. On May 27, Ken won the Pacific Rim 600K race in 26:14. Ken Carter was second in 33:06 which attracted 11 finishers. Finally, he nailed the win at the Hare and Tortoise 1000K Brevet in 48 hours and 43 minutes. Second place again went to Jim Fiddler in 58:33. There were 10 finishers in a 1000K race which started on June 17 and finished on June 20. What a remarkable string of wins at endurance events by a remarkable athlete. It is also worth noting that Ken has run over 150 marathons inclucing every single one of the 26 RVMs. He is the only person to achieve this milestone.
June 19, 2006
Lori Bowden, Laura Leno and Gerry Etcheverry
Lori was 2nd female, Laura won her age division and Gerry had a brilliant triathlon debut placing 8th in his age class at the New Balance Half Ironman at Elk Lake on Sunday. The male winner was Tom Evans in 4:02:03 and the top female was Heather Danford in 4:35:52. There were 314 men, 223 women and 64 teams for a total of 601 finishers. Lori had a good swim a respectable ride and a determined run by gaining 4 minutes on Danford, but had to settle for second, just over a minute back in 4:36:58. She was 22nd overall. Laura improved her time by almost 20 minutes over last year to win the F50 division in 5:39:57. This placed her 52nd of the 223 female finishers. Gerry finished in 5:03:15 and placed 87th of the 601 finishers. More importantly, his terrific effort in his first triathlon qualified him for the Canadian Championships in Penticton on August 27 where he will compete in Subaru Ironman Canada. The 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile run will be his toughest challenge to date in the Okanagan heat, but we know he is preparing very well and the Harriers are supporting him all the whey. Good luck, Baskman, we're proud of you!
June 18, 2006
Steve Bachop
Steve added the 800 metre and 1500 metre titles to accompany his provincial cross country win at the BC Masters Track and Field Championships in Langley on Saturday. There were 15 starters in the 800, won by Steve in 2 minutes flat. Second place went to Malcolm Smilie in 2:10 while Paul Reimer took 3rd in 2:11. Conditions were cold and windy. The following morning, at an ungodly early 7:00 a.m. start, Steve won the 1500 in 4:15 where he took it more of a training run than a race. There were 20 finishers in the 1500. He is preparing for the Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships on July 21 in New Brunswick where he hopes to break the long-standing 1500 metre record of 4:01 set by Barry Adams in 1984 and tied by Mike Creery in 1988. A few high profile track meets on the lower mainland in June and July will prepare him for a crack at the magic over-40 sub-4. An incredible accomplishment is in store if Steve has a good day in New Brunswick.
June 18, 2006
Cory Horner and Randy Jones
Cory and Randy had outstanding performances at the 3rd annual Kussam Klimb 23K adventure endurance race in Sayward yesterday. The event features a 1,482 metre (5,000 feet) ascent and descent in just over 13 miles. Overall race winner was Rob Fontaine, from Campbell River, in 2:44:29. This equates to a 7:05 pace per kilometre over some very tough terrain. The top female was Delta's Sally Marcellus in 3:16:04. She was 11th overall of the 158 finishers. Cory placed 10th in his very first endurance event finishing in 3:14:14 powered by chocolate bars. Randy improved his time from 6:55 in 2004 to 5:39 in 2005 to 4:14 in 2006. He was 45th. Next year a sub-4 is definately in the cards. Other Harriers completing the gruelling KK were Rob Smith in 3:50:00, Lindsay Pellow in 3:55:26, Carrol Elliott in 4:46:23, Patti Walsh in 5:03:06 and Jackie Hucal in 5:06:40. Previous male winners include Andrew Hallam in 2:51:19 and Kevin Vallely in 2:32:17. Female winners include Claire Townsend in 3:05:41 and Marguerite Masson in 3:05:40. The community of Sayward really gets behind this event by providing spirit, enthusiastic volunteers and tremendous food, hospitality and merchandise prizes.
June 15, 2006
Eric Kiauka, Lucy Smith, Paul O'Callaghan and Nancy Baxendale
Eric and Lucy were first open runners and Paul and Nancy were first master runners in the 22nd annual Twilight Shuffle 4 mile race in Chemainus on Wednesday night. There were 554 finishers. Eric duelled shoulder to shoulder with team mate Scott Simpson for 3.9 miles before out-kicking him over the last 100 yards to take the victory 19:28 to 19:34. Harriers' Eric Findlay finished third in 20:45. Lucy won the women's race in 21:43 to finish 7th overall. Paul was 5th overall in 21:07 and Nancy was 16th overall in 23:25, a new master women's course record. For their efforts, Eric and Lucy collected $500 in prize money while Paul and Nancy pocketed $300 as top masters. Arturo Huerta had another strong race finishing 8th, 2nd master, in 22:01 while Robbie Cracknell was top junior, 10th overall, in 22:19.
June 12, 2006
Rumon Carter, Ben Kingstone and Christopher Kelsall
Only 2 weeks earlier Harriers swept the top three spots in the Ladysmith COPs Crunch 8K and yesterday Harriers again swept the top three spots in the first annual Edge to Edge Half Marathon in Tofino. Rumon Carter led the way in his brand new Harriers red coolmax singlet in 1:26:55. Second place went to Shawnigan Lake sensation Ben Kingstone, becoming a regular at our TNWs, in 1:29:02, and Christopher Kelsall claimed third in 1:33:28. Marcia Stromsmoe also had a strong run finishing first of 20 runners in the F50 division in 1:48:18. There were 171 finishers in the half marathon, 90 finishers in the full marathon and 52 teams in the marathon relay. The winner of the seventh annual marathon was Bill Parry, from Whitehorse, in 3:09:58, while the top female was Emily Solsberf, of West Vancouver, in 3:34:43. The first relay team was called Quintastic Wave Runners, from Vancouver, finishing in 2:51:47. Each relay team consisted of five runners.
June 12, 2006
Eric Kiauka
Eric unloaded a ferocious kick on the last lap to win the National 1,500 metre race at the Victoria International Track Classic yesterday at Centennial Stadium. His winning time was 3:49.89. Second place went to Sam Jerema in 3:50.30 and Aaron Heidt took third in 3:51.27. Steve Osaduik was third Canadian in the 5,000 metre race in 14:24, and Dave Jackson was sixth Canadian in 14:38. Victorians Dianne Cummins and Achraf Tadili won the international 800 metre race in 1:59.73 and 1:46.18 respectively.
June 5, 2006
Scott Simpson, Steve Osaduik and Dave Jackson
Scott, Steve and Dave all ran 10,000 metre P.B.s in the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Abbotsford on Sunday placing Harriers 1st, 4th and 5th at the Nationals. Scott ran 29:51.04 to capture the Canadian Championship, Mark Bomba was second Canadian in 29:51.66, Jerry Ziak third in 29:51.79, Steve fourth in 29:57.53 and Dave finished fifth in 30:12.94. Eric Findlay was tenth in 31:23.83. It must have been quite an exciting kick to the line with the top three Canadians finishing less than one second apart after 25 gruelling laps at the Lafarge Abbotsford International Track Classic.
June 5, 2006
Phil Nicholls
Phil won the master's championship at the Fontana Days Half Marathon in San Bernardino, California on Sunday. He finished 3rd overall in 1:13:33 while battling sizzling temperatures. Since turning 40, Phil has dominated the Fontana Days master's division by winning five times.
June 5, 2006
Graham Cocksedge and Cara Obee
Graham won his seventh consecutive GutBuster race and Cara captured her first victory at her home park in the Mount Douglas GB 11K on Saturday. Graham, finishing in 47:50, easily outdistanced second place finisher Shaun Stephens-Whale, of Roberts Creek, who hit the line in 50:39. A fast-charging Brad Cunningham claimed third place in 52:56 passing a pair of Harriers, Shane Ruljancich and Kim Webb on the last downhill mile of the course. Cara's time was 59:26, good for 17th position overall of 101 finishers in the long course. Cara has won a bronze medal at Royal Roads and at Mt. Tzouhalem and this win at Mt. Douglas solidifies her hold as the potential Series Champion. Erica Milligan, of Vancouver, was second in 1:02:01 while Tasha Dilay took third in 1:05:35.
June 5, 2006
Camie Bentham and Dee Ogden
Camie and Dee finished first and second in the Mount Doug GutBuster 5 kilometre short course on Saturday. Camie's time was 22:53 which placed her 9th of the 81 finishers. Dee was 18th overall in 23:53 and Carolyn Goluza was third female in 24:07. Robert Thibodeau, of Victoria, won the 5K race in 20:15. The Prairie Inn Harriers team of Camie Bentham, Dee Ogden, Suzy Taylor and Wendy Davies took top honours for the "Harrier Thighs" short course team while Harriers Graham Cocksedge, Shane Ruljancich, Kim Webb and Gary Duncan were the top finishers for the "Harrier Leg Turnovers" long course team.
June 2, 2006
The Bask Man
Basque Man saved the day on Friday when vandals sabotaged the Mount Doug GutBuster course by removing all of the signs and surveyor's flagging marking the course. Bask went out with his trusty Popeye's whey powder and refreshed the route with new white arrows at all trail intersections. This enabled a record field of 182 finishers to navigate the course without getting lost.
May 29, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Jim Finlayson, Cheryl Murphy and Lori Bowden
Steve and Jim both broke the course record and finished 1-2 while team mates Cheryl and Lori finished and 1-2 as open women at the second annual Oak Bay Kool Half Marathon yesterday. Steve finished in 1:06:57, Jim notched 1:07:30 and third place went to Hugh Trenchard in 1:13:46. Cheryl repeated as Kool Half champion as she won last year in 1:20:09 and won again this year in 1:20:26. Lori had a strong second half of the race as she moved from fourth place to second place finishing in 1:21:18. IRR's Marilyn Arseneault ran a personal best to take third in 1:21:36. There were 481 finishers and another 63 teams in the Asics Ekiden Relay.
May 29, 2006
Richard Lee and Joan McGrath
Mainland Harriers Richard, from Port Coquitlam, and Joan, from New Westminster, were top masters at the Oak Bay Kool Half Marathon both shattering their respective master's course record. Richard finished fourth overall of the 481 finishers in 1:15:16 beating Phil Nicholl's previous record of 1:16:15 by 59 seconds. Joan ran 1:24:44, good for 17th overall, and smashed Helena Watling master's course record by almost 7 minutes. Joan was first of an incredible 100 runners in the F4049 division, clearly the largest category of the race, comprising 24% of the field. Richard collected 4th open prize money and top master for $450 while Joan collected fifth open purse and top master for $400. Their wins certainly helped pay the ferry fare!
May 29, 2006
Nancy Baxendale and Kevin Searle
Nancy posted a personal best time of 2:56:53 under hot and humid conditions at the ING National Capital Matathon in Ottawa on Sunday. She was third Canadian female. Lioudmila Kortchaguina, a new Canadian only receiving her citizenship last year, won the women's race in 2:29:41 which was a National Capital course record and a Canadian marathon record. Kevin was third in the M45 division with a time of 2:51:38. Nancy's and Kevin's efforts as a team earned the Prairie Inn Harriers, and Victoria, third place honours in the ING Canada's Fastest City team competition. They won $8,000.00 which will be donated to the Easter Seals Camp at Shawnigan Lake. The men's race was very controversial as 14 of the leaders, mainly Kenyans and Ethiopeans, went off course cutting 400 metres off the 42.2K official distance. They were disqualified and the 6th place finisher, Abderrahime Bouramdane, was awarded first place with a time of 2:12:17. The top Canadian male was Toronto's Charles Bedley in 2:27:58.
May 29, 2006
Leah Pells and Dave Reed
In her comeback race for 2006, Leah, 41, dominated the female ranks with a winning time of 28:54 at the Shaughnessy 8K in Vancouver on Sunday. She was 14th overall of the 368 finishers. Second female was 20 year old Heather McEwan in 30:35 while Leslie Black, 48, took third in 31:26. Dave finished 9th overall and topped the M50 category with a great time of 27:41. Oliver Utting, of Burnaby, won the race in 25:24 with Maple Ridge's Norm Tinkham second in 25:36, top master, and Tristan Simpson, 22, from Delta, claimed third in 26:00.
May 29, 2006
Eric Kiauka, Steve Osaduik, Dave Jackson and Kyle Jones
Eric, Steve, Dave and Kyle all ran personal bests at the Peninsula Runners Twilight 5,000 metre race on Tuesday night. Simon Whitfield charged away from a very tight pack with 200 metres to go to claim the victory in 14:14. Eric finished second in 14:16, Steve third in 14:16, Dave fourth in 14:35 and Kyle fifth in 14:44. These five times represented the fastest 5K times run in Canada to date this year.
May 29, 2006
Aaron Holmgren, Gord Christie and Ben Kingstone
There were only three Prairie Inn Harriers of the 217 finishers in the COP's Holland Creek Crunch 8K adventure cross country race in Ladysmith on Sunday but they finished first, second and third overall, with each winning their respective age division. Congratulations go to Aaron Holmgren (32:18), top open runner, Gord Christie (35:18), top master, and Ben Kingstone (35:37), top junior, for leading the way for the other 214 runners to follow! Full results are available at www.copscrunch.com.
May 22, 2006
Graham Cocksedge and Lucy Smith
Graham and Lucy captured gold medals at the Canadian Duathlon Championships in Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday. Graham's winning time was 1:48:52 with splits of 31:25 (10K run), 1:00:37 (40K ride) and 15:43 (5K run). Second place went to Kyle Marcotte of Calgary in 1:49:58. Lucy finished 29th overall in 2:03:49 with splits of 35:15 (10K run), 1:09:10 (40K ride) and 18:16 (5K run). Second place went to Vernon's Jessica Solymosi in 2:04:14. There were 225 athletes competing in the National Duathlon Championships, 25 of which were elite men and women. One week earlier Graham won the BC Duathlon Championships in Penticton at the Bare Bones Duathlon with a time of 1:25:47. It was a 10 second margin of victory over the home town favourite, Tom Evans. Obviously Graham has added cycling to his training schedule after coming off an impressive string of running victories. He is doing both sports very well! Both Lucy and Graham will be invited to attend the World Duathlon Championships in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland at the end of July.
May 15, 2006
Jim Finlayson
Jim just finished an impressive streak of 4 races on four consecutive Sundays with excellent performances in all of them. Yesterday, he won the Forest City 10K Road Race in London, Ontario with a time of 31:02. There were 319 finishers. Last weekend he nailed a second consecutive 1st overall out of 6,716 finishers in the Vancouver International Half Marathon with a time of 1:08:37. The week before that he was 2nd to Steve Osaduik in the 8,162-strong TC10K in 30:43 and on April 23 he was 8th in the Sun Run of 45,426 finishers in 30:28. Jim has blue-ribboned in his two Island Series races as well this year, with a 31:11 to win the Sooke River 10K and a 1:08:06 to win the Comox Half Marathon. He is peaking for the Scotiabank Half Marathon in Vancouver on June 25 and the Berlin Marathon on September 24. In the meantime, Jim plans to do the Oak Bay Kool Half Marathon on May 28, an event he won last year, and the Twilight Shuffle on June 14. Look for excellent continued success in Jim's 2006 results with perhaps a personal best of 2:15 in Berlin.
May 8, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Angela Plamondon and Randy Jones
Steve cruised along for the Oceanside 10K win yesterday in 31:27, an easy jog after winning the TC10K a week earlier in 30:27. This victory secured his fifth Series Championship in the last six years. He won all five 2006 races including Pioneer, Mill Bay, Hatley Castle, Merville and Oceanside. Of the 40 races he has run in the Island Series in the last 6 years, 30 are victories and this year's Pioneer 8K yeilded his highest points total ever, 918. His time of 23:39 places him amongst the greats like Jon Brown, Paul McCloy, Dave Campbell and Carey Nelson, who have dominated at Pioneer in earlier years. Angela won the F40 division in all nine Series races this year and capped off a fine season with an Oceanside overall win. At Merville and Oceanside, she was not only the top Harrier, but was the top female overall. Randy showed a huge improvement by shaving 10 minutes, 2 seconds off his Oceanside time of last year. He ran 47:11 compared to 57:13 in 2005. This was a 5 minute improvement over his 53:25 Mill Bay 10K effort and a 2 minute improvement over his 49:12 Sooke River 10K time a month previous to Oceanside.
May 8, 2006
Jim Finlayson, Barb Brych and Judith Leroy
Jim won his second consecutive Vancouver International Half Marathon in 1:08:37 leading a record field of 6,716 finishers to the line. His winning time of 1:05:50 in 2005 was a course record where he finished first of 6,590 runners. Barb, currently living in Nelson, was second female, 28th overall, in 1:23:29. The women's winner was Sally Bergesen in 1:22:41. Judith improved her time from the Royal Victoria Marathon by over a minute in posting a 2:51:55 at the Vancouver International Marathon yesterday. She was 5th female, 2nd Canadian and 2nd in her age division in her 2nd marathon. The women's winner was Malgorzata Sobanska, from Poland, in 2:37:06 while Ethiopean Kassahun Kabiso won the men's race in 2:18:29. There were 3,549 finishers in the marathon. Conditions were wet, windy and cold.
May 1, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Steve Bachop, Lucy Smith and Nancy Tinari
Top open and top master runners in the TC10K yesterday.
May 1, 2006
Graeme McCreath, Gary Duncan, Kevin Searle and Sandi Heal
Big P.R.'s and high positions within their age categories at the TC10K.
April 24, 2006
Scott Simpson, Jim Finlayson and Dave Jackson
6th, 8th and 9th overall in the Sun Run.
April 17, 2006
Graham Cocksedge, Shane Ruljancich and Cara Obee
Harriers Graham Cocksedge nailed his second consecutive Gutbuster victory on Saturday besting the record field of 193 finishers at the Mt. Tzouhalem 11K GB race in Providence Farm, Duncan. Graham's winning time was 1:00:43. He also won the Royal Roads Gutbuster 10K event on March 25. Perhaps running his best race ever as a Harrier, Shane Ruljancich, placed third overall, in 1:03:12, good for his highest finishing position ever in any Island race. Shane has been leading the pack at the TNWs and his hard work in now paying big dividends in race preformances. Look for a strong TC10K from him. Sixteen year old sensation, Shaun Stephens-Whale of Roberts Creek, took second place with a time of 1:00:54, for his second consecutive silver medal at a GB race. Two other sensational PIHers hail from the Sunshine Coast - Meghan Day from Roberts Creek and Anthony Estey from Sechelt. Cara finished third in the day's most exciting women's race at Mt. Tzhouhalem. A mere 4 seconds separated the top three women as they hit the tape in 22nd, 23rd and 24th positions overall. Tara-Lee Marshall, of Maple Ridge, won in 1:10:58, Wendy Simms, from Nanaimo, took second in 1:11:00 and Cara placed third in 1:11:02. It was Cara's second consecutive bronze medal as she was also third at the Royal Roads Gutbuster in March. Like Shane, Cara has been leading the lady's pack at the TNWs and she is getting stronger every week.
April 10, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Dave Reed and Angela Plamondon
Steve won the race in 46:25 while Dave and Angela were top masters at the Merville 15K yesterday. There were 292 finishers.
April 10, 2006
John Loney
John was top master in the Really Chilly 10K in February and also won the M40 division at the Instride Subaru Jordan 5K in London, Ontario on Saturday.
April 10, 2006
Dee Ogden, Les MacNeill and Roger Plamondon
Dee, Les and Roger all claimed their first-ever gold medals in an Island Series race at the Merville 15K yesterday.
April 3, 2006
Randy Jones and Dave Jackson
Both Dave and Randy had huge breakthrough personal bests at Sooke River 10K yesterday.
April 3, 2006
Joan McGrath and Dave Reed
Joan and Dave were both top masters and gold medalists in their age divisions at the Sooke River 10K yesterday. Joan was fourth female overall in 37:34 while Dave set an M50 course record of 35:34, winning his age category by two minutes.
April 3, 2006
Jim Finlayson and Tina Connelly
Tina and Jim were the overall winners at Sooke River 10K yesterday. Jim finished in 31:11 while Tina hit the tape in 35:46 nursing a sore hamstring. Second place went to Dave Jackson in 31:19 while Nick Walker took third in 32:34. Second female was Cheryl Murphy in 36:01 and third place went to Marilyn Arseneault in 37:25. There were 404 finishers, a record for the Sooke River 10K.
March 27, 2006
Sandy Stewart, Gary Duncan and Christopher Kelsall
Sandy, Gary and Chris made it a 1-2-3 clean sweep in the master's category of the Royal Roads Gutbuster on Saturday.
March 27, 2006
Graham Cocksedge and Meghan Day
Both Graham and Meghan won the Royal Roads Gutbuster on Saturday in convincing style. Graham ran away from the men's field to claim a three minute margin of victory over Roberts Creek's Shaun Stephens-Whale, 49:52 to 52:44. Meg destroyed the women's field finishing 7th overall of the 207 finishers. She ran the course in 59:46, three minutes ahead of second place Julia Dearameux. Harriers' Cara Obee placed third in 1:02:50.
March 20, 2006
Roger Plamondon and Angela Plamondon
Roger and Angela were definately the best husband and wife combination in the Comox Half Marathon on Sunday. Roger, 1:21:26, took the silver medal in the M45 division, second to team mate Kevin Searle, and Angela took the gold in the F40 division with a time of 1:27:30.
March 20, 2006
Jim Finlayson, Joan McGrath, Brian Connon and John Woodall
Jim won the Comox Half Marathon yesterday in 1:08:06. Joan F45, Brian M60 and John M70 all convincingly won their respective age categories. Second place in the race went to Nik Southwell in 1:09:09 while David Matte, of Nanaimo, placed third in 1:13:22. The top three women were Joan McGrath, 1:23:47, Kim Gagliano, 1:27:08, and Angela Plamondon in 1:27:30. There were 510 finishers at Comox.
March 19, 2006
Nancy Tinari
At the age of 46, Nancy posted back to back victories on one weekend at the St. Patrick's Day 5K Dash on Saturday and Diva on the Run 8K on Sunday.
March 13, 2006
Scott Simpson and Sandra Bastedo
Scott won his first Island Series race of the year topping the Series record field of 909 finishers at the Bazan Bay 5K yesterday. He finished in 14:57. Second place when to Trevor O'Brien in 15:09 and Harriers' Dave Jackson took third in 15:10. The top female was Carolyn Murray in 17:16. Sandra easily won her age group in 20:46, finishing 172nd of 909, which was a new F60 British Columbia and Canadian age class record.
March 6, 2006
Gary Duncan
Gary won the inaugural Layritz 8.8K Trail Pursuit with a relatively small field of 10 finishers.
February 27, 2006
Cyrena Timmins, Scott Simpson, Shane Ruljancich, Kate Sloan and Garfield Saunders
The colour was silver for five Harriers yesterday at Hatley Castle who ran outstanding races to achieve second place in their respective age categories. Scott Simpson finished second overall to Steve Osaduik in the M25 division with a time of 25:28. Steve won the race with a course record time of 24:52 breaking his previous mark of 25:12. Scott's 25:28 is the third fastest time ever recorded in the 8 year history of the Hatley Castle 8K event. Shane ran 29:57 to finish second to Eric McCormick in the M30 division. He was 15th overall of the 444 finishers. Kate was second in the F20 division to race winner Kirsty Smith with a time of 31:01, good for fourth female overall. Smith's winning time was 30:25, missing Judith Leroy's course record of 29:01 by 1:24. Garfield had a solid effort with 37:30 to finish second in the M65 division to Jim Guthrie of CeeVacs. Garfield finished in a tight pack of Harriers including Sandi Begg, Maurie Tarrant and Marie-Claude Poirier. Cyrena finished in 44:36, second to Bow Delorey-Tully in the F15 division. She was 316th of 444 finishers, down 3 from the 2005 record of 447 finishers. Mainland Harriers Dave Reed, 8th overall, won the M50 division in 28:38 and Joan McGrath, 5th female overall, won the F45 division in 31:10. Joan was the top master at Hatley, while Dave was second master to Rob Harmsworth, who finished 6th overall in 28:28.
February 20, 2006
Tina Connelly, Joan McGrath, Steve Osaduik and Herb Phillips
Tina, Steve, Joan and Herb all won gold medals in the First Half Half Marathon in Vancouver yesterday.
February 13, 2006
Eric Findlay, Steve Bachop, Brian Connon, Lori Bowden and Sandi Heal
Eric placed second overall, Steve was top master, Brian won the M60 division and Lori took a bronze in the F35 division at the Cedar 12K yesterday.
February 6, 2006
Claire Morgan
Claire put forward a tremendous performance while 7 months pregnant at the Pioneer 8K. She finished in 40:14, 415th of the 728 finishers.
January 30, 2006
Steve Osaduik and John Woodall
A repeat gold medal performance for first overall at Pioneer to first overall at Mill Bay for Steve, and a repeat gold medal performance for John, in the M70 division, for a gold medal at Pioneer followed by another gold medal at Mill Bay.
January 23, 2006
Tina Connelly, Joan McGrath, Maurice Tarrant
Tina, Joan and Maurice all set age class course records at the Pioneer 8K last weekend along with Steve Osaduik and Bruce Deacon. Many ran personal bests by a sizeable margin in the event.
January 16, 2006
Steve Osaduik, Scott Simpson, Kyle Jones, Bruce Deacon, Dave Jackson
Steve, Scott, Kyle, Bruce and Dave made it a Harriers 1-2-3-4-5 clean sweep at the Pioneer 8K yesterday. This the first time in the 27 year history of the race that Harriers have taken the top 5 spots. Steve won the race with a brilliant personal best of 23:39 while Harriers' Tina Connelly was top female in 27:03. She was 17th overall of the 728 finishers, a record for Pioneer 8K.
January 9, 2006
Cheryl Murphy, Meghan Day, Steve Osaduik and Jim Finlayson
Cheryl, Meg, Steve and Jim have established some outstanding racing credentials that may never be matched in future years as a group. 2005 was an epic journey for each and every one of them. Consider this. On the male side, Steve and Jim collectively won the Royal Victoria Marathon, the Times Colonist 10K, the Vancouver International Half Marathon, the Vancouver Island Race Series Championship (for the fifth time) the Oak Bay Kool Half Marathon, the Fila Rock Solid 8K, the National Marathon Championships in Ottawa, Mill Bay 10K, Hatley Castle 8K, Cedar 12K and the Dave Smart Beer Mile with a world record time of 5:12. Both men ran on the bronze medal Harriers team in the Canadian Cross Country Championships. Cheryl and Meg won the Royal Victoria Half Marathon, the Twilight Shuffle 4 Miler, the Juan de Fuca Duathlon, Pioneer 8K, Bazan Bay 5K, Cedar 12K, Cadboro Bay Triathlon, Sooke River 10K, Panorama Triathlon, Songhees 5K and Mill Bay 10K. Fittingly both of them finished in a dead heat at the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Vancouver to propel the Harriers senior women’s team including Lucy Smith , Tina Connelly, Nancy Baxendale and Nancy Tinari to a gold medal performance. We are indeed honoured to acknowledge four incredible athletes that have been selected as the 2005 Gunner Shaw Most Valuable Runners at the annual Awards Night on Friday.
January 2, 2006
Gary Duncan and Wendy Davies
Gary and Wendy carried on the "Quad" tradition from last year but bumped up their activities to make it "The Quint". Each had their own strategy to obtain their goals.
Both did the Saturday Thetis Lake Run and SSS (Saturday Speed Session). Later that evening, on a lovely New Year's eve both ran the Run Through Time 5K at UVic. The next morning Gary did the Running Room run. Both did the Harriers Memorial Run at Beaver Lake at 10:00am. Gary then boogied off to do the Y-Run at 2:00pm. Neither participated in the Polar Bear swim, but Wendy managed to take in a blustery bike ride with Bob and braved the gale force winds. Great work by two amazing Harriers!
January 2, 2006
Brent Chan
Brent Chan was the winner of the Harriers Memorial Day Run at Beaver/Elk Lake on New Years Day. He was the closest to the predicted time in the run by 8 seconds and won the fruit-platter prize. Brent is a regular on Saturday mornings at Thetis Lake and dabbles with both the social group and the "B-team". Soon Bryan will kick him out of the social group and say, "Go run with Dr. A."
