Running Room Shaughnessy 8k — race report
2009
Perfect weather conditions and a very competitive field of runners
contributed to a new men's course record at the 27th Annual Running Room
Shaughnessy 8K. Ryan McKenzie (30) of Victoria, an athlete sponsored by
Running Room, took control of the race very early and destroyed the course
record by 38 seconds winning in a very fast time of 24:12. The previous
course record of 24:50 was established in 2004 by David Wambui.
Saucony sponsored athlete David Jackson (also from Victoria) finished
in second place with a time if 25:12 with Ryan Day (Vancouver) finishing
third in 25:50.
The women's race was won by Rachel Ruus of Richmond in a time of 29:15
followed by Anne-Marie Madden (Vancouver) in a time of 29:56. Masters
runner, Joan McGrath of New Westminster took third place in 30:02.
While the last weekend in May is usually one of the busiest race
weekends of the year, the Running Room Shaughnessy 8K still remains the
most competitive of all the races on that weekend.
Age Group Course Records
New Age group course records were also established by:
Ryan McKenzie (30) 24:12 M30-34
Herb Phillips (68) 31:41 M65-69
Maurice Tarrant (79) 38:34 M75-79
Age Graded Winners
Age graded race winners this year were Herb Phillips 31:41 (88.99%) and
Joan McGrath 30:02 (87.41%)
BC ROAD RACE SERIES
The Running Room Shaughnessy 8K has a long tradition of being one of the
featured races in the BC Timex Road Race Series. With the change in format
of the 2009 Timex Series, the event is now also part of the Lower Mainland
Road Race Series complementing not only the BC Timex Series but several
other road race series in BC. In addition to that the Running Room
Shaughnessy 8K also gets great support from the Vancouver Sun as part of
the annual Vancouver Sun Run Series. That Series was created to encourage
Vancouver Sun Run participants to continue running throughout the year.
CINDY'S 5K POKER WALK
This year BC Epilepsy came on board as the charity sponsor with the 5K
Poker Walk. With the enthusiasm and help from Cindy Devlin and the BC
Epilepsy Society the number of participants in the 5K POKER WALK more than
doubled in 2009 helping to create a greater awareness of BC Epilepsy and
with that more charitable donations. Participants in the walk rave about
the scenic 5K course where walkers collect poker a poker card at every
kilometre of the 5K route.
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Mother's Day 5k Spring Classic — race
report 2009
A record 402 entrants soaked up the glorious Port Moody sunshine which
lit up the 2009 Mother's Day 5K Spring Classic on Sunday, May 10th and
helped provide near-perfect conditions for race #11 in the Timex BC Road
Running Series and #4 in the new Lower Mainland Road Race Series.
First home — out of 371 eventual finishers — was Kelowna's Tom
Michie, who held off strong challenges from White Rock's David Palermo and
Yue-Ching Cheng from Port Moody to breast the finishing tape in a time of
16:28. Palermo (16:38) who had set the early pace and Cheng (16:44) who
led just after half-way, were in hot pursuit.
The women's race was also a closely-fought battle, Port Moody's Natasha
Wodak claiming the overall title in a time of 17:55, just 10 seconds clear
of Vancouver's Anne-Marie Madden (18:05) — with Madden's VFAC team-mate
and fellow Vancouverite Katherine Moore just five seconds further back
(18:10) in third... a PB by over a minute.
Bagging the overall and men's age-graded title was the ever-youthful
68-year-old Herb Phillips (18:55) with a score of 93%, which also earned
him the Dave Reed Memorial Trophy. Dave Stephens, 50, of North Vancouver,
took second with 84%, following a smoking run of 17:22 which also earned
him 11th place overall. Making up the podium for the age-graded men was
79-year-old Frank Kurucz of West Vancouver (24:49) with 83%.
In the women's age-graded competition, Joan McGrath, 47, of New
Westminster led the way with an impressive 86% after clocking a time of
18:40 — making her sixth lady overall. North Vancouver's Lenore
Montgomery, 78 years young, glided home to second place and 82% in a time
of 28:31, while Port Moody's Natasha Wodak, just 27, was tied with a
clutch of other runners on 80%, but took 3rd spot by virtue of her overall
win.
The Tiny Tots 100m dash and Kids 800m Fun Run, which followed the main
event, both proved a big hit — as well as a great spectacle — rounding
off an entertaining Mother's Day morning in Port Moody. With $2 of every
entry fee going to charity, the event's host, Phoenix Running Club, was
also able to raise over $800 for the Alzheimer's Society of BC.
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“First Half” Half Marathon - Vancouver -
race report 2009
There were two clear winners and many PRs set at the 21st annual
Pacific Road Runners “First Half” Half Marathon on February 15. A
beautiful sunny day, no wind, and temperatures around 5°C provided ideal
conditions for runners and spectators alike.
A lead pack of eight runners formed in the first mile, and ran together
for the first 5 miles before Coquitlam’s Richard Mosley upped the pace
and no one responded. He stretched his lead over the remaining 8 miles, to
run out a convincing winner in 1:05:43, his second victory in the 2009
Timex BC Road Race Series. Richard’s first appearance at the “First
Half” produced the eighth best time ever recorded at the event.
Behind Richard the rest of the pack, consisting of some of Canada’s
top marathoners, slowly broke apart. Steve Osaduik, the Royal Victoria
Marathon triple champion, out-dueled Saskatoon’s Jason Warick for second
place, with times of 1:07:32 and 1:07:49 respectively. Shane Carlos and
Jerry Ziak rounded out the top five prize money winners in 1:08:27 and
1:08:35.
Positions in the women’s race were established early, and changed
little during the race. Victoria’s Cheryl Murphy, also in her first
appearance at the “First Half”, was never pressed, and ran out a
winner by over two minutes in 1:16:06. Lisa Harvey, who has never placed
worse than second on each of her eight previous visits, lead home a large
contingent of Calgary runners, with her fifth runner-up finish in 1:18:28.
Kristina Rody, now living in Burnaby, was not far behind in 1:18:59.
Suzanne Evans (1:20:14) and Lindsay McLaren (1:21:16) completed the top
five.
Close behind the overall winners were the top masters. Recently turned
master, Mark Bomba, representing race sponsor Mizuno, was the first male
40+ finisher in an impressive 1:10:40. Two former race winners, Norm
Tinkham and Neil Holm, occupied second and third. Norm’s time of 1:11:53
was a new M4549 age group record. The women’s masters division was
dominated by athletes in the F4549 age group. Nancy Tinari was sixth
overall in 1:21:33. Rita Ivanauskas and Joan McGrath also finished in the
top-10 overall to complete the placings.
At the other end of the age groups, BJ McHugh was not only the first
ever 80+ finisher of the “First Half”, but her time of 2:07:08 was
unofficially a single age world best for an 81 year old. 79 year old Frank
Kurucz also set an event record for the M7579 age group with his time of
1:50:10. No less impressive were 74 year old Gwen McFarlan with her time
of 1:53:04, and 68 year old Herb Phillips who ran a blazing 1:26:07.
Once again the “First Half” donated proceeds from the event to the
Variety Telethon. $40,000 was donated this year, bringing the grand total
to over $400,000.
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"First Half" Half Marathon - Race
Preview
The 21st Annual “First Half” Half Marathon on February 15th will
feature many of Western Canada’s finest distance runners. Both the men’s
and the women’s races will be keenly contested, with no clear favourites
for the $3,000 in prize money.
The men’s field includes Richard Mosley, who recently won the BC 8K
Championship at the Prairie Inn Pioneer 8K, where he beat Canada’s top
marathoner, Jon Brown. This will be Richard’s first appearance at the
“First Half”. Not so for Steve Osaduik, who won the “First Half”
in 2006, and has been third the last two years. Steve is also a three-time
winner of the Royal Victoria Marathon. Two more of Canada’s top
marathoners are Jerry Ziak, who has twice been a runner-up at the “First
Half”, and Ryan Day, who won the Royal Victoria Half Marathon last fall.
Rounding out a quintet of athletes who will be hoping to run the 21.1
kilometres in around 1:06 or quicker is Saskatoon’s Jason Warick. Most
of these leading contenders will be trying to qualify for places on Canada’s
team to the World Marathon Championships in Berlin later this year. To do
so they will need to run the full marathon distance in 2:18 or quicker.
A quartet of Vancouver Island’s finest road runners will also be
aiming to be in the prize money with a top-5 finish. Todd Howard
represented Canada at last years Austin Marathon. Scott Simpson is a
former Canadian 10,000m champion. Jason Terauchi-Loutitt is an
international mountain runner. And Matt Clout is a talented young up and
comer.
Former UBC track and cross country star, Shane Carlos from Whitehorse,
fresh off a convincing win at the Icebreaker 8K, also cannot be discounted
in his half marathon debut. Other leading contenders from the Vancouver
area include Jay MacDonald, Oliver Utting, Simon Driver and Mark Bomba.
Having just turned 40, Bomba is favourite for the masters’ race. But he
will have to be at his best to hold off former “First Half” winners
Neil Holm and Norm Tinkham. Two former Olympians will also be contesting
the older age groups in Paul McCloy and Art Boileau.
The women’s race will be no less exciting. Lucy Smith won the BC 8K
Championship in early January, with Cheryl Murphy close behind. Places
were reversed however two weeks later at the Cobble Hill 10K. The two
Victoria athletes will renew their rivalry at the “First Half”. But
don’t discount Calgary’s Lisa Harvey, who has never finished worse
than second on each of her nine appearances at the “First Half”.
Equally capable of pulling off the win is Suzanne Evans, another
three-time winner of the Royal Victoria Marathon. Others likely to run
1:20 or quicker include locals Kristina Rody and Rachel Ruus, Calgary’s
Lindsay McLaren, and Saskatoon’s Brandi Pozniak.
Lucy Smith is also expected to be the top masters finisher, with Nancy
Tinari, Rita Ivanauskas, Joan McGrath, and Nurten Tasdemir all vying for
that position.
The “First Half” Half Marathon is organized by the Pacific Road
Runners with support from Mizuno, and is the third race in the 2009 Timex
BC Road Running Series. Proceeds from the event benefit Variety – the
Children’s Charity, with $40,000 donated in 2008. The race starts at
8:30am on Sunday, February 15, from the Roundhouse Community Centre in
downtown Vancouver. The course takes the runners around BC Place Stadium
and on a loop of Stanley Park. The event sold out in just over 3 hours
when entries opened last November.
For additional information, visit the event website at www.pacificroadrunners.ca/firsthalf
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Individual
Race Results 2009
- North
Shore Credit Union Longest Day 5k, June 12/09
- Sandcastle
City Classic 10k, June 7/09
- Running
Room Shaughnessy 8k, May 31/09
- Mother's
Day 5k Spring Classic, May 10/09
- Times
Colonist 10k, April 26/09
- Vancouver
Sun Run 10k, April 19/09
- Dave
Reed Spring Classic 5k, March 28/09
- Comox
Valley Half Marathon, March 22/09
- The
River's Spring Run-Off 10k, March 15/09
- Penticton
Lakeside Resort 5k, March 8/09
- Synergy
Health Management Ltd. Bazan Bay 5k, March 8/09
- "First
Half" Half Marathon, February 15/09
- Steveston Ice-Breaker 8k,
February 1/09
- Prairie
Inn Pioneer 8k, January 11/09
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