March 31st, 2001, North Vancouver – After several years of dry weather, cold rain fell on the competitors at this year’s North Shore 5k. Despite the unpleasant climate, a strong competitive field turned out for this fifth event of the 2001 Series, and the accompanying half marathon.

Colin Dignum showed improved fitness by claiming victory over previous rivals Shane Bilodeau and Norm Tinkham, who were relegated this time to third and fourth spots, respectively. Young (20-24 group) Matthew Coley grabbed the second place award, while junior star Chris Winter followed Tinkham for fifth overall and a personal best for 5k.

10,000m Olympian Tina Connelly made one of her brief appearances on the Series scene and dominated the field as she has in past visits. Next woman across the line was Nancy Tinari, steadily collecting more top points for her Series rankings both overall and in the masters 40-44 category. Third spot went to Cari Rampersad, with Darcie Montgomery and Jackie Holloway filling out the top five.

Top three junior men were Winter, Danny Loeppky and Ryan Weber, with Thomas Skinner just behind. Junior women to take top spots were Rachel Hartwick, Amanda Hall, and Colleen Mahoney.

First male master to complete the new out and back route was 45-49 age grouper Dave Reed, followed by 40-44 speedsters Rick Hickson and Ken Bell in the next two overall positions. Tinari and Holloway were one and two for the masters women, with the bronze going to Leslie Black.

For full results see Race Headquarters.

March 18th, 2001, Kamloops – Penticton’s Brent Helland and Vernon’s Sarah Clark led the men’s and women’s fields in the fourth event of the Timex-Asics Series, beating out a number of Lower Mainland visitors who came to grab some extra points. This event is also part of the Interior Road Race Series.

Helland’s 33:58 put him just 5 seconds ahead of Ken Bell of Maple Ridge, who was the first master on the course. Kamloops’ Greg Johnson took third overall in 34:29. Rory Switzer of Kelowna and John Moe of Burnaby were second and third masters in 34:53 and 35:05, respectively.

The first five women arrived at the finish line within 41 seconds of each other, with no men mixed in among them. Heading this group was Clark, clocking 39:04. Vancouver’s Sandra Bogart outkicked junior Stephanie Hirtle of Salmon Arm to take silver, 39:29 to 39:30. Top three masters women were Leslie Black of Vancouver (39:43), Jeannie Whittingham of Kamloops (40:15), and Helen Cook of Vancouver (42:46).

For full results see Kamloops Ridgerunners’ site.

March 4th, 2001, Coquitlam – This morning’s 3rd annual NetNation 5k Spring Classic took place under clear blue skies and great winter running conditions. Following the traffic-free paved pathways around the track and field facility, participants quickly spread out over the two-lap course. 

The end of the first lap saw close competition for the leading male and female positions: Norm Tinkham and Shane Bilodeau were battling it out, as were Leah Pells and Lisa Harvey. Halfway into the second lap Tinkham, who had to settle for second place in Event #2, pulled away from Bilodeau for a 15:05 victory. Bilodeau took second in 15:14, chased in by Colin Dignum in 15:20.

The finish was much closer on the women’s side, with Pells managing to outkick Harvey (women’s winner of Event #2) by just 2 seconds for a 16:22 clocking. Just over half a minute back was master Nancy Tinari in 17:01, after moving up in the field over the second lap.

For full race results, including age-graded results, click here (BCA results index). Results files are in PDF format – you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

March 3rd, 2001 – The first two events of this year’s Series have already sped by, with the completion of the Kajaks Steveston Ice-Breaker 8k and the Pacific Road Runners “First Half” 1/2 Marathon in early February.

Event #1: Ice-Breaker 8k, Richmond
The opening event saw 2000 Series runner-up Norm Tinkham of Vancouver break the tape in 25:24, just ahead of Series newcomer Ben Kapsoiya, while Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam easily outpaced her competitors with a 27:43 performance. Tinari, a masters competitor, is last year’s Series Overall Women’s winner and looks to be on the hunt for a repeat title. Following Tinari for 2nd spot was Cari Rampersad in 28:24, with Vancouver’s Lori Durward clocking 28:41 for third female.

Taking third place overall plus the junior men’s title was 14-year-old steeplechaser Chris Winter of North Vancouver, with an outstanding 25:47 over the 8k distance. First masters male was Ken Bell of Maple Ridge, with his 26:48 good for 10th place overall.

For full race results click here (new window).

Event #2: “First Half” 1/2 Marathon, Vancouver
Bruce Deacon sailed over from Victoria to trounce the competition in this year’s Half, crossing the line first in 1:07:47, leaving Norm Tinkham to take second spot in 1:08:23. Oliver Utting of Vancouver outsprinted North Vancouver’s Colin Dignum (last year’s Series overall winner) by two seconds for the bronze and a 1:08:40 result. First master was Victoria’s Rob Reid in 1:14:32 (8th overall).

The women’s race saw a repeat of last year’s victory by Calgarian Lisa Harvey. Her time of 1:18:08 was several minutes slower than her 2000 result. Behind her, only seven seconds separated 2nd and 3rd place women Nancy Tinari (1:19:14) and Lori Durward, respectively.

Full results and photos can be viewed on the event website.