August 31, 2003, Steveston, BC – The Labour Day Weekend 8k, final race of the 2003 Timex BC Road Running Series, went off with a bang on a breezy morning in the waterfront community of Steveston.

With a tailwind moving everyone along briskly for the first half of the out-and-back course, Shane Bilodeau of Vancouver was leading after the first kilometre. He soon relinquished the lead to a small pack consisting of David Njuguna of Kenya, Richard Lee of Port Coquitlam, and Neil Holm of Courtenay. For the next 5 km these three raced together, then Lee dropped off the pace leaving Njuguna and Holm to trade off the lead as they battled strong headwinds. Finally with about half a mile left the Kenyan blasted away to win in 25:28, with Holm not far behind in 25:40.

Lee hung on to maintain third place in 25:54. He was being chased by Mexico’s Jaime Munoz and North Vancouver’s Colin Dignum who both clocked 26:01. Dignum was using this race as a training run so had started out back in 10th place, moving his way up through the field while staying relaxed. He knew he only had to finish within a few places of Bilodeau to secure second place in the overall Series awards.

The women’s race was dominated by Joan McGrath of New Westminster, who keyed off the men around her to keep up the intensity and stay on course. Sprinting in for the finish just ahead of Vancouverite Gordon Carscadden she recorded 29:28, nearly a minute and a half ahead of the second place woman. That was Leslie Black of Vancouver, after passing Kelowna’s Cindy Rhodes (who like several others had taken a wrong turn at a poorly marked intersection on the way back) and Vancouver’s Lisa Polizzi who was heading up the chase pack at the half-way mark. It is worth noting that the top three women finishers are all masters (40+).

In the men’s masters competition it was Lee taking top spot. Vancouver’s Ed Booth was hoping to give him a run for his money, but his legs just weren’t cooperating on this particular day. “My plan was to run very hard to the 4 km mark, hopefully stay with the lead group,” confessed Booth, “then tuck in behind someone and stay out of the wind. Unfortunately I think everyone else had the same idea.” His legs were much more tired than he expected after three weekends of 10k racing and he ended up recording 27:01. Forty seconds behind Booth was third master Mike Moon of Vancouver.

In the men’s junior division there was a close race for first with Joel Primus prevailing in 26:48, just ahead of Vancouver’s Spencer Morrison in 26:51. Jessica Bruhn took top honours in the women’s junior category with a 35:13 clocking.

For complete race results click here. Photos are in the Gallery Archives.

This concludes the 2003 Timex BC Road Running Series. Thanks to all who participated! Overall and age group winners for the Series are listed here. Top 3 men and women in the overall rankings are first in line for selection to the Timex National 10k Road Race Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick, September 28th.

August 23, 2003, Bowen Island – Predictions of rain fell through as another day dawned bright and clear for this year’s Run for the Ferry, the second-to-last race of the Timex BC Road Running Series. Because of its position in the Series, the 10k race draws a large number of Series competitors in need of more races or more points. But today they were all beaten by a couple of non-“Series regulars”.

Starting at the ferry dock, competitors in both the 10k and the accompanying 5k set off in a blur, led by Coquitlam’s Brent Corbitt and Vancouver’s Scott McClennan who left everyone else behind in short order. These two were never more than 2 metres apart during the entire 10k distance, which Corbitt described later as “a pretty tough course with lots of ups and downs.” It could have been either man’s race but Corbitt was fortunate enough to have a slight lead as they came off the final hill and saw the finish line appear suddenly before them. “I didn’t know it was that close,” said Corbitt, who is getting ready for cross country season and was looking for a road race to break things up a bit. “I was able to get the quick jump and [McClennan] wasn’t able to come back on me.” They were clocked at 31:39.

Behind them, the chase pack included Series competitors Kevin O’Connor, Shane Bilodeau, Jaime Munoz, Ed Booth, Colin Dignum and Richard Lee. Dignum and Lee were hanging back while the others took turns leading the group. At the halfway point O’Connor and Booth were slightly ahead, but when O’Connor took a quick glance back “they were all closing down on us.” The pack came together again about 20 minutes into the race, after which Munoz set the pace for a while, throwing in a few surges here and there. With a little over a mile to go, Dignum made his move followed by Bilodeau, Munoz and Lee, with O’Connor catching Booth at the back. In that order, they all finished within a few seconds of each other (32:37 to 32:51).

Dignum, who is currently training hard for the World Mountain Running Trophy in Alaska on September 20th, knew he was locked into second place for the Series. He ran hard today but not all-out, so he felt pretty good. Obviously the hills on this course were not a problem for someone ready for mountain racing!

Another racer who wasn’t slowed down by the hills was O’Connor, who enjoyed his best race (and time) in the last 2 years. “I knew it was hilly, but I felt really good, really strong, and there was a good group to work with,” said O’Connor. “The tough course really tells you how your fitness is.”

In the women’s division, defending champ Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam was expecting a close battle between herself and Victoria’s Stephanie Mills. But it turned out Mills was taking things a bit easy after a really good track season, so Tinari found herself running alone. “Even the men I usually race with weren’t there today,” noted Tinari. She found she was catching people in the first half but after that she couldn’t even see a 10k runner—there was about a one minute gap ahead of her. The diminutive master focused on catching the back of the pack 5k runners instead, enjoying the feeling of being able to relax and not give her usual over-the-top effort. Still, she recorded a speedy 35:51. “I knew I was really fit so I wasn’t surprised I ran faster than last year,” she added. “It’s always good when you can do a 10k that isn’t torture!”

Mills took it easy but still ran hard enough to stay just ahead of New Westminster’s Joan McGrath, 38:15 to 38:23. McGrath particularly enjoyed the rural aspects of the course, commenting that the trails were really nice: “Really beautiful—like Burnaby Lake, and we ran along a footpath through a big grass field.”

With Tinari and McGrath taking the top 2 women’s masters positions, that left Glenda Fransen of Burnaby to pick up third spot, way back in 46:42. In the men’s masters arena, Lee was the victor, with Booth in second. “I felt like I ran well, but I was disappointed that Richard beat me,” confessed Booth. “We’ve been back and forth in the Series points.” Third male master was Roy Howes of North Vancouver (36:26).

After the awards ceremony participants stayed around to enjoy the small but very entertaining Bowfest parade as they ate their free pancake breakfast. Congratulations to first-time race director Sonia Usmiani for putting on a great event.

Next and FINAL Series 2003 race is Sunday August 31st, the Labour Day Weekend 8k in Steveston. Start time is 8:30 at the Steveston Community Centre, with awards at 10:30 followed by Series awards upstairs in the Tyee Room. Top 4 overall male and female Series winners receive cash prizes from Timex, while top 3 age group winners each receive valuable New Balance merchandise prizes from Peninsula Runners.

August 3, 2003 – On a perfect summer day at the 2003 Squamish Days 10k, defending Series champ Colin Dignum returned to the 2003 Timex Series with a win after missing the last few races. On the women’s side Darcie Montgomery ran a fine race to easily take first place in 36:38, over a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

Breaking away from a tight pack of four in the final mile, Dignum managed to surprise a few of his competitors who weren’t really sure of his fitness level as a result of his recent absence from the Series. The others in the lead pack were current Series leader Jorge Parra, Post-to-Post runner-up Ken Myers, and masters competitor Ed Booth. After a 4:50 first mile by Myers (who was hoping to break 30 minutes so “took it out fast and died a bit in the second mile”) and another master Dave Reed (who was practising for the 800m & 1500m at the upcoming National Masters T&F Championships August 16-17 in Richmond by running fast first and last miles), eventually the pack of four formed after about the 5k mark.

With one mile to go they all had aspirations for the win, but it was Dignum who made the move and broke away to win in 31:32. The other three—Parra, Myers and Booth—couldn’t shake one another and it was still undecided as they approached the final stretch to the finish. Parra, feeling strong and fiercely determined not to come THIRD yet again, put in a final surge to move slightly ahead for the silver medal, the intensity of his effort showing clearly in a grimace. Myers’ face echoed a similar expression as he crossed the line barely one second later, with Booth shadowing him in what was his best performance this year. In fact, Booth’s time of 31:41 was good enough to move him into the 2003 age-graded “best of the best” top 20 list in the BC Road Rankings.

“I was really happy to be competing for the open top 3 with a mile to go,” said Booth afterwards. “This will be a highlight for me this year.” He feels that racing a lot this spring—to improve racing technique, stamina, and mental focus—is finally paying off, and hopes it will continue to show results in the final two Series races.

In contrast to the men’s competition, the top three women were well spaced apart. Taking second to Montgomery was Victoria’s Jen MacLean in 37:50, followed by Lisa Polizzi of Vancouver in 38:17.

Master Joan McGrath was having a tough time further back, coping with a tight calf muscle as well as a broken arm from a roller-blading accident. She was passed at one point by two other masters, Leslie Black and Adele Wilson. Wilson was having a great race, her best in a while. “I tried to hang with Leslie [Black]”, explained Wilson. “After we passed Joan of course later on she surged by us again, then Leslie took off on me with 1 km to go.” Wilson’s 39:21 was only eight seconds behind Black, while McGrath moved ahead to fourth overall in 38:46. Helen Tremlett was next to finish in 39:00, one position ahead of Black.

In the men’s masters division, Port Coquitlam’s Richard Lee led the overall chase pack in 32:27 for second in the 40+ (5th overall), while Kelowna’s Rory Switzer rounded out the top three masters with a 32:54 8th placing. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, Vancouver’s Spencer Morrison ran a strong 32:56 to win the junior division by six minutes. On the junior women’s side it was Casey Berardo of North Vancouver leading the way in 41:36.

Other age group wins of note: Carl Green of Gibsons took the 55-59 division by storm, his 40:58 over three minutes ahead of runner-up Neil Wakelin of North Vancouver; Irene Gane won the women’s 55-59 category despite having a broken rib; the women’s 60+ was dominated by Squamish’s own Mae Palm in 48:27; and second in that category was 73-year old Lenore Montgomery (North Vancouver) in just 50:28.

Dignum will now be able to complete the minimum seven races required to qualify for prizing, provided he runs the last two events as well. But despite scoring 30 points today, no matter how well he places at the next two events Dignum will not be able to surpass Parra who has the overall win (and $1000) all locked up with 180 points. Having run every Series race this year so far, Parra is taking a well-deserved rest and does not plan to race the last two. The battle is now for the other three cash prize positions. Contenders include Dignum, Booth, Jaime Munoz, Shane Bilodeau and Bertrand Plouvier, though the last two have not yet run the minimum 7 qualifying events.

Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam still leads the women’s Series, but Victoria’s Stephanie Mills has a chance to upset the defending champ if she can pull off a couple of victories in the remaining races. McGrath and Kelowna’s Cindy Rhodes have wrapped up the next two positions.

Full Squamish Days 10k results are posted at Race Headquarters; photos are in the Gallery Archives.

Next Series race is Run for the Ferry 10k, Bowen Island, Saturday August 23 at 8:15am. Part of the island’s annual summer festival, Bowfest.