October 20th, 2002, London, Ontario — BC Team members highlighted.

Women

1       Sarah Dupre-Healy	ON    	33:49
2       Alison Rendell		BC      34:24
3       Maria Zambrano          AB     	35:14
4       Kristen Woodruff	NS    	35:25
5       Patty Blanchard		NB     	35:35
6       Karin Lockhart		ON	35:44
7       Nancy Tinari 		BC	35:45
8       Barb Brych		BC	35:52
9       Janine Moffett  	BC	36:03
10      Leslie Carson		NS	37:07
11      Jackie Holloway		BC	37:21
12      Lavinia Gough		NS	37:53
13      Rayleen Hill		NS	38:31
14      Darcie Montgomery	BC	39:22
15      Louise Leduc		NS	44:29

Men

1 	Danny Tshidind 		ON 	29:45
2	Jeremy Deere     	AB 	30:04
3 	Mark Bomba            	BC      30:27
4 	Calvin Staples		ON	30:31
5 	Lanny Mann		AB   	30:41
6 	Rory Sneyd		ON 	30:45
7 	Jim Finlayson		BC	30:48
8 	Andrew Catton		ON	30:50
9 	Stephen Drew		ON 	30:54
10 	Jerry Ziak              BC 	31:24
11 	Chris Mclaren		ON	31:46
12 	Christopher Moulton	ON 	32:28
13 	Michael Bown 		ON 	32:37
14 	David Polisi 		BC  	32:55
15 	Peter Cardle		BC  	33:03
16 	Jeremy Helf		ON	33:04
17 	Jeremy Mitchell		BC  	33:07
18 	Kirk Sabean 		NS 	33:09
19 	Thomas Bima 		MB	33:17
20 	Simon Driver 		BC 	34:11
21 	David MacLellan 	NS	34:43
22 	Jamie Black		ON	34:50
23 	John Lofranco		NB 	35:04
24 	David Arnold		NS	35:13
25 	Stephen Morley 		NS 	35:22

September 1/02, Steveston — The question on some people’s minds was “Where’s Norm?” Just by showing up and even walking the course, Maple Ridge’s Norm Tinkham was in line for the $500 second place Series prize — if he completed his 7th race (first place and $1000 was already locked up by Colin Dignum). But Tinkham didn’t appear and others like David Polisi, Simon Driver, and Jeremy Mitchell benefitted by his absence. A few other key players who had 6 races until now were also conspicuously absent, causing some major changes in the scoring and some pleasant surprises for a number of age division contenders.

Former (1996) series winner Kevin O’Connor wasn’t concerned with any of that, not being a qualifier this year. The 35-year old led the field over the out-and-back Steveston course, completing 8 km in 26:13. He was chased by two other “non-Series-qualifiers”, John McCrank (26:30) and Mark Cryderman (26:43). First male master was Mike Moon in 28:21.

Nancy Tinari finished off her Series with a victory, scoring another 30 points for first place woman overall and in her 40-44 age division. This was Tinari’s 7th race which moved her score to the top of the rankings. Her time of 28:38 kept her just ahead of Janine Moffett (28:44). Jackie Holloway, leader of the 45-49 Series division, crossed the finish line 3rd in 29:44 and secured her 4th place overall in the 2002 Series.

Race results are posted on the BC Athletics site.

The final points were tallied and the Series awards presented following the 8 km awards ceremony. Here are the top finishers (full listings in the Rankings section):

See full Series results, including age division rankings: Women  Men

Congratulations to all who participated in the 2002 Series!

August 24/02, Bowen Island — An improved course and perfect sunny weather brought many runners out to the Run for the Ferry 10k, with 2001 champions Colin Dignum of North Vancouver and Coquitlam’s Nancy Tinari once again leading the way to the finish line.

From the 8:15 am start at the ferry dock, a leading pack of four men set the pace: Dignum, Norm Tinkham of Maple Ridge, John McCrank of Vancouver, and Ryan Ervin of North Vancouver. At 4 km McCrank had moved ahead of the rest and seemed to be en route to a victory. But near the 8k mark Dignum, winner of the Knee-Knackering North Shore 30 miler earlier this summer, decided he’d better “go hard to drop Norm [Tinkham],” and ended up passing McCrank in the process. Dignum’s final time was 33:05, just 5 seconds ahead of McCrank. Tinkham was comfortably in third at 33:21, Ervin having dropped off the pace slightly to finish 4th in 34:02.

Tinari had some company for the first few kilometres, in the form of elite steeplechaser Margaret Butler, whose parents live on Bowen. Butler, who has been studying and training at a US college, decided to “just jump in the race”, never having run a 10k before. Accustomed to shorter distances on the track and barriers to jump over rather than uphills to climb, she found herself losing ground to Tinari once they hit the hills.

Tinari sped ahead to a 34:04 victory in 11th place overall, enjoying the shaded forest paths on the latter portion of the course. Butler finished second in 37:19, not too shabby for a first try at the distance! Not too far back in third place was first female master Jackie Holloway of Vancouver, in 37:55.

Rounding out the masters women field was Vancouver’s Leslie Black in 39:50 followed by Michele Carr of North Van in 42:21.

The masters men were dominated by Vancouver’s Dave Reed in 35:09, with Langley’s Rick Hickson and Port Moody’s Alex Seres taking silver and bronze respectively in 36:02 and 36:06, just in front of and just behind women’s winner Tinari.

With a huge 50% increase in 10k numbers and 14% growth in the accompanying 5k registration, new event director Wendy Wanvig must be feeling pretty good today. Many participants stated how much they enjoyed the new improved route, which avoided one of the biggest hills and used more of the well-groomed shaded forest paths.

Complete event results can be found at Race Headquarters.

August 4/02, Squamish — Well, overheating certainly wasn’t a problem.  At this year’s Squamish Days 10k, an early morning summer storm turned into a downpour, keeping things relatively cool. Fortunately, there was no wind to hinder a runner’s progress on the out and back course, and the times were fast for many of the 150 participants.

With so much water around, it only made sense that the male and female winners should be triathletes, who are accustomed to starting their races with a swim. Greg Bennett, an Aussie living and training in Victoria, made short work of the 10 kilometres, crossing the finish line in just under 30 minutes, while another Victoria resident and past Series winner Lucy Smith recorded her second best 10k ever in 33:01.

Bennett’s main goal for this race was to see how fast he could run the 10k distance, after taking a short break from triathlon training — before fall competition and World Triathlon Championships coming up in November in Cancun, Mexico. The Aussie native has only broke the 30 minute barrier two times before: the most recent at this year’s Sun Run, where he recorded his personal best of 29:54. Today’s 29:57 was a bit of a surprise: “I didn’t think I was that fit.” He went out hard from the beginning, opening up a gap on the rest of the field right away. The rain only affected him slightly, making his shoes soggy, but most difficult was “trying to push myself alone,” looking at his watch every kilometre to stay on pace.

Smith was also surprised, as evidenced by the smile of delight as she approached the finish line in 7th place overall and saw the numbers on the display clock. She had arrived in Squamish with 2-year old daughter in tow, not sure if she would find someone to babysit so she could race. Fortunately non-racing friends were available to help and she was able to complete a warm-up and get to the start line in plenty of time. Her pre-race estimate of finishing time was uncertain, “34 something? I don’t really know, maybe under!” No prize for predicting your time Lucy, but the excellent result more than makes up for poor prophesizing skills! Looking for the make artists for your wedding have look at this website.

Both winners left significant gaps behind them before other competitors appeared. In the men’s race, leading the rest of the field was Victoria’s Jim Finlayson in 30:43. He was followed by last week’s Summerfast winner Ken Myers of Burnaby in 31:11, a significant improvement over his 32:01 there. In 10th position, Gord Addison of Squamish (33:50) was the first local finisher and winner of the Slavo Lehocky Memorial Trophy.

On the women’s side, Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam made a comeback appearance after being a no-show for the last few Series events, due to injury. She was also pleased with her time today, running 35:38 and claiming top female Masters honours. Tinari picked up the pace over the last 2 km to pull away from Cari Rampersad-Kuzyk of Vancouver, whose 36:13 third place moved her into second spot overall in the Series rankings, now having completed the minimum 7 races. Rampersad-Kuzyk had to outrun Victoria’s Lauren Graves to keep third place in the race, as the Island resident came in right on her heels in 36:15.

Rounding out the Masters women were Leslie Black of Vancouver, pleased with her 38:26, and Burnaby’s Lori Spence in 39:16. A notable masters performance today was Lenore Montgomery’s 49:42 to win the 60+ category — the North Vancouver resident is actually over 70 — after being awake since 2:45 am to hear news of daughter Carol’s Commonwealth Games triathlon victory!

The Masters men division saw a tight race for first, as Vancouver’s Mike Moon in 40-44 barely stayed ahead of 45-49 competitor Alex Seres of Port Moody, 34:59 to 35:06. Roy Howes of North Vancouver completed the top three masters in 37:03.

Full race results can be found at Race Headquarters.

Only 2 races remain in the 2002 Timex-Asics BC Road Running Series, so Series participants with only 5 races can qualify only if they complete both events. Next one is the Run for the Ferry 10k on Bowen Island, Saturday, August 24th at 8:15 am. Bring the family and enjoy the island’s summer festival afterwards — tickets are included in the entry fee.

July 27/02, Vancouver — Held for the second time in the new Stanley Park venue, the 2002 Summerfast 10k boasted a slightly improved route with new start and finish locations. Participants appear to be voting “yes” for the new arrangements, as numbers were up again this year to a total of 315 finishers. (Or it could be the cookies… this has to be among the best post-race food anywhere! The spread included at least 10 different types of chocolate chip cookies and banana breads, plus other yummy treats, all baked by members of host club VFAC.)

First overall finisher was an unfamiliar face on the Series scene, leaving spectators asking each other, “Who was that guy?” as he crossed the line over a minute ahead of his nearest rivals in 32:01. The “mystery runner” was Ken Myers of Burnaby, an fifth year SFU Physics student and varsity track athlete whose specialty is the 5000m. It had been some time since Myers attempted a road 10k, though he did record a 31:47 track 10,000m last year. In this morning’s race he could hear the other competitors behind him for about 3 km, after which he pulled away to run the rest of the route solo and earn the winner’s cash prize.

Meanwhile the chase pack included Norm Tinkham of Maple Ridge, Vancouver’s Bertrand Plouvier, and a man on the comeback trail, Kevin O’Connor of Vancouver. O’Connor, who won the Series back in 1996 but had been unable to race at the same calibre in the years following, was feeling confident this time after some good training weeks.

Though not quite ready to set the pace, he felt comfortable running a short distance behind Tinkham and Plouvier through the halfway mark. Eventually Plouvier dropped back slightly but Tinkham remained about 10 meters ahead. Then the unexpected happened: approaching the finish area Tinkham took a wrong turn, allowing O’Connor to close the gap. O’Connor didn’t even realize what had happened until Tinkham suddenly appeared beside him. As the two began to kick down the final stretch, he encouraged Tinkham with a shout of “come on”, but Tinkham’s heart didn’t appear to be in it and O’Connor took the silver with a 2-second margin in 33:20. “I was of two minds,” noted O’Connor later, “whether to run in with him or not, but then I thought, ‘It’s a race’.”

The women’s race and accompanying cash dividend was won by a now familiar face: defending Summerfast champion and rising star Alison Rendell of Vancouver. Her 35:39 split was over a minute faster than her 2001 clocking on this course. Vancouver’s Cari Rampersad-Kuzyk cruised in at 36:32 to take second place honours, while master Jackie Holloway of Vancouver ran a solid 37:05 to stay easily ahead of 45-49 division rival Cindy Rhodes of Kelowna for the bronze (37:43). Third women’s master was Richmond’s Nurten Tasdemir in 39:57.

The men’s masters competition was led by Vancouver’s Mike Moon for the second year in a row, whose 35:37 clocking kept him safely ahead of Port Moody’s Alex Seres (35:59) and Surrey’s Rob Lang (36:26).

First male under 20 was Vancouver’s Spencer Morrison in an excellent 34:09, putting him in 7th place overall. Shadrack Mende of New Westminster was unable to repeat his sub-35:00 Post to Post result, running 36:44 which was still good enough to take the second junior position.

Full race results are posted at Race Headquarters.

July 1/02, Vancouver — It seems that the Post to Post 10k was the place to be on this sunny Canada Day, as over 500 runners and joggers — including a boy’s school team from Edinburgh, Scotland — came out to run the streets of Vancouver, hear some live musical entertainment, eat a piece of the giant commemorative cake, and if lucky win one of the many draw prizes given away. And for the fastest competitors, a little extra motivation was provided by the monetary prizes offered — always a big drawing card for cash-strapped elite runners.

Taking full advantage of this was Enos Ketter, a young athlete from Kenya. After warming up to the strains of “God Save the Queen” and “Oh Canada” played by a regiment band, the 21-year-old was off like a shot right from the start, leaving the rest of the field far behind. Running unchallenged with only the clock to beat, Ketter — who just last week beat 2002 Times Colonist 10k champion Jean-Paul Niyonsaba to win the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon — pushed himself to zoom through the 10k course in record time, just a shade over 30 minutes.

While the next competitors took over a minute and a half longer to complete the distance, the race for second place was no less exciting. Paul McCloy of Calgary stuck like glue to Norm Tinkham of Maple Ridge for the entire course, Tinkham trying hard to drop McCloy but unable to move ahead. (These two had already gone head to head twice this year in a similar fashion, the “score” being one each — McCloy outkicked Tinkham at the end of Series race #2 in February, the First Half 1/2 Marathon, while Tinkham didn’t let that happen again in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon last weekend, digging down over the final stretch to cross the line ahead of his friend and rival.) As the two approached the finish line of the Post to Post, they were neck and neck, the strain showing clearly on their faces. On this Canada Day it was McCloy’s turn to prevail, edging slightly ahead over the final few metres. Both recorded 31:47, Tinkham noting “when we got up the hill on Cambie Bridge and he was still there, I knew I was in trouble!”

The women’s race was led by Calgary’s Lisa Harvey (married to McCloy) who went out strong and maintained a steady tempo, staying ahead of triathlete/10,000m Olympian Carol Montgomery of North Vancouver and New Westminster’s Joan McGrath to run a very respectable 35:40 on this somewhat challenging course. Montgomery, who is just getting back into the competitive scene after an injury, tested her fitness with a 36:11, while masters competitor McGrath held off Vancouver’s Cari Rampersad-Kuzyk to take third (and first female masters honours) in 36:33.

Second masters female was Nurten Tasdemir of Richmond (39:45), who was happy to have finished ahead of Vancouver’s Leslie Black (40:05) and Burnaby’s Lori Spence (41:00), all three vying for 40-44 age group points in this year’s Series.

Top male over 40 was Vancouver’s Art Boileau in 7th overall with a 34:14 clocking, fending off 45-49 division leaders Dave Reed (34:30) and Ken Bell (34:57), both of Vancouver. Reed was feeling particularly good over the second half of the race, this being his best race of 2002 after taking a few days off cycling (he is a bicycle courier). Bell had stayed with Reed over the first 6 km or so, then “Dave kept on going and I suffered up the hill.” Taking third in the 45-49 division, Port Moody’s Alex Seres surprised Guy Smith of Coquitlam on the last uphill: “I was having fun until then… I didn’t know he [Seres] was there — have to work on 10k races instead of 8k!”

In the junior male division 19-year-old Shadrack Mende of New Westminster led his division in eighth place overall and 34:27, a huge improvement from the Sandcastle City Classic where he ran 36:15 for the same distance.

Full results can be viewed at Race Headquarters.

June 9/02, South Surrey — It was hot and definitely summer today as over 230 runners sweated their way along the 10k course starting and finishing near Semiahmoo Secondary School on “the Bluff”. Overall winner in 32:31 was Tammo Lotz, a university exchange student from Germany who placed second at Shaughnessy, with Burnaby’s David Polisi out-sprinting Vancouver’s Jorge Parra for second (32:45). The women were led by Vancouver’s Cari Rampersad-Kuzyk in a solid 36:01, with master Jackie Holloway of Vancouver 52 seconds back, thrilled with her best 10k result in years.

Shaughnessy winner Byron Wood was a no-show here, leaving second place contender Lotz to take charge of the pace. Lotz ran with a small group of early leaders until about halfway, after which he was out front on his own, leaving the others to battle for the other top positions. Having just completed a year studying English Philosophy in Saskatchewan, Lotz was in the Lower Mainland for the past few weeks as a tourist, on the way to Victoria for a week or so before heading back to his homeland. A three-time provincial high school 3000m champ in Germany, the 24-year-old Lotz was pleased with today’s performance: “Really nice, really good run, good course, well organized, great conditions — also challenging.”

Polisi and Parra duelled right to the finish line with Polisi just edging forward for the silver medal — both recording the same time of 32:45. Jeremy Mitchell of Vancouver took fourth spot in 33:15, while 1996 Series winner Kevin O’Connor recorded 34:11, leading a close group in fifth to eighth position.

Right behind O’Connor in 6th spot was first master Rick Hickson of Langley in 34:14, followed closely by White Rock’s James Mackie and Vancouver’s Paul Skarsgard. In 11th position overall was second master Mike Moon of Vancouver (35:17), chased by Burnaby’s Phil Green for third masters honours in 35:25 and 13th overall. Green had earned his third place by outrunning the next two finishers, masters Alex Seres of Port Moody (35:35) and Guy Smith of Coquitlam (35:55).

First Junior male was 18-year-old Spencer Morrison of Vancouver in an excellent ninth position overall (35:08), with Shadrack Mende (19) of New Westminster picking up second place in 36:15. Surrey’s Tyler Donoghue, age 17, nabbed the third junior spot in 36:59.

Rampersad-Kuzyk had planned to go out hard from the start, but ended up a little slower than intended. She ran with Sheila Mullins for about 3 km before striking out on her own. Some sunglasses may have been an asset: “I felt awesome, except for the last 2 km coming back into the sun.” Considering she is just recovering from an injury, this was an excellent effort. Rampersad-Kuzyk plans to run enough Series races to score and qualify for the cash and merchandise prizes.

First female master Holloway was in a state of happy disbelief at her finish time. After passing Mullins at 4 km, she ran most of the loop course on her own but kept Rampersad-Kuzyk in sight until the last 2 km where the route started to turn and twist. Mullins easily held on to third place for an unchallenged 37:23 clocking.

A last-minute sprint to the wire — past a surprised Aundrea Bertoia of Kelowna — gained Kim Jones of Abbotsford a 4th place finish and a personal best of 38:12, over a minute faster than her previous record. A similar scenario was played out less than a minute later as Richmond’s Nurten Tasdemir kicked by Burnaby’s Lori Spence at the line, rounding out the top three female masters spots. Including the Polisi-Parra duel, three such close finishes for top positions in one race made for some great spectator viewing — and a reminder to always check who’s following before approaching the finish line!

First junior female was 14-year-old Kayla Rawlins of Surrey in 42:34, a great time for that age. Sixteen-year-old Meredith MacGregor, also of Surrey, recorded a very respectable 43:35 for second junior female, with 15-year-old Jessica Bruhn of Surrey taking third in 45:52.

Complete results are posted at Race Headquarters.

May 26/02, Vancouver — Both Byron Wood and Nancy Tinari, the male and female leaders at the 20th Annual Running Room Shaughnessy 8k, ran “solo” throughout the race, leaving no doubt as to their dominance over the competition. And this year’s conditions were obviously favourable, as nine age group 8k records were broken out of a possible 24. Weather was moderate with a hint of sunshine followed by a light summer drizzle—just enough to keep the racers cool—and negligible wind. Participation numbers were well up from last year, making the organizers happy.

For overall winner Byron Wood of Vancouver, with one year remaining in his undergraduate degree at UBC, this event had a special significance: the course runs right past his former high school (twice) — and he didn’t even run back then, having only started running 5 years ago. Wood took the lead early and was all alone by the half-way point, looking comfortable and relaxed. Approaching the final section of the double loop course he was even further ahead, and cruised in for a 25:37 finish. Look for Wood to spice up the competition at the next Series race on June 9, when he plans to enter the Sandcastle City Classic 10k.

Second place in 26:10 went to Tammo Lotz, a 24-year-old visitor from Germany, who ran much of the way with Vancouver-based third finisher Jorge Parra (26:20). Fourth to eighth place poured across the line very quickly as locals John McCrank, David Polisi, Jaime Munoz, Jeremy Mitchell and Royd Burkart all finished between 26:32 and 26:44. Next to finish was first master Art Boileau of Vancouver in 26:54, with another Vancouverite, Dave Reed, less than 10 seconds later. Burnaby’s Phil Green picked up third masters honours a little further back.

(From Frank Stebner, a bit of statistical trivia for those of you who track such things: although the top male runner has only come within 19 seconds of the course record, the times of the top males over the last three years were within 2 seconds of each other.
1999 – Neil Holm 25:16 course record
2000 – Norm Tinkham 25:36
2001 – Colin Dignum 25:35
2002 – Byron Wood 25:37)

Women’s winner and course record holder Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam was also racing against herself in this 8k, despite a nagging foot injury which has been keeping her from running more than twice a week, cross-training on the other days. Tinari’s final time here was 29:08, understandably well off her 2001 winning time of 27:41 — which was one of her best races last year. As Tinari noted, “this is a course for people who are 100% fit — it shows every weakness!” referring to the undulating nature of the route. As someone who usually speeds up over the second half of a course, Tinari experienced frustration caused by her lack of fitness — instead of catching the pack of men in front of her in the second loop, she noted that she actually lost ground, despite working as hard as possible.

Back at halfway a chase pack of five or six women trailed some distance behind Tinari, but seemed unable to gain any ground and began to break up over the second loop. Vancouver’s Cari Rampersad-Kuzyk was first to pull ahead from this group, Sheila Mullins (Vancouver) staying with her until the final hill. Rampersad-Kuzyk finished in 29:44, followed by Mullins (29:50 — a PR for 8k), Darcie Montgomery (North Van), Jackie Holloway (Vancouver), and Kim Jones (Abbotsford) — all within a minute. Top three female masters were Tinari, Holloway, and Burnaby’s Lori Spence, though for the Series age groups soon-to-be-40 Nurten Tasdemir of Richmond could be counted as third.

In the 19 and under division Vancouver’s Spencer Morrison earned a top-20 overall finish with his 28:16, while Christina Struik, also from Vancouver, led the junior women in 31:43 — neither one having any competitors within four minutes.

Overall age-graded winners were BJ McHugh and Dave Reed, although they did not beat the age-graded course records of Nancy Tinari & Herb Phillips. See the BC Athletics Masters page for an explanation of age-graded scoring.

Full results are at Race Headquarters.

At seven races down, seven more to go, anything could happen in the overall point races for both men and women.

On the men’s side, defending champion Colin Dignum is at the top of the list but right behind him is newcomer Abukar Mohamed with a slightly higher points-per-race average. Mohamed, a newcomer to Canada, hopes to regain the kind of speed he had in his native Somalia— something he has not been able to attain so far in this year’s races, due to interruptions in training while settling into a new country. Beyond the top two overall spots there is a wide open race for the 3rd and 4th place cash prizes, with Mark Bomba, Norm Tinkham, David Polisi, Craig Odermatt and Richard Lee all possible contenders.

The women’s rankings are currently led by Sheila Mullins, with masters athlete Jackie Holloway holding second place. Sitting in third with only three races but a high points-per-race average is rising star Alison Rendell, who continues to get faster every time she sets foot on a starting line. Below these top three are a number of women with just 2 or 3 races, so at this point it’s anyone’s guess who will end up taking the remaining cash prize—or one of the top three.

Age group early leaders include David Polisi in the 25-29 division, Rick Hickson just ahead of Richard Lee in the 40-44 grouping, Ken Bell edging ahead in the 45-49 section, Iain Fisher at the front of the 50-54 pack, Tony Amstutz heading up the 55-59’s, Herb Phillips squashing the competition among the 60-64 year-olds, and Stephen Odwin dominating his new category 65+.

Women’s leaders include Nicola Everton in the 35-39 group, Nancy Tinari injured but still leading the 40-44 division, Lilian Wong and Carly McFetridge neck and neck by point averages in the 50-54 group, Kathleen McFarland ahead of the 55-59-ers, Mary Ann Carter first among the 60-64 year-olds, and BJ McHugh topping the 65+ list, though Lenore Montgomery and Gwen McFarland could overtake her with more races under their belts.

This weekend’s Shaughnessy 8k takes the Series into the busier summer racing season, with two events per month over the next three months, followed by the final race on the Labour Day weekend.

Apr.28/02, Victoria — Two hometown athletes improved on their Sun Run results, as Lucy Smith won the women’s race and Bruce Deacon was first Canadian at the Times Colonist 10k in the province’s capital city. The weather was perfect for the 7000+ participants. Stories to follow. See www.timescolonist10k.com for results and more.

Here’s our first story to arrive, from triathlete Luke Dragsta (13th, 32:37):

“On the start line, people were surprisingly calm in the first five rows — there was no squishing or shouldering for position. One of the Kenyans, however, was five rows back so I grabbed him and set him directly in front of me. As a 5’9″, 153 lb triathlete, I felt like a real Clydesdale in their midst!

“Without much further ado the gun went off and a lead pack immediately formed up ahead, while a group of 5 triathletes plus veteran runner Keith Butler and a few others made up the second pack. At 3 km we were already testing each other, taking turns pushing the pace as we made our way down Dallas Road along the beautiful waterfront.

“As we passed the live band at about 4 km I started to play ‘air drums’ to deter my competition. I was feeling pretty good at this point so I decided to lead the chase pack for a second time. We had already dropped a number of guys and I think there were four left: myself, Butler, National Team triathlete Stefan Timms, and long distance triathlete Don King. As we reached the turnaround point, Mr. Butler reassumed the lead from me but I was tight on his heels.

“There was a slight headwind after the turnaround, so I decided to remain tucked in until we reached Cook Street and then make my ‘make it or break it’ move. I strung the group out nicely when I went but Butler was staying unnervingly close and I couldn’t shake him. I tried to focus on the guys from the first pack who were coming back to us, but I kept hearing those feet behind me and they weren’t getting any more distant.

“I really started to hurt at 9 km and was worried I’d get passed, but I pushed really hard for the last km and managed to put a little more time on Butler. I crossed the line 13th in 32:37, which was a nice little PR for me.

“It was really a perfect day for a race and there were tons of people out to watch, so I was pretty excited at the finish. A really nice booster for the upcoming races in May and June.”