Apr.21/02, Vancouver — They came. They ran. They walked. They took over the streets of Vancouver. Over 42,000 participants joined the 2002 Vancouver Sun Run 10k, featuring a brand new route this year.
Detailed reports and results will be published in the April 22nd edition of the Vancouver Sun newspaper. Like last year, rather than making an attempt at something similar here, I thought it would be more interesting to collect personal stories from Series participants. Here is the first, submitted in record time by master Jackie Holloway of Vancouver (37:24):
“I’ve had some really good Sun Runs and I’ve had some really bad ones. My Sun Run batting average was .500 (4 attempts, 2 finishes) until today. My personal best 10k was at the Sun Run in 1992. Ten years ago…wow!
“While it seems tragic that the course no longer goes through Stanley Park, I think this course is faster. Maybe it was just me, but I don’t think so. Other people echoed that belief after the race, including Darcie Montgomery who ran her personal best 10K today!!! The hill from Lumberman’s Arch which connected to the long climb up Pipeline Road in Stanley Park on the old course was a bit of a silent killer, I think. The hills in this course are either short and sharp; under Granville Bridge (on both sides!!!) and up the Cambie Bridge access or the more gentle Burrard Bridge climb.
“I had fun running today…my aim was to negative split. I didn’t quite, though. On my watch, I ran 18:42 for the first 5K and 18:44 for the second. Close enough for me!!! And I ran my “granny” personal best. What more can a somewhat long in the tooth Sun Runner ask for???”
Thanks Jackie for the great report. Okay, all you other Series Sun Runners out there — let’s hear your version of this race!
April 25 — Okay, we have some responses to the above call for stories. Here are three more reports (thanks!):
Colin Dignum (17th overall, 30:38):
“My race went well. I wanted to break 31 minutes and did that. I tried to go out relaxed and was 5:50 at 2 km which was fine. The lead group of 15 or so was gone by Denman Street and I found myself at the back of the second large group (the locals). I sat in there and we picked up stragglers dropping back from the front. I worked fairly hard up the Granville Street hill and over the Burrard Bridge and then settled back behind Utting and Warick. They took turns surging and at 8km I looked at my watch and went for it. Warick passed me going over the Cambie Bridge, but we both caught a couple of guys in the last km. Overall it was a pleasing effort.
“Although I won a bunch of races last year my fastest time all year for 10km was only 31:52, so it was nice to run reasonably fast again. I had thought the course was going to be slower, but now I am not so sure.”
Michael Ross (114th overall, 36:00):
“After a previous year of hard training and personal success, I experienced a ‘slump’ in both attitude and performance in March and April. Having enjoyed the old Sun Run a few times, and hearing about the ChampionChip timing, the new route and the Wave Start, I decided to throw myself into the ring for 2002. I am very glad I did.
“Every second of the pre-race hour was thrilling for me. I found a great wall to do my hamstring, glut and quad stretches on, tucked just around the corner from the entrance to the ‘Yellow Zone’. I popped in through the yellow gate just minutes before they closed it, so as not to experience being a hamster in a wheel as in previous years, going round and round and round inside to keep warm. The old shirt I wore was perfect for keeping me toasty warm until seconds before the start.
The actual race was full of moments of strategy, tests of stamina, and I pulled off a wonderful (for me) sprint to the finish, ensuring that I was close to fainting and aching from deep inside my gut, a feeling I cherish at the end of a race in some twisted runner’s way. To boot, I managed 36:00, not one hundredth of a second over or under!
“Now, if only I wasn’t the 101st fastest male runner. Missing that list by one second and one runner was just a bit of a tweak! Never mind, there’s always a next year.
“Highly recommended race for getting you out of any slump you may be in!”
Nancy Tinari (10th female, 1st female master, 35:49):
“I don’t want to say much about my Sun Run because I’m very unfit, still struggling with my heel injury, and it was painful to be beaten by people who I can normally beat. However, given my limited training I actually ran faster than I expected and I guess it’s due to the course. I liked the new course, especially the finish. It was great for dramatic finishes.
“Today my muscle soreness is finally almost gone. However, I was happy that my injury wasn’t too bad after the race and I’m hoping to be able to run again at the Times-Colonist.”
For race results see the April 22 Vancouver Sun or the race website www.sunrun.com. Overall winners were James Koskei of Kenya in 27:58 and Sara Dillabough of Ottawa in 33:17. Top BC finishers were as follows. Men: 5-Sean Kaley, 8-Bruce Deacon, 10-Greg Bennett, 11-Jim Finlayson, 12-Mark Bomba, 13-Abukar Mohamed, 14-Steve Osaduik, 17-Colin Dignum, 18-Scott McClennan, 19-Randy Moody. Women: 2-Lucy Smith, 3-Carolyn Murray, 4-Alison Rendell, 5-Shelley Smathers, 6-Karen Tulloch, 7-Barbora Brych, 8-Linda Huyck, 9-Janine Moffett, 10-Nancy Tinari, 11-Sheila Mullins.
Bomba described the race as tactical, feeling that the pace was somewhat slow for most of the distance. Vancouver’s Shane Bilodeau led the first mile in about 4:50, staying out in front until the 2 km mark. At this point Dignum, who commented that “it was one of the most competitive Series races I have been in for the past few years”, shouldered the lead for another kilometre, after which “the big guns took over”. Bomba and Mohamed, along with UBC’s Byron Wood, moved past, leaving Dignum and under-20 competitor Chris Winter of North Vancouver about 5 metres off the pace. For the remainder of the race Dignum was working hard to pull himself and Winter back up to the leaders, while Bilodeau fell back.
First master to cross the line was North Vancouver’s Rob Lonergan in 15:36, followed by Richard Lee of Port Coquitlam in 15:53. Rick Hickson of Langley stayed ten seconds ahead of Vancouver’s Art Boileau to steal third masters honours in 16:27. Another close race among masters, this time in the 60-64 age grouping, occurred between Ali Hamami of Vancouver and Herb Phillips of Burnaby, with Hamami’s 18:42 beating Phillips by just four seconds to win that category.
Mar.17/02, Kamloops — Having a mid-March race in the interior is always a dicey proposition with the weather: could be balmy and spring-like as in some recent years or freeze-your-buns-off cold. This morning’s “Spring Run-Off 10k” was the latter, with the double insult of a strong north wind on top of already freezing (and snowy) conditions, creating a wind chill reading of -17°C or so. It must be pay-off time for the mild winter we’ve experienced this year! Whatever the reason, those brave enough to venture out were greeted with strong headwinds for the first 2 km, not getting a chance to “warm up” until the final return portion of the mostly out-and-back course.
One might think that a local runner would be best equipped to deal with such conditions, and in the overall race Mark Bomba proved this to be correct, prevailing over Vancouver’s Colin Dignum with a 32:13 clocking. Bomba currently lives in New Westminster but he hails from the Kamloops area. Dignum, having lived in Ontario for 25 years, had never raced at that temperature although he had trained in much worse. “It actually wasn’t that cold (with tights, hats, sweatshirts etc), but was pretty windy.” Dignum stayed with Bomba for the first 6 km, passing the halfway point in a slow 16:40 against the wind. Then Bomba surged away to a 22 second lead by the time they reached the finish line.
In the women’s race however it was Sheila Mullins making the trip from Vancouver to best the local field, overcoming the harsh conditions to record a 38:15 performance, good for 12th place overall. Sarah Clark of Vernon ran against the clock for second place in 39:23, too far back to chase Mullins but well ahead of 108 Mile Ranch’s Patti Poirier (40:21). The masters women’s competition was dominated by Cornelia Cappus of Kelowna (44:11), with Lisa Bowman of 108 Mile Ranch taking second in 46:50 and Kersten Brisch of Penticton third in 47:24.
Mohamed of Vancouver, in training towards the goal of a top Sun Run finish next month, breezed around the 2-lap route in just 15:10, leaving the rest of the field in his wake. Mohamed was “just having fun today”, running for himself and not against the competition — not surprising, considering his best time for the distance (run on the track) is well over a minute faster. Having lived until recently in a much warmer climate, Mohamed also noted that the low temperature during today’s race affected his ability to perform at his best.
In the women’s race, Alison Rendell of Vancouver led from start to finish in 17:13. A relative newcomer to the elite running scene, Rendell noted that this was her first 5k race — not a bad way to start! Last summer she turned a few heads with some speedy 10k’s late in the Series, following through with a 4th place performance at the National 10k Championships in Ontario. Later in the fall Rendell finished 8th at the Canadian Cross Country Championships, qualifying for the Worlds coming up later this month. An injury over the Christmas season kept her from training until a month ago, so today was her first race in quite a while. Rendell was pleased to report she felt fine and that today was “a good tune-up for the World XC.”
Harvey found herself running with master Art Boileau, past 2-time winner of the L.A. Marathon, for most of the 13.1 mile distance. Boileau was impressed with her strength: “That Lisa, she’s a tough nut. Stayed with me the whole time.” He also noted that while most runners need to be following right on someone’s shoulder to stay with them, Harvey was able to do this from several metres back, without losing ground.
The leading pack of men went through the first five miles at approximately 5:07 per mile pace, dropping all but Dignum, Tinkham and McCloy. At this point Dignum figured it was a good omen that he was still in the lead pack. “Normally, if Norm was going to beat me, he’d have dropped me by then.” After they went by the lighthouse, Dignum took the lead. Noticing that the other two were a few metres back, he “tightened the screws ever so slightly”, picking up the pace to see if he could get away. He did manage to get away, but by then he had a 10 metre lead and nowhere to go, making the race hard work from that point on. “The last couple of miles were painful but luckily Norm and Paul were far enough behind that it didn’t matter.”
