July 28, Vancouver – The skies looked stormy all around but the sun managed to shine for most of the 13th annual Summerfast 10k, held this year for the first time on the Stanley Park seawall. Uncharacteristic cool temperatures and high winds near the water made this a challenging run, though the effect was not the same for all – some participants got “personal worst” times while others were thrilled to get personal bests. Over 275 competitors completed the new course.

The men’s race for the top three spots was closely contested. Colin Dignum, Norm Tinkham and Bertrand Plouvier raced together for nearly the whole course, but with half a kilometre to go Dignum put the hammer down and managed to pull ahead slightly for a 32:19 clocking. Tinkham chased him in (32:27), with Plouvier just a few metres behind (32:32).

In the women’s race it was Alison Rendell who bested the field with a speedy 36:55 and 19th finish position overall. A couple of minutes back in second spot was Nurten Tasdemir (38:50), who has been consistently placing in the top three in recent Series races. First master woman Leslie Black was next in 39:21, shadowed by 20-34 age grouper Wendy Montgomery (39:33). Second and third masters women places were filled by Kathie Moore (40:39) and Lori Spence (41:23).

Former UBC varsity team member Mike Moon took the men’s masters title in 35:07, good for 11th overall. Rob Barber was the next overall finisher and second master in 35:50, while a visitor from Ottawa, Kris Malcyznski, took third place in the over-40’s.

60-64 age group leader Herb Phillips is back in the race after recovering from an injury. Though his time of 41:35 was “slow” by his standards, he still won his age group by over a minute, and was only 14 seconds behind 55-59 age group winner Peter Pollhammer. Meanwhile there was a bit of an upset in the 65+ division, where perpetual winner Frank Kurucz took second to Michael Breeze of Vancouver, who recorded an excellent 46:37.

Full race results at www.raceheadquarters.com.

July 3rd – With four races to go it looks as though we may have repeat overall Series winners for both the male and female titles. Nancy Tinari has chalked up enough victories to stay in a class of her own, while Colin Dignum’s winning streak has moved him ahead of Norm Tinkham in the points race. But it’s not over yet, and Tinkham could still give Dignum a run for his money – literally – if he shows up for the remaining events.

Running Room Shaughnessy 8k
May 27, Vancouver – Overcast skies kept temperatures ideal for racing at the 2001 Running Room Shaughnessy 8k. As the field wound its way through the streets of this serene Vancouver neighbourhood, a battle was shaping up in the women’s division, with Nancy Tinari working hard to stay ahead of a newcomer, Ethiopian Leteyesus Berhe. Despite the fact that Berhe is about half her age, Tinari prevailed and crossed the finish line with a half minute advantage in 27:41, only 13 seconds over the course record she set last year. Third woman, in 29:57, was Nurten Tasdemir. 

“That was a really tough race, really tough,” admitted Tinari as she caught her breath at the finish. Her overall finishing position was 10th, and 3rd overall master – only seconds behind Art Boileau (27:35) and Ken Bell (27:37). Second and third female masters were Leslie Black and Lori Spence, while Mike Moon rounded out the masters men top three.

The men’s field was led by Colin Dignum, who completed the course in just 25:35, followed in by Bertrand Plouvier in 26:01 and Luis Estrada in 26:22. Without Series points rival Norm Tinkham adding to his score, Dignum was able to move within 10 points in the overall rankings as a result of his win in Shaughnessy.

It seemed unbelievable but the 60-64 men’s category was not won by Herb Phillips in this event. Despite Herb’s excellent 31:45 performance, he took second to Ali Hamami who ran 30:09 to top the division. However since Hamami has only done the one race it looks like Herb doesn’t have to worry about losing his leadership position in the 60-64 Series rankings. 

Fernando Pelzer (33:32) and Amanda Hall (36:39) led the junior men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

For full race results see www.raceheadquarters.com.

Sandcastle City Classic 10k
June 24, South Surrey – New location, new course, cooler weather.  As a result of the illogical decision by the City of White Rock to no longer allow the event to be held on their streets (why would they want the beachfront restaurants to miss out on lunchtime business from several hundred hungry runners?) the Sandcastle City Classic became a loop course up on the bluff this year. The great pancake breakfast remained as before, as did the kids’ Maniac Mile.

Though a number of top competitors chose to race in a large half marathon held the same morning in Vancouver, the men’s race turned out to be quite close for most of the distance. Colin Dignum was not feeling his best, so he let Neil Holm of Ucluelet lead the way and just hung on to the pace. At about 1 km to go, Dignum dug down and moved ahead to secure a win and move into the lead in the overall points race, crossing the line in 31:52 with Holm only seven seconds back. Luis Estrada repeated his performance at Shaughnessy with another 3rd place finish, in 32:39.

The top six finishers were all in the 30-39 age group; taking 7th and 8th were the first two masters, Ken Bell (33:51) and Rick Hickson (34:04), with Rob Barber taking third a few positions back, leading a group of six more masters men.

The top three women arrived in a group, led by marathoner Nurten Tasdemir in a time of 38:22, followed by Sheila Mullins and Lisa Hamelin in 38:37 and 38:43, respectively. The top three masters women were also closely spaced, with Leslie Black just five seconds ahead of Adele Wilson (39:20 to 39:25), and Lori Spence not far behind in 39:47.

Junior division winners were Marty Uhl in 37:59 and Kayla Rawling in 43:28.

Complete results can be seen at www.raceheadquarters.com.

Post to Post Canada Day 10k
July 1st, Vancouver – What do runners do for fun on a national holiday? Run 10km of course, with a live rendition of our national anthem to start them off right, and a piece of a giant Canada Day cake and great live music to conclude the festivities – all at the Post to Post Canada Day 10k.

The second edition of this Canada Post sponsored event was a new addition to the Series this year, and leader Colin Dignum took advantage of that fact to score another 30 points. It wasn’t an easy task – for the first 5 km he thought he was going to be racing for second place, as a speedy-looking Kenyan visitor led the field around the east end of False Creek. But near the halfway mark Dignum was able to pull up beside the leader and saw that he was tiring quickly. Dignum passed him easily and went hard for the next 3 km or so. Then he realized that Bertrand Plouvier was right behind him and not going away. Dignum decided to ease off slightly to save some energy for the final stretch. At 9 km he began to pour it on again, pulling away from Plouvier to a strong uphill finish in 31:59. Plouvier’s finishing time was 32:16, a minute ahead of Luis Estrada who finished third yet again in 33:17.

Joan McGrath dominated the women’s race with a strong 36:26, 2 minutes ahead of her nearest competitor Alison Rendell (38:27). Nurten Tasdemir rounded out the top three with a 38:45 clocking.

In the Masters division, Ken Bell (40-44) led the way with a 34:09 finish to crack the top 10 overall list. The next two positions and next two minutes saw two more masters and two more age groups, Dave McGivern (45-49 group, 35:07) and Nick Stark (50-54 group, 36:11). Leslie Black – who happens to be a Canada Post employee – dominated the women’s masters section, looking strong at the finish in 39:20 for fifth woman overall. Lori Spence took second masters position in 40:39, followed by Annette O’Brien in 42:15.

Race director John Moe’s son Spencer, age 11, took second in the Junior men’s division in 44:52, behind 15-year-old Kelvin Bei (44:15). Older brother Trevor Moe nabbed third in 48:42. (Their dad currently leads the 45-49 division in the Series.) Annelize Loots finished in 49:24 to lead the female Junior contingency.

See www.raceheadquarters.com for complete race results.

by Nancy Tinari
     Over 7,500 competitors took on the challenge of the Times Colonist Garden City 10K in Victoria on Sunday, April 29th.
Most of the course winds through Beacon Hill Park. It is a scenic but difficult course with a hill at halfway and a more subtle but taxing gradual uphill section that seems to last forever within the last two kilometres. On this day, the powerfully gusting wind was everyone’s main competitor for the first half of the race.
My race strategy was to run very conservatively for the first 5K. The week before, at the Sun Run, I had gone out too fast and struggled badly in the last 2K. In Victoria, I felt great after a relaxed first mile, but hitting the wind beside the ocean was no fun. I was forced to jump from one group to another but a large pack of runners that I could see in the distance was too far away for me to go after. I could see Lucy Smith near the front of this group as well as some of the top male masters runners.
Rob Reid, a top master from Victoria, helped me a lot along the windy stretch before the 5K mark. Every time I tucked in behind him I felt like I was running ridiculously slowly, but when I took turns leading, he always quickly surged ahead. I finally left him on the downhill before the turnaround.
At that point, I focussed all my attention on Lucy and worked to narrow the gap between us. I felt really good once the wind was behind me. At 6 km I could see Krystyna Pieczulis close to Lucy, but Jackline Torori was far ahead, out of sight.
As the gap between myself and the other women narrowed, I passed a male competitor who muttered, “Oh no, not YOU again!”
At about 8K I passed Lucy, and a couple of minutes later I passed Krystyna. She hung on to me, however, and with about 500m to go she passed me and put a few metres between us as I wondered whether I could survive any more of the grinding uphill.
Competitive instinct took over when I saw the finish line. With about 100m remaining, I switched gears to my best sprint mode. I think I took Krystyna by surprise as I passed her shortly before the line.
Jackline Torori was the women’s winner, finishing well ahead of me in 34:06, but I was very pleased with my time (34:50) and my finishing place under the difficult conditions. Lucy also ran a strong race to place 4th overall in 35:08.

Race results at Prairie Inn Harriers site.

April 22nd, Vancouver – Over 45,000 registered for this year’s Sun Run, making it the second largest 10K in the world. Full coverage of the race is provided in the April 23rd edition of the Vancouver Sun, so rather than repeating what has already been done, here is a story from Phil Green, about his personal Sun Run experience. Race results at www.sunrun.com.

by Phil Green
     You would think being a teacher that writing would be a natural process. Alas, I was not born with that gift. However I would like to try and convey the events, as they happened to me, at the Sun Run.
Sometimes the best laid plans fall to pieces. This year’s Sun Run was an excellent example to me of expecting the unexpected.
Having completed my usual warm-up and visiting with team-mates and some familiar faces (it was great to see Lucy [Smith] looking fit and ready to go so soon after baby Maia), I proceeded to go into my first stride. About five steps into it I felt like I had been shot in my calf. Having had many calf injuries before I immediately pulled up.
To premise this: I haven’t had an injury in 10 months and my training has been going great thanks to Mike my coach and the wonderful group I train with at City Track.
Anyway, picture me sitting in the gutter, head in hands in disbelief that this could happen after such careful preparation. I tried several times to run on it but toeing off was almost impossible.
At this point, with about five minutes to the start, Rick Hickson came up and calmly told me to relax and try to massage the knot out. He also told me about a similar experience he had had and that once he got started the knot loosened, and he ran a P.B. that year. He also told me to run on my heel as much as possible.
Thanks for the advice Rick, because at that point I was close to giving up. I hobbled to the start line, despondent, massaging like crazy but still in pain and with the idea I would give it 200m then pull out on one of the side streets. The gun went and off I hobbled as fast as I could down Georgia. By 200 metres, amazingly enough, I was able to plant my foot correctly a couple of times and although the pain was still there it didn’t get any worse. I went through 1 km in about 3:02 and was running freely at this point. I knew I was going faster than usual because of the people I was running with, or attempting to run with.
Five km’s flashed by and by 6 km I was caught by Steve Mattina. We worked hard into the head wind on Beach, although Steve did most of the work, and at times I was just hanging on. I saw Art Boileau in the near distance and said to Steve, in a moment of oxygen madness, “Let’s catch Art.” Didn’t happen!!!
Went through 8 km in a PB of 27:30 and had almost forgotten about the calf. Did the usual grind under the bridge and pushed hard through the final km, finishing in 34:27, a 20 second PB, with Steve just a tick behind me. Thanks Steve for the help down the back!!!!!! I’ll take you up on the shoe offer!!!
Met Mike my coach – thanks Mike for being there at races – and to my surprise two Grade seven boys from my track team at school. Thanks Victor and Andrew, your support means a lot. Saw team-mates Sean 33:45 (not bad for an 800m runner), and Jeremy 32:22 (a 1-1/2 min PB) and went to do the cool down. This was short-lived as I ended up in the medical tent with my calf in spasms. Thanks to the physio who did some painful but excellent work on my calf.
Thanks to my wife who puts up with incessant running talk and who had a great run herself and managed to find out where I was. (Go figure, the bozo is in the medical tent. What now?????)
That’s about it, except for the great food at my wife’s company, thanks T.K., the great barbecue and fun at our friends. Thanks Dave and Sue’s. Last but not least thanks Patty for looking after Samantha and Fiona. They had a ball!!!!

     P.S. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone who made my day successful and fun. Today (Monday) I can walk freely thanks to that great physiotherapist supplied by the Sun Run. Because of him I am looking forward to the Times Colonist 10km on Sunday.

Submitted by Herb Phillips

Three new Sun Run Masters records of note:

• Graeme Fell smashed his last year’s record with a Sun Run Masters record of 30:09
• Nancy Tinari broke the world famous Regina Joyce’s 1998 Sun Run Masters Women’s record of 34:51
• Maureen De St Croix, an athlete we will be hearing a lot more from now that she lives here, set a new female 45-49 Sun Run record of 37:10 

At least 23 athletes set BC Athletics Masters GOLD Standard in this year’s Sun Run. Congratulations to them all!!!

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.