On one of the busiest road race weekends of the year, the Running Room Shaughnessy 8K held its own and continued to be one of the more popular races of the weekend.

Overnight rains made most runners fear that it would be a very wet race, but the rain stopped and 440 participants in the 8K run and 5K walk were treated to near perfect racing conditions.

After finishing third overall in 2004 and second in 2005, Oliver Utting of Burnaby was victorious in 2006 to win with a great time of 25:24. Utting battled masters runner Norm Tinkham for the entire race. Tinkham placed second with a time of 25:36. Third Place went to young Tristan Simpson (26:00) of Delta BC.

Masters runner and former Olympian Leah Pells ran her very first Shaughnessy 8k to win the women’s race in a time of 28:54. Second place female went to Heather McEwan (30:35) and third place went to masters runner Leslie Black (31:36).

Age graded winners for this 2006 went to Leah Pells (86.29%) beating Lenore Montgomery (85.36%). Male Age graded winner was Norm Tinkham (87.42%) who beat Dave Reed (86.51%). Both Norm Tinkham (25:36) and Dave Reed (27:41) also set course records for their respective age groups 40-44 and 50-54.

Lions Gate Road Runners made the decision this year to eliminate the ‘chip’ timing mats at the start to create a wider start line and allow for faster “Gun” times, which as per IAAF and BCA requirements are to be used for official results. Chip timing mats were were however used at the finish line.

All in all runners were treated to a very well organized race by Lions Gate Road Runners. An email from race participant Lionel Edwards said it all…. “Perfect running weather, easy sign up, good parking, a well marked and managed course with a fine awards ceremony made for yet another fine Shaughnessy 8K.”

Full race results can be found here.

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The leading men’s pack stayed together for the first half, with individuals taking turns setting the pace and testing out mental games and strategies. Finally at 6k Victoria’s Jim Finlayson broke away, and Nanaimo’s Steve Osaduik was the only one to go with him. After staying together for about a kilometre, Osaduik took a decisive lead and had the last 3km all to himself, claiming victory in 30:15 (15 seconds over his 2005 winning time). Finlayson (30:43) held off a challenge by Victoria’s Eric Kiauka (30:48) and David Jackson (30:50) to maintain second place and repeat last year’s 1-2 order.

The field was a bit more spread out in the women’s race. Victoria’s Lucy Smith won her fifth Times Colonist 10k (not consecutive) in 35:09. Though Cheryl Murphy was only a second behind Smith in the Sun Run last week, here in Victoria she was slower while Smith was faster. Still, Murphy had a very solid run to claim second in 35:40. Kirsten Sweetland took third in 36:15, an excellent time for a junior (19&U) competitor.

An hour and a half after the 10k start, approximately one thousand children and their parents enjoyed the 1.5 km kids run, which finished beside the main race in front of the Empress.

Full results can be found here. Photo gallery is here.

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Photo by Mynor Campos

Thousands of Sun runners took to the streets of Vancouver this morning to celebrate the 22nd annual Vancouver Sun Run. And what a celebration it was with 50,746 participants entered in this year’s race, making it the largest field to date. The previous record field of 49,743 was set in 2003.

Isabella Ochichi from Kenya took first place and set a new course record in the Women’s Overall Division with a time of 30:55. She beat Tatyana Hladyr of the Ukraine who finished second in 32:11, and the 2003 Sun Run Women’s Champion Aster Demissie of Ethiopia, who placed third with a time of 33:02. Lisa Harvey from Calgary was the Top Canadian Woman. She finished in 34:10.

Gilbert Okari of Kenya placed first in the Men’s Overall Division by finishing the race in 28:25. Fellow Kenyan, Meshack Sang took second place finishing in 29:23, and Joel Bourgeois from Grand Digue, New Brunswick, who took the Top Male Canadian honours, placed third with a time of 29:46.

Brad Skeats of Vancouver and Michelle Stilwell of Nanoose Bay, B.C., took first place in the Wheelchair Quad Division finishing in 36:37 and 40:29 respectively. In the Open Division, first place went to defending champion, Kelly Smith of Langley, B.C., who completed the course in 21:02 and Jessica Des Mazes who finished the race in 42:08 finish.

Complete results and race highlights will be available in The Vancouver Sun on Monday, April 24.

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2000 Sydney Olympian Tina Connelly of Port Coquitlam wowed the field with her second overall placing, finishing in 34:19. Steven Murenbeeld of Oliver was first overall in a time of 33:09, followed in the men’s division by Hans Aabye of Merritt (34:20) and Nathan Champness of Vernon (35:39). Jessica Solymosi of Vernon finished second in the women’s division in 37:24 and Sarah Clark of Vernon was third in 39:27.

Race report from Ernest Hawker:

Conditions were good. Great even. Sunny… not overly cold. There were headwinds, but mostly on the first half.

The course was altered slightly. The turnaround point just past halfway was moved in slightly. This allowed the finish to be moved about a half kilometre past the previous one – so it could finish directly in front of the gymnasium where the awards were held.

Jorge Parra (1:15:14 at 2006 First Half) ran this race but dropped out at 3k with Achilles problems. With Parra out, Tina Connelly ran 3rd much of the way… she came up with a strong kick to take 2nd in the final stretch.

For a change, a few runners (including myself) managed to negative split the course.

Guy Smith (VFAC) was first Male Master. From about 2k, he ran step-for-step with Nathan Champness and Greg Johnson. Johnson dropped back around 6k, but Smith and Champness took it down to the final sprint, with the younger runner prevailing.

Adele Wilson (VFAC, F45/49) was unchallenged as first Female Master.

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Submitted by Maurice Wilson, Pacific Road Runners
Photos by Teresa Nightingale

The 18th annual Pacific Road Runners “First Half” Half Marathon was run on a beautiful February day in Vancouver on Sunday. Sunny skies and no wind were tempered only by the chilling temperatures at race start.

In the absence of Jon Brown, Steve Osaduik was the favourite to win, but the competition was much closer than anticipated. Osaduik (from Nanaimo), Jason Loutitt (from Banff) and Nik Southwell (from Victoria) quickly formed a leading trio in the first mile, with Warren Barker just behind, and a further gap to a chasing pack. Southwell fell off the pace after 3 miles, but Loutitt stuck with Osaduik all the way around the Stanley Park Seawall, and was setting the pace for much of the way. It wasn’t until the final short rise under the Granville Bridge with less than a kilometre to go that Osaduik finally broke away to win by 80 metres in 1:06:34. Loutitt was rewarded with a big PR of 1:06:50.

Southwell (1:09:24) maintained his distance over Barker (1:09:45) to take third, both running in relative isolation for most of the race. The final prize money position was only decided over the last mile, as Oliver Utting (1:11:13) triumphed over Derek Vinge (1:11:30) and Graeme Wilson (1:11:36). For Vinge, a UBC student, it was also a big PR, and qualified him for the NAIA marathon championships this spring.

The leading women, Tina Connelly and Lisa Harvey, were together through the first couple of miles, before Connelly upped the tempo and started picking off a few of the faster starting guys. This eventually carried her ahead of the leading male masters, but in a hotly contested finish the men beat her to the line. Paul Skarsgard was first master in 1:15:23, with Anthony Skuce just behind in 1:15:29. Connelly ran out a comfortable winner of the women’s race in 1:15:30, though nearly three minutes off her course best from two years ago.

Harvey barely held on to second, as fellow Calgarian Lindsay McLaren surprised by closing to within one second at the finish (1:17:28 and 1:17:29). Suzanne Evans finished fourth in 1:20:19, and top master Joan McGrath rounded out the money winners with her usual gutsy performance in 1:22:08.

Further up the age groups there were some fiercely contested races. None more so than the women’s 70 plus division. BJ McHugh ran out the winner in 1:56:48, with Lenore Montgomery only two minutes back in 1:58:48. Both these remarkable ladies are actually over 75, and showed many of their younger competitors a clean pair of heels.

Herb Phillips gained an event age group best, but also lost one. Now in the M6569 division, he set a division best of 1:23:20. But in the M6064 division, Jack Miller bettered Phillips’ previous division best with a 1:23:48 clocking.

Other outstanding performances came from Jan Selman who won the F6064 division in 1:43:21, and Hans Fenz winner of the M70 plus division in 1:42:08.

Complete results are on the event website at www.pacificroadrunners.ca/firsthalf.

During the awards, a cheque for $37,500 was presented to Variety – The Children’s Charity, resulting from the dedicated efforts of all the volunteers.

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As the fourth place finisher in each of the last two Olympic marathons, Brown is expected to set a course record in the 2006 Pacific Road Runners “First Half” Half Marathon. Each of his three half marathons in 2005 was completed in under one hour four minutes, and his all-time best is 1:01:49. So Bruce Deacon’s 1992 record of 1:04:45 is in serious jeopardy. A British international, who has called Victoria home for the last six years and is now a Canadian citizen, Brown is firm favourite to win the 18th edition of the race.

Hoping to be pulled to a fast time will be one of Canada’s rising stars of distance running. Steve Osaduik of Nanaimo was the 2004 Canadian Half Marathon champion, and has a best time of 1:05:26. Both Brown and Osaduik are using the race as preparation for the London Marathon in April. Osaduik has also been selected to represent Canada at the World Cross Country Championships in Japan later this year.

Also expected to contest positions on the podium are Albertans Jason Loutitt and Ken Myers, winners of the Calgary Marathon in 2005 and 2004 respectively. Loutitt is also the Canadian Mountain Running Champion.

Additional local competition will come from Nik Southwell of Victoria, winner of the 2005 Edge-to-Edge Marathon; and Oliver Utting and Warren Barker of Vancouver, who finished first and second in the 2005 Timex BC Road Running Series.

On the women’s side, 2004 “First Half” champion and course record holder (1:12:47) Tina Connelly of Port Coquitlam returns, following the birth of her second child in 2005. She will face stiff competition from Calgarian Lisa Harvey, a three time winner of the race. Both Connelly and Harvey competed at the 2005 World Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton, helping Canada to a sixth place team finish.

Challenging them will be Suzanne Evans from New Westminster, winner of the 2005 Royal Victoria Marathon; Lindsay McLaren from Calgary; Darcie Montgomery from North Vancouver; Nikki Knapp from Vancouver; Joan McGrath from New Westminster; and triathlete Christine Fletcher from Vancouver, who finished third at the 2005 Ironman Canada.

The “First Half” Half Marathon is organized by the Pacific Road Runners with support from New Balance, and is the second race in the 2006 Timex BC Road Running Series. Proceeds from the event benefit Variety – the Children’s Charity. The race starts at 8:30am on Sunday, February 19, from the Roundhouse Community Centre in downtown Vancouver. The course takes the runners around BC Place Stadium and on a loop of the Stanley Park seawall.

For additional information, visit the event website at www.pacificroadrunners.ca/firsthalf.

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After pacing together most of the way, Valley Royals’ Joel Primus out-kicked Warren Barker of the Hershey Harriers in a dash for the finish (25:12 to 25:14). VFAC’s Graeme Wilson easily nabbed third overall in 25:58.

In the women’s race, Phoenix Athletics’ Suzanne Evans followed Gillian Kornell of the Canadian Nat’l Triathlon Team for much of the way before moving ahead by 13 seconds to take the win in 28:40. Gillian Walker of the Hershey Harriers had to out-sprint Jessica Solymosi to round out the top 3 in 30:06.

Full results at www.kajaks.org/results/icebreaker2006.htm.

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