BC Road Running Rankings: Highlights 2004

2004 Year End Highlights

The most notable road running highlights by BC athletes in 2004 were the following:

  • Most outstanding performance must be BC resident Jon Brown’s fourth place finish in the Olympic Marathon in Athens, even though he was representing Great Britain.
  • At the national championships BC athletes were the most successful of any province, winning:
    • Gold: Lucy Smith (10K), Steve Osaduik (Half Marathon), and Tina Connelly (Half Marathon).
    • Silver: Leah Pells (10K), Lucy Smith (Half Marathon), and Bruce Deacon (Marathon).
    • Bronze: Tina Connelly (10K), Steve Osaduik (Marathon), and Kristina Rody (Marathon).
  • Emilie Mondor of Quebec, but resident in BC, set a Canadian record of 15:16 for 5K.
  • A number of Canadian age best performances were set by BC athletes:
    • Jim Sargent recorded M80-84 age bests at 5K (28:16) and 8K (46:22).
    • Herb Phillips recorded an M60-64 age best at the marathon (2:47:02), despite being at the top of that age group.
    • Sandra Bastedo recorded an F60-64 age best at 8K (34:12).
  • Additionally a number of BC age best performances were set:
    • Tina Connelly ran a BC record of 1:12:47 for the half marathon.
    • Nancy Tinari ran a F45-49 age best for 8K (28:23).
    • Maureen de St Croix ran an F50-54 age best for 10K (38:03).
    • Sandra Bastedo ran a F60-64 age best for 5K (21:28).
    • Diane Palmason ran a F65-69 age best for 8K (37:40).
    • Norman Tinkham ran a M40-44 age best for the half marathon (1:09:55).
  • A total of 10 athletes recorded age-graded performances in excess of 90%, which represents world class. The three most highly rated were Emilie Mondor, 95.99% for her Sun Run 10K (31:10); Jon Brown, 95.77% for his Olympic Marathon (2:12:26); and Herb Phillips, 94.26% for his Royal Victoria Marathon (2:47:02).
  • The following athletes topped the rankings in their age group at three or more distances:
    • Norman Tinkham, M40-49 accomplished the feat at all distances from 5K to full marathon.
    • Maurice Tarrant, M70+ at 5K, 8K, 10K and half marathon (for the second straight year).
    • Herb Phillips, M60-64 at 8K, 10K, half and full marathon.
    • Cindy O’Krane, F40-49 at 5K, 8K and 10K.
    • Lenore Montgomery, F70+ at 5K, 8K and 10K (also for the second straight year).
    • Jon Brown, MOpen at 10K, half and full marathon.
  • Three athletes achieved the notable feat of bettering the open standard at all distances from 5K to marathon. They were Darcie Montgomery, Steve Osaduik and masters runner Norman Tinkham.

October 2004

As usual October was a busy month, with many high quality performances recorded. Some of the most notable by BC and BC-based athletes were:

  • Emilie Mondor helped Canada win the North American 5K road race championship, and in doing so set a Canadian record of 15:16. Behind her, Malindi Elmore also recorded a world class time of 16:00, good enough to move her into the top-10 of our Best of the Best.
  • The Royal Victoria Marathon and supporting races saw a number of Canadian and BC age best performances. Leading the way was Herb Phillips in the marathon, where he improved on the Canadian M60-64 age best he set earlier this year. Having since celebrated another birthday, at age 64 he ran a stunning 2:47:02, good for a 94.26% age graded performance.
  • At the 8K distance in Victoria, Sandra Bastedo also set a Canadian age best in the F60-64 age group, with a time of 34:12. Behind Sandra, Diane Palmason set a BC age best in the F65-69 age group, running 37:40.
  • Not to be out done, in the half marathon Norm Tinkham ran a BC age best (unassisted) of 1:09:55, which was good enough to include him in our Best of the Best.
  • A number of other age group leading performances were also recorded in Victoria. Malindi Elmore's 26:49 clocking for 8K was the best by a BC woman this year. Maurice Tarrant demonstrated that he is not slowing down, running 1:35:54 at age 74 in the half marathon. Finishing just ahead of Maurice, Rita Ringdahl moved to the top of the F50-59 age group with a time of 1:34:33. And in the marathon, Joan McGrath (F40-49) and John Moe (M50-59) moved to the top of their age groups, running 2:55:07 and 2:44:27 respectively.
  • Meanwhile at the Okanagan International Marathon in Kelowna, 75 year old Heidi Muckle-gader ran a time many younger runners would be happy with, a 4:41:11 finishing time.
  • Nancy Tinari produced her best performance of the year, and was only 7 seconds away from a F45-49 BC age best, running 35:44 for 10K in Toronto.
  • Norm Tinkham continued in fine form recording the best time for the marathon by a BC master this year at the Casino Niagara Falls Marathon, when he finished in 2:35:34.
  • David Huxley took over top spot in the M50-59 10K rankings with a 35:57 clocking in Abbotsford.
  • Finally, Victoria resident Jon Brown recovered very quickly from his fourth place in the Olympic Marathon to run 1:03:30 at the Great North Run (half marathon) in England.

August 2004

As the summer winds down, and the temperatures cool, some quality performances have been recorded recently.

  • Sandra Bastedo of Prairie Inn Harriers recently entered a new age group and set an unofficial F60-64 BC age best of 21:28 at the Songhees 5K in Victoria.
  • A very competitive men's field at the Kajaks Labour Day Weekend 8K in Steveston produced the three fastest times of the year to date, with Jerry Ziak leading the way in 24:24, closely followed by Brent Corbitt (24:30) and Bruce Deacon (24:35).
  • On the women's side at the Labour Day Weekend 8K, not only did Nancy Tinari win the race, but her 28:23 time was worth 90.85% in the age gradings, boosting her to 7th place in the Best of the Best.
  • Also at the Labour Day Weekend 8K, Herb Phillips 29:08 easily moved him to the top of the M60-69 rankings, a performance only marginally inferior to his marathon earlier this year.
  • As expected, John Moe took over top spot in the M50-59 half marathon rankings with his 1:18:41 clocking at Delta. But he can expect some tough competition in this age group as Dave Reed has also recently turned 50.
  • Finally, although Jon Brown was representing Britain at the Olympics in the heat of Athens, as a BC resident his 2:12:26 marathon that just missed out on a medal, is worthy of a 95.77% age grading and second place in the Best of the Best rankings. An outstanding performance.

July 2004

Another quiet month on the roads, with the hot weather slowing times and some top performers concentrating on track races. Still, a number of performances of note:

  • John Moe, having just moved up to the M50-59 age division, immediately moved to the top of the 10K age rankings, initially with a 36:19 time at the Summerfast race, improving to 35:59 at Squamish Days. Look for John to feature in the M50-59 rankings at other distances later this year.
  • Herb Phillips turned in the best age graded performance at the Summerfast race with his 37:52 clocking, easily good enough to top the M60-69 rankings.
  • Also at Summerfast, Nancy Tinari (F40-49) showed signs of regaining last years form, winning the womens race in 36:42.
  • In Calgary, Norm Tinkham roared to the top of the M40-49 marathon rankings with a fine 2:37:07 performance, particularly considering the 1100m elevation of that city.
  • Leah Pells produced a couple of quality 5K times to win races in Toronto in 16:18 and 16:22, as well as a 21:28 time for four miles to finish third at an international race in Buffalo, NY.

June 2004

Not many changes in the rankings this past month, but a couple of world class performances.

  • Herb Phillips ran an outstanding 2:47:28 in the Newport Marathon in Oregon on June 5. This was not only a Canadian M60-64 age group best, but also an unofficial world age best for a 63 year old. It also moves him up to third place in our best-of-the-best rankings.
  • Jon Brown's winning 1:03:53 clocking for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon and BC Championship, moves him to the top of the half marathon rankings, and shows that he should be in good shape for the Olympic marathon in Athens.

May 2004

The past month saw the national championships for 10K, half marathon and full marathon distances, and BC athletes came away with many top honours.

  • In the Half Marathon championship in Edmonton, Steve Osaduik took first place in the best time by a BC athlete this year of 1:06:44. And in the women's championship Tina Connelly outsprinted Lucy Smith for a BC 1-2, recording 1:14:44 and 1:14:48 respectively.
  • Two weeks later, in the 10K championship in Ottawa, Lucy Smith came out on top, as BC swept the women's medals through Lucy (32:53), Leah Pells (33:29) and Tina Connelly (33:34).
  • And in the Marathon championship, also in Ottawa, Bruce Deacon (2:20:16) and Steve Osaduik (2:24:28) took second and third. For Bruce it was his second marathon in six weeks, while for Steve it was his debut coming just two weeks after his half marathon triumph. On the women's side Kristina Rody also came away with a third place in 2:48:09.
  • Also at the Ottawa Marathon, Leslie Black placed first master in 2:58:46.
  • Leah Pells had a busy month. In addition to her second place in Ottawa she set a seasons best of 26:54 in winning the Mother's Day 8K Spring Classic, as well as winning the half marathon (1:16:51) held in conjunction with the Vancouver International Marathon.
  • Norm Tinkham recorded the best 8K by a master with his 25:40 clocking on the hilly Shaughnessy course.
  • The Vancouver International Marathon produced many season best performances across the age groups, while Lorne Smith at age 70 ran 4:05:39 in the Peach City Marathon in Penticton.

January-April 2004

A number of exceptional performances have been run already this year. The most notable include:

  • Tina Connelly ran a BC best ever performance at the "First Half" Half Marathon in February, with a time of 1:12:47.
  • In the Sun Run, Maureen de St Croix ran a F50-54 age best for 10K of 38:03.
  • On the Island, Jim Sargent has been setting M80-84 age bests. First at the Pioneer 8K he ran 46:22. Then at the Bazan Bay 5K he set another age best of 28:16.
  • Also on the Island, at the Comox Valley Half Marathon, Kelvin Broad ran the fastest legal half marathon by a M40-44, in 1:10:23.
  • In the London Marathon, Jon Brown (representing Britain) and Bruce Deacon both ran times that hopefully will gain them selection for the Athens Olympics. 2:13:39 and 2:18:30 respectively.
  • The best performance by any BC resident athlete was Emilie Mondor's winning Sun Run. Her 31:10 clocking ranks her Best of the Best.
  • Lucy Smith (32:58) and Matt Johnston (29:48) also produced world class performances in the Sun Run.
  • Finally, Herb Phillips at age 63 ran a remarkable 1:21:36 half marathon on the far from easy Mercer Island course in Seattle.