Road and Cross Newsletter Update

So many things to highlight on the Road and Cross front, the spring sees the most runners out, especially with our three heavy hitters on back to back weekends. The Vancouver Sun Run (10k Championships) April 19, the TC10k in Victoria April 26 and the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 3. Over 60,000 runners are on the roads over these three spring weekends!

 

BC RACE DIRECTORS SUMMIT

To help get all Race and Event Directors prepared and thinking about their events, we are hosting our 3rd Annual Race Directors Summit with TriBC on Saturday March 7, at Fortius in Burnaby. See the link for details and registration.

This is NOT just for Road Race Directors, all are welcome to attend (Track & Field, Cross Country, Cycling and Triathlon)! The sessions will look at Event Sponsorship, Maximizing Social Media, Community Engagement, Event Basics and Risk Management.

The cost to attend is $15 and includes lunch.

See the website for more details and speaker bios

PAN AM CROSS COUNTRY CUP

On February 29, the Bear Mountain Golf Club just outside of Victoria, will host the 2020 Pan Am Cross Country Championships. With the best Cross Country athletes from North, South and Central America competing for the honours of being Pan Am Champions.

Not only is this an opportunity to see the best athletes run, you can challenge yourself on the same challenging course as the pros in a number of all-comers competitions. There is also a Can-Am Masters Challenge and any Athletics Canada Masters member can score for the nation in their battle with the USA for XC gold.

Find out more about the Pan Am XC Cup here.

Team Canada was selected from the Abbotsford National XC Championship and will be represented by a number of BC Athletes including:

  • John Gay, Vancouver Thunderbirds
  • Kirsten Lee, Mile2Marathon
  • Ceili McCabe, Vancouver Olympic Club
  • Natasha Wodak, Prairie Inn Harriers
  • Annika Ariano, Vernon Amateur Athletics
  • See the full team here.

PROVINCIAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Two Road Championships are coming up quick in March and April, note them in your calendar and see below for information on Elite applications.

ELITE APPLICATIONS

Elite applications are coming due for a few major events in the calendar, make sure to check each site and see if you or your athletes are eligible. Not only are all of these events part of the BC Super Series, three are Provincial Championships!

  • Vancouver St. Patrick’s Day 5k – Provincial 5k Championships – has a goal of having over 100 runners finish under 17 minutes. It offers a very fast course for the elite, which saw both the male and female winners last year set new BC Soil 5k records. John Gay 14:06 and Sarah Inglis 15:29. Elite registrations close on March 1st and you can find out more at this link.
  • Vancouver Sun Run Provincial 10k Championships – the nations largest race, a local favourite and always an elite component that doesn’t disappoint with a prize purse of over $25,000. The high-performance women start the race separately, as do the wheelchair racers. Elite application deadline is also March 1st, don’t delay! Find out more at this link.
  • TC10k, Victoria – the elite program is designed to attract a top class of athletes and various levels of support are available. Deadline to apply is April 20th and you can find out more at this link.
  • Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon – Provincial Half Marathon Championship – applications close May 16th for this net downhill, point to point half marathon from UBC to Stanley Park. Find out more on how to apply at this link.

National Road Championship Calendar

Remember if you are competing out of the Province, in sanctioned / certified events to share your results with Athletics Canada to have them included in your National Rankings. Those results can count towards National / Provincial Team Eligibility and of course the BC Athletics Year End Awards!

BC TEAM CRITERIA FOR NATIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

BC Team Criteria for the National Road Championships will be released early March. BC Athletics sends up to a team of two males and two females to each of the National Road Championships. Rumour has it that the 5k National Championship will make it’s return to the calendar in the fall.

ROAD RACE SERIES

All four of the Road Race Series in the Province are in motion, just by participating in any of the series your are awarded points. Each series has prizing that is awarded at the end of the year based on their own criteria.

  • BC Super Series – Provincial Road Race Series – next four races are the Vancouver St. Patrick’s Day 5km, Vancouver Sun Run, TC10k and BMO Vancouver Half Marathon.
  • Lower Mainland Road Race Series – Featuring races across the Lower Mainland – the next two events are the Vancouver St. Patrick’s Day 5k and the BMO Sunshine Coast April Fool’s Run Half Marathon.
  • Interior Running Association Road Series – Races up and down the Okanagan Valley – next up in the series are the Kamloops Spring Runoff 10k and the Oliver 10k.
  • Vancouver Island Race Series – Around Vancouver Island, every other weekend through the winter and spring – next two events are the Hatley Castle 8k and the Port Alberni Paper Chase 15k.

See the BC Athletics Calendar for a list of all upcoming events.

Make sure to watch our BC Athletics Social Media for updates and check our website for updates. The new BC Athletics E-Newsletter will come out quarterly and have details on a number of the different programs and activities happening through BC Athletics.

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