Solid start to 2007 for VFAC runners in the Icebreaker 8K

After a somewhat nasty start to the the winter, the bright sunshine appeared for the first race of the 2007 Timex Race Series – the Steveston Icebreaker 8K. The pancake flat out and back course along the picturesque south arm of the Fraser River winds its way by some reminders of the summer fishing season – lots of lonely fishing boats awaiting hopes of another fruitful year. The racing action was intense at the front of the pack early as the usual suspects took out the race, with Simon Driver (M25-29) and Graeme Wilson (M35-39) in amongst the front runners. Simon showed his early season fitness by posting a sub-26 performance finishing in 25:58, with Graeme nipping at his heels in 26:05, good for solid 7th and 8th places, respectively. VFAC triathlete Paul Krochak (M30-34) hammered a great early season start in 27:01 in 12th place, and Ernest Hawker (M40-44) crossing the line later in 27:51 (16th overall). Matt Fedoruk (M30-34) redeemed his pedestrian performance at the club race a week earlier finishing in 28:28 (26th overall) and Joel Werner (M30-34) fought it out to the line in under 30min crossing the line in 29:50 (43rd overall). Masters runner Rick Horne (M55-59) finished a strong 39:43 (8th in age group). On the women’s side, Natalie Closs (F35-39) posted a great first result of 2007 in 31:56 to top her age group. Trudi Jackson (F30-34) improved on her previous year’s performance by over two minutes to finish in 33:38 (5th in age group). Sue Werner (F30-34) ran a strong finish to post a 34:26, coming off a successful Sacramento Marathon in December. Gutsy Masters runner Lilian Wong (F50-54) crossed the line in 37:18, followed by multi-time Ironman athlete Imelda Sakamoto (F35-39) finishing in 39:18 (8th in age group). Complete results here. Next race: Feb 11th – First Half Marathon – downtown Vancouver. Bring out the big guns. It’ll be exciting this year with lots of depth at the top end, and a challenging course due to re-routing because of ongoing repairs to the usual Seawall route from the ferocious winter windstorms.