Archive for May, 2007

As an appropriately impartial coach, it was a good thing I was away on the weekend, as it made it easy to decide which of another 3 VFAC- dominated races to attend…..none of them!! Actually, a bit of a shame, as many deserved full support.

To start things off, Simon and Katrina Driver won the mens and womens overall titles in the Iron Knee 25K (Half Knacker) Trail Race, each winning $300 in the process. Simon beat Ryan Bremner by 2 1/2 min in a very good 1:33:46, while Katrina had only 6 men ahead of her at 1:42:57, 9 minutes up on the next woman (Nicola Gildersleeve). Indefatiguable Lilian Wong won the W50-59 in 2:22:14 and was 130th of the 317 finishers.

At the hilly Shaughnessy 8K, Paul Krochak finished 3rd overall out of 320 in 27:21, 1:07 behind winner Jamie Epp. Ernest Hawker was 10th overall in 28:52. Following Nancy Tinari’s winning 29:58, Laura De Munain just missed second by a second in 31:52, while Katherine Moore was next in 32:46. More importantly, each picked up valuable Timex Series points, to continue leading the W35-39 and W30-34 divisions (sorry Katherine, we know you’re not really 30….yet).

Finally, at the PMC-Sierra Science Fair 5K, we would have had 1-2-3, if winner and 2004-6 VFAC member Roy Millen had rejoined (how about it, Roy?). However, right behind his winning 16:32 was Jeff Lopes, back into racing with an excellent 16:36 PB. Next was new member Brian Devereux in a 17:36 PB (watch out for those ex-Waterford lads!). Todd Heintz also ran a good 19:56 on the flat False Creek course, to finish 25th amongst the 742 finishers.

Next time I’ll have to get off the fence!

In the well run Mother’s Day 5K in Port Moody, VFAC runners again showed their mettle for racking up Timex Series points in a heavy medal performance. (See all 7 medal wearers in the Flickr photos)

Oliver Utting won the race in 15:29 on the roller coaster course (mostly on a bike path), while Meaghan McCollum was 1st woman in 17:28. Kapil Anand was 1st VFACer with huge ~40 sec PB 17:27 to finish 10th overall and 3rd 20-29. Next were Guy Smith, winning the 50-54 in 17:43, and Bob Wade 2nd in the 44-49 with a 18:01. Fiona Jenkins was our 1st female, finishing 6th overall with a 18:59 PB (and 4th 20-29). Next was Laura De Munain, placing 2nd in the 35-39 with a 19:35. Adele Wilson won her 1st race in the 50-54 category in style, her 19:47 being the 2nd best age-rated time amongst all females in the race! They were followed by Bonnie Kramer with a 21:41 PB (4th 35-39), Sharon Emslie, whose 21:45 placed her 2nd in the 45-49, Lilian Wong winning the 55-59 with a 22:20 a week after her 3:52 Vancouver Marathon, and Rick Horne with a 24:01 and 5th M55-59.

The race had a record 312 finishers, helped no doubt by the free kids 1k event. Phoenix, the organizers, also put up $500 for the top age-rated club team of 5, but deservedly took it themselves. We finished 3rd, but with a few more out there next year….and also note to all, remember to put VFAC on the entry whenever it asks for team or club name!!

PS Simon Cowell you can’t hide….. congrats on your 4th overall in the Pacific Spirit Trail Race!

A small VFAC group (no, I won’t go into why, will I John!!) took part in the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon & Marathon on another rainy Sunday. But good things come in small packages as 3 women were in the top 10 amongst 3682! female finishers in the 1/2, and (OK, not exactly small) Chris Downie finally cracked the 3 hour barrier in the full marathon.

Rita Ivanauskas continued her money streak finishing second only to Suzanne Evans’ 1:18:28, with an very good 1:25:15 on the tough course, pocketing $500US. She picked up a further $100US in winning the W40-44, while Katherine Moore had a 3 minute PB at 1:26:52 to finish 5th overall and 1st, also for $100US, in the W25-29. Laura De Munain ran a 1:29:13 to finish 10th overall. Chris Drozda was 12th overall and 2nd M35-39 with a good 1:17:40. New member Gord Ahrens ran 1:28:46, while Rhys Howard at 1:35:44 and Kim Jow at 1:36:35 ran seasonal bests.

The full was won in a there-for-the-taking 2:25:23 by Kenyan Thomas Omwenga, while Argentinian Claudia Camargo evened things out with a female record of 2:35:46. Chris D. broke 3 in style knocking off almost 10 minutes with a 2:51:10, good for 25th overall and 4th M35-39 amongst the ~3100 finishers. With a little more prudence in the early pace and an absense of pitstops, we’re going to see more PB’s from this guy! New member Patrick Gill ran 3:04:17, while Lilian Wong ran 3:51:34.

On the eve of the 36th annual BMO Vancouver Marathon I thought it would be fun to take everyone on a journey back in time, highlighting past performances, namely our coach John Hill. He’s pretty modest about the past, but for all those that were unaware, he did win the 1978 Vancouver Marathon in 2:20:49. The old course took the runners around Stanley Park - 5 loops!! Excellent for spectating. Even more interesting, he out ran New Zealander Ross Jackson who had previously won two years before in 1976. For all those that might be wondering, yes, this is Trudi’s Dad - Ross Jackson. He and his wife Sally were living in Vancouver at the time, and Trudi was still a toddler but obviously her keen interest in sports was developed early on! Hope you all enjoy the photos!