MEC # 2 Birds Hill Park Race

MEC # 2 Birds Hill Park Race
MEC #2 Birds Hill Park 2017 3rd Overall After A Sprint Finish!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Harry's Spring Run-Off

Today's race was Harry's Spring Run-Off 8K in Stanley Park, in support of fighting prostate cancer. I arrived there early but by the time I got through the parking ticket machine and porta pottie lineups it was getting close to race time, so I didn't get a chance to warm up. We started off at 10 AM, running along the seawall the whole way. I'd got stuck a little far back, it took me 16 seconds just to reach the start line, but it could have been worse, so it was hard getting past people for awhile. Soon it got a little more spread out, and I passed a lot of people steadily for about a kilometer, and continued to do so throughout the race, usually a few every kilometer, with the odd person going by me.
 
There were a lot of people up front who probably had never run an 8K before, because they sprinted out and then slowed considerably, and that's when myself and others passed them. Some only went a hundred meters or so before they "hit the wall", while others lasted a few kilometers, but after about the 6K point it was mostly people going at a fairly even pace in little packs.
 
It was a little cool, but not while we were running, and a bright sunny day, so it was quite a pleasant run. After we hit the 7K mark you could hear a piper playing. Every year they have a lone piper piping us in. It's inspiring, and when you hear him that's when you pick up your pace. He's usually close to the finish line though, this year there was still a few hundred meters to go after we passed him, so I had a little more trouble than usual legging it in when I finally reached the finish chute.
 
I crossed the line and got my race cap and Power Bar from a volunteer, and then I continued to tables that had gatorade, water, and juice boxes. I drank some water and got a juice, and then hit the food tables, which had bananas, cookies, and bagels. I waited for and cheered fellow club member Dan Cumming in, and then he got some food and drink and went off to partake somewhere. Drew Nicholson came up, he'd finished 10th overall and ran his second best ever 8K, so he was very happy. Ingo Jackish appeared, I'd seen him cheering me in. He's injured but came out to watch us. Drew took off to talk to his clubmates, and then Ingo and myself went to look at the results, and I was 8th in my age group so no medal today. I saw Tina Louise Harris and she'd finished 4th in her category, but 79th overall!
 
We were all a little beat and decided to head out before the awards. There were already many people gone by then, so off we went without a bunch of jockeying about in the parking lot.
 
Results are up http://sportstats.ca/displayResults.xhtml?racecode=101775 . I was 106 overall out of 1021, and 8 of 49 in my age group, with a time of 34:37 (34:21 chip). Drew was 10th overall with a time of 26:45, Tina was 79th with a time of 33:21, Teresa Nightingale was 80th and 3rd in her AG with a time of 33:22, Raymond Louie was 363rd, with a time of 43:28 (42:42 chip), and Dan Cumming was 640 overall and 12 of 18 in his AG, with a time of 49:36.
 
My next race is the BMO Sunshine Coast April Fool's Run, a half marathon starting in Gibsons and ending in Sechelt, on April 1st at 9 AM.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Golden Ears Results in the Newspaper!

Many thanks to Ken Storey for finding this in his local paper, the Maple Ridge News, and saving it for me! It's the top runners in the Golden Ears races, plus a nice picture!
 
 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Green Sock, River Run & Medal Pics


Green Sock Pics:

The River's Spring Run-Off 10K

On Sunday, March 18 I ran The River's Spring Run-Off 10K in Kamloops. The sky had cleared overnight and it was a brilliant sunny day, and it had warmed up from just below zero to a few degrees above by race time, so it was perfect running weather. We started out promptly at 10 AM from the street by Arthur Stevenson School, running straight along residential streets for about 3 kilometers. It was pretty crowded when we began to run, but soon we were spread out a bit. There were 2 guys who looked to be in my age group running in front of me, and one took off up ahead and I passed the other one, and then some other slower runners.  
 
I jockeyed for position with some other racers in the small pack we were now in, until we came to a cul-de-sac and a turnaround. As I came up to it I saw the leaders coming back and it looked like there were about 30 people in front of me. As we hit the turnaround I broke out of the pack and surged ahead as well as I could. We ran back a few blocks before turning right, running a couple of blocks over, and then turning left again. We were now on a sidewalk on a main road and there were some spectators waiting with signs at the corners, cheering us on and clanging cowbells, and lots of honks from cars driving by. I could hear people coming up behind me, but I just concentrated on keeping pace with the runners ahead of me and managed to hold my position.
 
After a few hundred meters we turned right and headed a couple of blocks over again and the volunteers directed us onto a dike where we ran along a gravel path. After about a kilometer and a half there was another turnaround, and as I headed back I saw that some people were right behind me. One fellow came up beside me and I ran beside him for a while, but eventually he passed me, and I just kept a few feet behind him. We came out on the road again, and it was now only a few hundred meters to the finish! You could hear the cheering and the announcer, and then I saw the finish line and clock up ahead of me as we headed into the chute. I tried to catch the guy who'd passed me but he sped up too, and a fellow darted by me going very fast, and just beat me at the line. 2 more runners came in right on my tail so there was a little jamup across the line, but there were no collisions and it was all good.
 
We congratulated each other on a good race, and then I stayed outside for quite awhile with a lot of the other runners cheering everyone else in. Finally I was cooling off so I ran to my car and put my warmups and jacket on, and then I ran back to the school and headed into the gym for some food. They had pizza that had just arrived, plus cheese and crackers, oranges and bananas, GU energy gel packs, bags of tortilla chips, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, date squares and Nanaimo bars. To drink they had water, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. I grabbed a couple of pieces of pizza and a few other things on a plate, and when I was finished that I went and got a cup of coffee.
 
I got talking to 2 twin brothers in their 20s who had run together the whole race, and then one passed the other right at the end. I'd met one of them before the race while doing my warmup, so he came up to me right away when he saw me, and was soon joined by his brother. They were very animated and excited about it, and they obviously enjoyed racing together. I told them about how I had to be in Vancouver to work that night, and they had to be in Salmon Arm to work at 4 PM, so we were all hoping they'd get the results up soon.
 
I went outside after awhile and they were packing everything up and a woman was just going inside to post the results. Myself and another woman followed her in, and as she looked for tape to put them up she let us look at them, and I discovered I'd finished 3rd in my age group! We helped the woman put the results up and when I told her my age group placing she said "Alright!" and did a fist pump. The twins finally looked and they were 1st and 2nd in their age group, and 7th and 8th overall.
 
Soon they got the awards ceremony started, and since they did the women first it was quite awhile before mine came up. They gave out quite a few draw prizes too, and one of the twins won a Timex watch, and then I finally learned their names when they called them up, James and Timothy Mundall. At last they got to my category and I went up and thanked my presenter profusely as she put the medal around my neck. It just happened to be the woman who posted the results. Then the first and second place guys came up and we all shook hands and did our photo op. I also got a nice round of applause as the only one there from the Lower Mainland, and they really appreciated me coming up there. James and Tim left to go to work, and they rapped up the awards ceremonies quickly after this. At first I thought the medal was made of wood, but it's actually made of sandstone and is very unique. I'm having it engraved and will send out a picture when it's done. I headed back to Vancouver, and thankfully the roads were clear going back. I was also happy when it started raining on the return journey, as my car was coated with crap, and heaven forbid I should actually have to wash it!
 
Results are up, and I finished 25 of 165 overall, and 3 of 8 in my age group, with a time of 42:34.
 
 
My next race is Harry's Spring Runoff 8K, on March 25 at 10 AM, in Stanley Park, a little closer to home.

The Green Sock Half & Shamrock'n Race 5K

On March 17, St. Patrick's Day, I ran the 5K at the Green Sock Half & Shamrock'n Race at Burnaby Lake. There was also a half marathon, half relay, and 7 miler. I saw Monika Prokopowicz at the start line, we were both running the 5K and wished each other luck. All the races started at the same time, right at 9 AM, in the middle of a field, and after a couple of hundred meters when we hit the edge of the woods us 5Kers turned left and the rest of the racers went right. It was a few degrees above zero and no rain as we ran along the path beside the trees before entering them. One fellow had bolted out ahead of the rest of us, and I was now running second, about 10 meters back, and I could hear Monika in close pursuit. He seemed to slow a bit and I kept thinking I could maybe catch him, but it wasn't long before he sped up again.
 
We raced down a long, wide straightaway gravel path. It was mostly flat with one small wooden bridge, and soon we were at the halfway turnaround, and the lead guy was coming back looking like he was running effortlessly. I rounded the halfway marker and headed back, and I noticed the third place guy and lead women weren't far behind me at all, so I tried to keep a good pace going. Monika soon appeared, she'd fallen back a bit but was still second female, and I said "Way to go!" as I went by her.
 
We ran back along the trail, with all the rest of the people in the race coming towards us on the other side of the trail, and I could hear someone behind me, and as we neared the end of the path before the field the guy who'd been in third passed me. He was running at a strong pace and I tried to keep him with in range, and then the lead woman came up alongside me and I kept pace with her for about 10 meters and then ran ahead again. Soon she was beside me attempting another pass and this time she managed to do it. Now we could hear cheering and the finish chute came into view, and I was surprised that I could still see the race leader just now crossing the finish line.
 
We all raced towards the finish, still a couple of hundred meters away, and I couldn't catch up to either of the runners in front of me, but I gave it the old college try anyway. We congratulated each other after getting our finisher's medals, and it turned out they were a couple and both had Irish accents. There were no age group medals in this race, only overall ones, so we were very happy that we all podiumed. Monika soon joined us, second place in the women's race, so she was happy too. We headed up into the clubhouse where they had a pancake breakfast for us. People were making pancakes for us on the balcony, so they were steaming fresh and delicious. They also had oranges, bananas and brownies for us, and I was soon feeling pretty full.
 
I ate at a table with Nick and Aaron, 2 friends who were the 4th and 5th male finishers. They were good guys who weren't disappointed they didn't medal, they just enjoyed the race and were planning on hitting the pub a little later in the day to celebrate their run and St. Patrick's Day.
 
It wasn't long before the 5K racers were all in, and they did the awards for our race. We all went up and got our medals and pictures taken, and then Monika came to say congratulations and goodbye, as she and her boyfriend were leaving. I talked to Chris Bennett who won the race, and commented on how he made it look so easy, and he confided that he was getting tired by the midway point and was happy when it was over, he just looked like he wasn't struggling, but he was. His son Nathaniel got a special award for top youth, only 12 years old but finishing 13th overall!
 
Nick and Aaron said they were heading out so I decided to join them, having a long drive to Kamloops where I was racing a 10K the next day. I hit the highway which we were right beside, and it took me about 4 hours to get there because going up the Coquihalla Highway it was snowing heavily, and we only had one lane most of the way. When I got to Kamloops it was a winter wonderland, but when I drove just a few kilometers to what is called the North Shore to scout out the race location, there was no snow at all!
 
Results are now up and I finished 4 of 76 overall and 1 of 4 in my age group, with a time of 21:35.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Golden Ears Half & 10K

My race today, March 11, 2012, was the 10K in the Golden Ears Half & 10K, based at the new South Bonson Community Centre in Pitt Meadows. I saw Tina Louise Harris when I got there, she was running the 10K too and was happy that the half marathoners were starting their race at 8:30 AM, half an hour before we took off at 9. "Good riddance!" was how she put it, with a smile on her face. I went into the community centre to get my racing bib and discovered they'd given it to someone else, so they just switched our numbers and notified the timers, as the bibs also had our timing chips embedded in them, and everything worked out fine.
The start line was almost a kilometer away from the community centre, down a country road, and when we blasted off at 9, with the half marathoners already gone and the road all to ourselves there was no congestion at all for us near the front. There were only a few people in front of me for the first little while as I just kept pace with Tina. Then a couple of guys who looked to be in my age group passed me, and a couple of other younger guys. I passed a younger guy who'd gone out fast and was slowing down, and that was it as far as my positioning went for the rest of the race.
We hit the Golden Ears Bridge and began the long ascent that Tina had told me about. The bridge was about 3 kilometers long, and the uphill portion here was about 2 ks, with two thirds of that fairly steep before leveling out gradually, before finishing off the crossing with a 1 kilometer downhill. I managed to stay within 10 meters of Tina and one of my age group compadres for awhile, but they gradually pulled away. Then I hit the end of the bridge and there was a spiral concrete path down to the bottom, you went around about 4 times, and then headed under the bridge across to the spiral going up to the other side. Here there were some spectators with cowbells and signs urging us on.
I'd seen Tina and the other guy heading down the spiral when I came to it, but by the time I got under the bridge they were out of sight. Then I realized that I was the only one these people were cheering for at the moment, as I saw there was nobody at all visible behind me either. I went up the spiral going back to the top of the bridge again, and was happy that we had a few hundred yards of fairly flat running before we hit the uphill climb again. Going this way it was "only" a kilometer or so, and I found it a lot easier than the first climb. There was a headwind but it wasn't too bad, and soon I hit the crest and was on the way down. I sped up and could see Tina up ahead, but then she sped up too.
Finally I hit the bottom of the bridge and there were 2 ks to go. The rest of the race was fairly flat with long straightaways and people cheering you on, and at last there was the turn towards the finishers chute, and I could see the finish line with spectators lined up more densely along the sides the closer you got. I sprinted down the chute by myself and then got my finisher's medal. I thanked the volunteer who put it around my neck and a few well wishers and headed towards the community centre which was very closeby.
In the centre they had water, sports drink, coffee, and bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter and various jams to spread on them. There were also bananas, oranges, and oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. I had a couple of bagels with peanut butter, and then grabbed a banana half and some cookies and went outside to eat and cool off.
I cooled off quickly and went to my car to put on my jacket and warmups, and headed back to the finish line to talk with some runners and cheer people in. Murray from my club was there but not running today, and he introduced me to some of the other runners he knew, and then we saw Rob Daniel cross the finish line. We were puzzled as we hadn't seen Rob before the race and didn't know he was running. Rob soon cleared this up for us, as he'd forgotten it was the start of daylight savings time today and had missed the start of the 10K, never mind the half marathon he was supposed to run. So he ended up running the 10K instead, being well over an hour late for the earlier race.
The awards started in the centre at 10:30, and they posted the results and I was surprised as I was 4th in my age group, yet 11th overall in the whole race. The guy who finished 2nd overall and won my age group was about 6 minutes ahead of me, no wonder I hadn't seen him! They only gave awards to the winners of the age groups, no bronze or silvers, so no matter. My time was 44:22, not as fast as usual but fine considering the amount of uphill running we did. They did the 10K awards first and then the half marathon ones not long afterward. They announced Rob Daniel as the winner of the male 70+ category in the half marathon, but he yelled to them that he'd run the 10K  instead, and they thanked him for his honesty. Tina smoked everyone in her age group and may have been frist female overall, I'm not quite sure as I missed the awards start and didn't look closely enough on the results postings, with all the people pressing in to have a look. It was now time for me to go back to Vancouver so I said my goodbyes and headed out. It was certainly a different kind of race and a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again!


Results are posted on the net. I finished 11th overall out of 136, and 4 of 10 in my age group, with a time of 44:22.
Here's the half marathon results too:
We got a nice finisher's medal, and I've attached a picture of it. 
My next outing is the 5K at the Green Sock Half & Shamrock'n Race on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17th, 9 AM, at Burnaby Lake Park. Then the next day I'm running The River's Spring Runoff 10K, in Kamloops at 10 AM.