Vancouver Island Running Series

Yesterday I competed in the second race of the 2014 Vancouver Island Running Series, aka the Frontrunners Island Race Series organized by the Vancouver Island Runners’ Association (VIRA). This series of races has been going on for years in various communities around Vancouver Island. A few months ago while running along the Nanaimo seawall, my running buddy and I were stopped by a fellow runner, in his 80s, who told us a brief history of the series and encouraged us to participate. Apparently it was started to keep runners active in winter, plus encourage girls and women to continue to run and race. A very noble cause, indeed!

The first race, in Saanichton, a couple of weeks ago, was an 8k and yesterday’s race was a 10k in Cobble Hill. In two more weeks there will be a 12k in Cedar, just south of Nanaimo. The series continues in various other locations on Vancouver Island with a race every second weekend until April. See the VIRA website for more details.

Each race is organized by a local running group and the Nanaimo Bastion Running Club is in charge of the next one in Cedar. I have recently joined the Bastion Running Club and it a treat to belong to such a dedicated, nerdy, competitive group (I mean that in the very best way). Part of being involved with such a group means helping out with their major event. I have therefore volunteered to help with registration at the Cedar race and I very much look forward to meeting many of the competitors. Like so many of these fun events, they rely heavily on a large volunteer contingent to oversee so many activities. I’m hoping I can recruit a few of my running buddies to help out and of course to cheer us on to our best finish.

I decided to participate in this series after running the 8k race during the Victoria Marathon event in October 2013. I placed 4th in my age division and I figured I had something going there and I liked it. I also thought that what better time to do this… I’m not getting any younger and I truly love competing and believe it or not, I love the training. I guess I was blessed with the right genes for running, but it takes more than that to place in these races. It takes hard work, training, motivation, determination, coaching, some physiotherapy, when necessary, yoga, cross-training, nutritious food, knowing when to rest, sleep, etc. Need I say more? If you are a runner you get it.

If it takes that much effort to undertake this crazy racing addiction, there are a whole lot of people doing just that, especially on Vancouver Island (there are also runners from Vancouver and Washington State participating in the series)! There were 623 participants in the Saanichton race and 576 in the Cobble Hill race. Most of the age divisions have dozens of entrants. Although there a lot of Provincial and National level athletes competing in this series, I think the most impressive ones are those over 60 years young. It was very moving to participate in a standing ovation in Saanichton as the 4 runners over 80 years were presented with their prizes. I just hope I’m still able to be doing the same when I’m that age!

I managed to score an 8th place finish in my age category for both races, which puts me in the top third of my fellow competitors. I’m very humbled by this group of women and quite frankly honoured to be in the top 10, as they, like me are very competitive. With hard work, I’m really hoping to improve my position as the season and series goes on. Am I up for it? You betcha; I’m hungry for a top 3 medal! With the wonderful camaraderie and encouragement from my running buddies, I hope that I can do just that. So let’s get out there and run!