As much as the name might imply, the Comox Valley Road Runners are not in fact all road runners. A strong contingent of locals have taken to the trails and are making a splash.
Many local racers took part in the Kusam Klimb, a brutal trail race held in Sayward. This 23km trail race starts with a 5km climb of nearly a vertical mile. This is followed by a long winding descent back into Sayward for the finish. The top CVRR finisher was Marion Bryan, who completed the course in 3:15 to finish as the fourth woman and second in her category. Ashley Titus finished in 3:24 to take fourth in her category and seventh overall. Chris Winkelaar had a strong race, finishing under the 3:30 mark as well. Brian Rose also had a strong return to the trail racing scene, finishing in 3:37. And Jesse Blades was not far behind, finishing in 3:50. Gord Harris also had a great race, finishing under four hours and placing third in his age category.
Further afield, a group of trail runners journeyed to Hood River in Oregon to race the Wyeast Wonder 50k and 50 mile. This race takes place on the ridges alongside Mount Hood, with stellar views of the summit throughout the race. In the 50-mile race, Mary Bridges had a solid day to run 11:35. In the 50k, Brad Crowe finished second overall in 4:14. Bryan ran 5:20 to place fourth in her category. Cathie and Neil Collins also had a great day, finishing in 7:14 and 7:29 respectively. Training partners Sharon Fisher and Kiyoko Marton also ran well, finishing in 7:56 and 8:16 respectively.
The infamous Kneeknackering North Shore Trail Run also took place recently. This is a 30-mile run through the North Shore mountains in Vancouver, beginning at Horseshoe Bay and finishing at Deep Cove. Keith Wakelin continued his dominance at this event, finishing second in his age division in 6:54. And first time ultra-runner Winkelaar had a successful day to finish in 7:51.
CVRR will be bringing it back to the roads with the upcoming Nautical Days four-mile race in Comox. The fun, family-oriented event is Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. Preregistration is available online, or register on race day at 8 a.m.
FMI: CVRR.ca