Roz Smith of the Comox Valley Road Runners ran three hours, 52 minutes at the Oct. 13 Victoria Marathon to win the women’s 70-74 category and set a course record for her age group. She also set a national record, albeit unofficial, as she has yet to complete an application for the record time.
“Just needed to get below four hours as the record for F70-74 is 3:59:07. My Boston time was 3:53:37, so hoped to better this.”
Smith, who turns 71 this month, holds a few other Canadian running records for masters women. Her time of 3:39:35 at the 2015 Victoria Marathon tops the 65-69-year division. She also holds the 65-69 half marathon mark at 1:39:06, set at the 2015 Comox Valley Half Marathon, and the 8k record for 70-74 years, 37:59, which she set at the 2018 8k Pioneers.
Smith has mostly been injury-free, but she needs to be wary of over-training, which can lead to a cold and then “the wheels come off.”
Her next big goal is the Toronto Waterside Marathon, Oct. 18, 2020.
“Flattest and fastest in Canada,” she said.
Also competing in Victoria was Janet Green, who ran 4:33 to place third in the women’s 65-69 category. This marked the 400th marathon for Green — a member of the prestigious Seven Continents Club, for those who have run a marathon on every continent.
The CVRR team won the open marathon category with an average time of 3:05. Coach Neil Holm ran 2:50 to win his age category, Rob Kelly 3:05, Derek Brenchley 3:07 and Andrea Wilson 3:17.
Les Disher ran 3:18 to win his age category, and Art Beck won his category in 5:36.
In the half marathon, the CVRR team placed fourth in the open category with an average time of 1:44. Danny Keyes, ran 1:26, Gord Harris 1:45, Jaime Moffatt 1:52 and Lyle Goodman 1:53. Brian Stewart ran the half in 1:26:43 to win his category.
In the 8k, CVRR was fifth in the open category, with an average time of 41:29. Lance Blomgren ran 37:47, John Youds 39:42, Darrell Fisher 42:32 and Sharon Bearpark 45:56.
Other notable 8k results were Derek Richmond and Helen Flynn both winning their categories in 35:46 and 49:58 respectively. Abby Warren finished third in her category in 42:36.
For complete results, go to racedaytiming.ca
The next local event is the Nov. 24 Memorial Run. Participants predict their time, and the closest to the actual finishing time wins. No watches or other timing devices are allowed.
For more information, go to cvrr.ca