Local runner Chris Winkelaar posted big results over the weekend. He represented the Comox Valley Road Runners in two races: the 5 Peaks Silver Star race on Saturday, and the Kelowna Midsummer 8K Race on Sunday.
The 5 Peaks Trail Series is a country wide series of mountain races, and the Silver Star race did not disappoint. As always, the 13.5km course featured a wicked climb of nearly 1,000 feet of elevation, followed by a gruelling descent. Despite the challenging course, Winkelaar was able to finish in ninth place overall with a great time of 1 hour 29 minutes. This was good enough to get him on the podium with a third place in his M40-44 age category.
Ignoring the battering that his body had taken in the difficult mountain race, unbelievably, Winkelaar was lined up and ready for his second race of the weekend early on Sunday morning.
The Kelowna Midsummer 8K Race is known as a flat and fast course. It is an urban course that runs through the Mission area of Kelowna. Winkelaar started out fast and despite the growing fatigue, was able to fight through his exhaustion from the previous day's race, and turn out another excellent performance. He finished in 17th place overall with a time of 32:15. This result let him climb to the top of the podium with first place in his very competitive age group.
Winkelaar's is bringing his running to a whole new level with a very focused and dedicated training program. His next major goal, along with teammate Brad Crowe, another rapidly rising local running star, is the Cumberland MOMAR Adventure Race which takes place in late September. He will be training hard throughout the summer and great results are expected leading into the fall.
– Comox Valley Road Runners