The list of accolades and records continue to mount for Comox runner Roz Smith. After setting the Canadian marathon record in the female 70 – 74 age group at the London Marathon in October of last year, she set a new Canadian half marathon record in the same age group at the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon March 19. Averaging a sub-five minute per kilometre pace, Smith blistered the course in a record of 1:44:31 – beating the existing Canadian record by more than two minutes.
Hosted by the Comox Valley Road Runners, with a field of 550-plus runners and the support of 100 volunteers, the RV Half Marathon has grown to become one of the major road races of the year on Vancouver Island.
“It was an ideal day, weather conditions were perfect, it couldn’t have been better,” Smith said. “I was helped by another female runner who ran with me for most of the last five kilometres, and we worked together to stay on pace. Even with the records, I feel I can do even better. That keeps it interesting for me. I feel I still have things to prove.”
In addition to Smith’s record-setting performance, other top performers included Jackson Bocksnick as the top male runner in 1:08:40, and Kylie Acford as the top female runner in 1:20:21. In the masters 40-plus division, the top man was Stuart White in 1:16:37, and the top woman was Catrin Jones in 1:23:30. All four runners are from Victoria.
Locals also fared well. Hard-charging Logan Roots led the way with a fast time of 1:11:28, good for third place overall. Jordan Brietzke, back from a strong performance at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand, ran a smart race to finish at 1:20:41. Rob Kelly continued his string of recent strong performances by winning the 60-64 group in 1:26:18. Less than a minute back was the always competitive Derek Brenchley, winning the 65-69 group in an impressive 1:27:04. Track specialist Kim Coscia showed the ability to transfer her speed onto the longer half marathon distance and ran an impressive 1:34:14 to take second place in the female 25 – 29 age group. Training partners Keith Wakelin, Wayne Crowe and Danny Keyes battled in close range along the course – with Wakelin coming out ahead in 1:30:54. Multi-sport athlete Kristie Kelly finished in a strong 1:34:16. And Janet Green, who has run well over 400 marathons, won her age group yet again in a time of 2:10:51. For a full list of results, see cvrr.ca.
Community support and sponsorship are essential in pulling off an event such as this. Comox Valley RV was again the title sponsor of the half marathon and continues to show amazing community support through this event and others. Mainroad North Island Contracting also provided resources to make the course safe and enjoyable. CVRR thanks all sponsors for their support.
Up next on the CVRR calendar is The Cumby, a series of three trail races in Cumberland May 6. All races are sold out. A Comox Valley tradition, Thursday Night Trails, is also underway.
Check the website for more information about membership, upcoming events and sponsors.