Nearly 300 racers took part in the sold-out Perseverance Trail Run on Oct. 28.
The rain stopped just in time and the Cumberland trails held freshly filled puddles, making the perfect conditions for a fall trail race. The race was a huge success judged on the ear-to-ear grins and a sold-out event.
The goal of the Perseverance Trail Run is to raise funds for the Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS). Last year $5,000 was raised for the CCFS and race organizers are looking forward to making another significant donation this year. The CCFS is a local society working toward
purchasing and protecting additional forest lands in the Cumberland area for recreation now and into the future.
The competition on the 10K course was fierce with nearly 190 racers and many competitive runners toeing the start line. Racers came from all over Vancouver Island for this year's event and there were some great battles on the challenging mountain run.
Top overall results in the 10K mountain run:
Males - 51:12 Andrew Pape-Salmon, 51:25Miguel Larouche, 52.18 Brad Crowe. Females - 1:00:42 Cheryl Davies, 1:02:52 Shauna Connaughton, 1:03:33 Kathy Rung.
Nearly 100 racers, young and old, tackled the 3K cross-country run through the Cumberland Community Forest trails.
Top overall results for the 3K cross-country run were as follows:
Males - 13:49 Nathan Erlandson, 15:39 Hugo Henchel, 16:02 Ben Prager. Females - 15:32 Alison Leroux, 15:34 Angelique Kennedy, 16:57 Eva Johnson.
Lene Curts (Extreme Runners) and Sarah Seads (Equilibrium Lifestyle Management /ELM) co-organize this annual fundraising event along with massive support from Comox Valley volunteers and sponsors. They gave a huge thank you to nearly 50 enthusiastic volunteers who donated their time and energy before, during and after this year's race.
"A special thank you goes to the Comox Valley Search
and Rescue and St. John Ambulance teams who spent the day watching over each and every racer on the course," the organizers said.
This year's race, once again held on Halloween weekend, brought out great costumes and Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird came out to judge the Costume Contest. Dozens of fantastic draw prizes were awarded including fresh doughnuts from the Cumberland Village Bakery for the best costumes. With close to 40 draw prizes donated from generous local businesses, many racers left with big smiles at the end of the day.
A very big thank you to this year's prize sponsors: Valhalla Pure, Riding Fool Hostel, Seeds Market, Darkside Chocolates, Rawthentic Eatery, Mosaic Vision, Fruv, Comox Valley Acupuncture, Ascent Physiotherapy, Active Comox Valley, Island Pilates and Fitness, My Tech Guys, Jim Smiley of ReMax, Dodge City Cycles, Functional Massage Therapy, Riders Pizza, Edge Energy Bars, Extreme Runners and ELM.
The following community sponsors generously supported the race and helped to make this year's event a great success: Thrifty Foods, Tim Hortons, Fiesta Quest, ABC Printing, Hi Tech, nrichmedia, Odlum Brown, Mosaic Vision, Comox Valley Record. Landowners including the Village of Cumberland & Recreation, CCFS, Timberwest and Hancock.
A complete list of results as well as hundreds of race day photos will be posted at www.perseverancetrailrun.com. Overall the race was a huge success so mark your calendars for next year Oct. 27, 2013.
– Perseverance Trail Run