Mount Washington hosted the fourth and final race in the GutBuster Trail Running Series on Saturday, July 23.
As the final race in the series, overall series awards were also given to those who completed a minimum of three of the four races.
Early in the month the race looked likely to be cancelled due to snow on the course, but instead the organizers made the most of the situation and came up with a “fun” new course. The new course included a gruelling 2.5 kilometre ascent straight up to the top of Mount Washington, followed by a 2.5 kilometre descent that blasted down a still-snowy Linton's Loop trail.
The event attracted nearly 100 participants from across the Island and beyond, including a member of the recently selected Canadian Mountain Running Team. The Comox Valley Road Runners were once again out in force to represent this area in the race. Despite lots of fierce competition, local athletes made a strong showing in the race.
The top local finisher was Michael Ravensburgen, a member of the Mt. Washington Nordic Club, with a blazing time of 29:24. This not only gave him a fifth place overall finish, it also took him to the top spot on the podium in the under 19 age group.
The first Road Runner to finish was once again Brad Crowe, finishing sixth overall with a time of 29:50. This excellent time was enough to get him first place in the 30–39 year age group. Directly behind him came local running ace Vince Brotherston, finishing in 29:59 and coming second in the 40-49 age group. Dominick Nadeau, another rising young local running star, finished in a great time of 33:58 to capture second place in the under 19 group. He also held on to win his category for the overall series.
Marion Bryan lead the charge for the CVRR women. She finished as the seventh woman overall in an excellent time of 39:46. This gave her the silver medal in the women's 30-39 category, and she also claimed third spot for the overall series in her category. She was followed by Mary Bridges, who is in her final preparations for the 125 kilometer Canadian Death Race, finishing in a fantastic time of 41:38, second in F40-49.
Sebastion Ackroyd, a newcomer to the local race scene, completed the course in 40:55. He will be one to watch. Louis Nadeau, Dominick's father, continued his strong performances finishing in 46:17 giving him third place M40-49 for the race and for the series. MaryAnn Rolfe completed an excellent season finishing just behind Louis in a time of 46:35. Chris Robinson also had a great race, finishing in 56:24.
Several club members were absent from the race, but due to their excellent efforts in the earlier series races, they still picked up prizes in the overall series standings. CVRR veteran John Ingram raced incredibly strongly and finished second in the over 60 age group. Lisa Perry, another excellent trail runner, also finished second in her 40-49 category.
CVRR had a very successful GutBuster Race series, finishing second in the team competition.
The next adventure for local runners will be the Nautical Days 4 Mile Race, hosted by the Comox Valley Road Runners and sponsored by Jim Smiley Remax, in Comox on Aug. 1. This is the oldest continuously running footrace in B.C.
Registration starts at 8 a.m. at the Comox Town Hall with the race start at 9 a.m. More information is available on the CVRR website, www.cvrr.ca.
– Comox Valley Road Runners