A group of Comox Valley Road Runners trail running enthusiasts headed to Nanaimo recently to participate in the first of the Frontrunners Gutbuster Trail Racing Series.
Heading out from the enchanting Colliery Dam Park, all racers started together then split off into the short and long courses. Both courses provided racers with a mix of creeks, rocky outcrops, roots, hills, bridges and swamps though the half marathon route had undoubtedly higher pitches to climb and fast downhill slopes.
Overheard on the third hill of the long course was “Well, they don’t call them Gutbusters for nothing.”
The quickest CVRR racer in the 12.5 km course was Dick Degoede arriving first in his category and less than four minutes behind the first-place racer. The first CVRR racer in the half marathon was Brad Crowe placing third overall and third in his category, arriving just over six minutes after the first place racer in the long course.
"Many other CVRR racers took home medals for first, second and third place so it was an excellent showing for our very active local running club," a CVRR spokesperson said. Results are at www.cvrr.ca.
The final Gutbuster in the series is at Mount Washington, Saturday July 28. The Ascent Race at Mount Washington Ski Resort is the only uphill trail race on the Island. The race is a 6K run up to the top of Moutt Washington (1588m!) with 505m of elevation gain See http://www.gutbustertrailrun.com for further information.
– Comox Valley Road Runners