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Road Runners on the podium at First Half Marathon

Local runners turn in good times in a competitive field at Vancouver event
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Turning in good times at the First Half Marathon were

The Comox Valley Road Runners were well represented among the 2,000 runners competing in the 26th annual First Half Marathon, held Feb. 15 in Vancouver.

The race served as the BC Road Running Half Marathon 2015 Championships and was part of the BC Road Running Series presented by Timex. Runners were rewarded with perfect conditions on a scenic route that included a

circuit of Stanley Park Seawall in the morning sunshine.

The race attracted a star studded field, including Olympian Dylan Wykes who was the overall winner in an excellent time of 1:07:20. The women's first place finisher was Dayna Pihoresky in a time of 1:16:09.

CVRR had a number of podium finishes in this very competitive field. Derek Vinge strutted his stuff with the best in the province and finished in 10th place overall and an impressive second place in the M3034 age group in a personal best time of 1:12:25.

Next was speedy master Vince Brotherston who finished second in M5054 in a time of 1:16:37. Wayne Crowe

(Extreme Runners/Asics) showed he is coming back to form, finishing third in M5559 in a time of 1:25:56.

He was closely followed by Roger Plamondon, who missed out on 3rd in M50 54 by only two seconds in a time of 1:26:13. Danny Keyes ran a great race as well, finishing eighth in M5054 in a time of 1:28:44.

Rounding out the CVRR team was mega marathoner Janet Green who stopped off to run the First Half on her way to Tokyo, to run the last of the six World Major Marathons that she has to complete. She finished third in F6064 in a time of 1:50:45.

The next major event for the Road Runners is the Comox Valley Race Weekend. There will be a 5 Km Fun Run, that is open to everyone, on March 21, to celebrate the graduation of the CVRR 5K Running Clinic.

That evening will be the Race Weekend Banquet at the Best Western Coast Westerly, featuring renowned mountaineer, runner and author Lindsay Elms as speaker and musical entertainment by the fabulous Tammy Fassaert, accompanied by fellow musician Blaine Dunaway.

This entertaining banquet is open to

the public and tickets can be purchased online at www.cvrr.ca/cv-half-marathon/ banquet or at Extreme Runners.

To top the weekend off, Sunday, March 22 will be the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon where our local runners will be tested by over 500 runners from around the province in the premier race of the Vancouver Island Race Series. Look for more details online at www.cvrr.ca/cv-half-marathon

– Comox Valley Road Runners