The annual Comox Valley half Marathon, set to run this Sunday At 11 a.m. from the Florence Filberg Centre, is going to have some very fast company this year.
The race, part of the Vancouver Island Road Race Series and the Timex Race Series, has had a history of fast performers but this year will be special. Race director Brad Crowe said, “I received an e-mail from Olympian Jon Brown who indicated that he, Olympic triathlon gold and silver medallist Simon Whitfield, Jim Finlayson and Kyle Jones would be coming to the race this weekend. We’re totally stoked!”
Brown, who raced to a Comox Valley Half Marathon course record of 1 hour and 3 minutes in 2005, is a three-time Olympian who placed fourth in the Olympic marathon in both Sydney and Athens. He lives in Victoria and also coaches triathlete Jones, an alternate on Canada’s 2008 Bejing Olympic triathlon team and whose sights are set on the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Finlayson has been setting the Vancouver Island Race series on fire with wins so far this year at the Pioneer 8K, the Cedar 12K and the Bazen Bay 5K road races.
The half marathon race route is an out-and-back course that begins on Anderton Rd. at 11 a.m. (walkers will begin at 10 a..m) in front of the Filberg Centre and heads out Condensory, turns right on Piercy then left on Dove Creek Road. The racers will continue across Condensory again until they get to the halfway point at 10.5K. The racers will turn around and take the same route back to finish at the Filberg.
Volunteers will traffic vests and signs be at key intersections directing traffic but drivers are asked to be patient, drive carefully and obey the directions of the volunteers. The race is part of the CVRR’s race weekend that starts with an open 5K run that is also the Learn to Run Clinic’s 5K wrap-up on Saturday at 9 a.m. from the Filberg Centre.
Race day registration is available at the Filberg Centre. For more information go to the CVRR website at www.cvrr.ca.
"Come out and cheer on these amazing runners," a CVRR spokesperson said.