A number of Comox Valley athletes braved the daunting Finlayson Arm race, September in Goldstream park near Victoria. The weekend begins with a 100k on Friday, followed by a 50k on Saturday and a 28k on Sunday. For truly brave souls there is also The Double — a cumulative time of the 100k and 28k. The trails are at times technical, but there is also a substantial amount of climbing involved.
Part of the challenge of the 100k is running through the night. This year was quite warm. It was unofficially reported that roughly half the field dropped out before the end. Despite the difficult conditions, local runner David Lariviere finished second in the 100k in a time of 17:29, while Graham Forsyth was fourth in 19:07.
A strong contingent of locals took part in the 50k. The top local was Brad Crowe, who finished 12th in 8:10. Close behind was Michael Wood in 8:14. Iain Harrington also had a strong day to finish in 8:41 and 19th overall. Andrew Brown continued to ride his fitness from the Backyard Ultra earlier this year as he finished third in his category in 9:15. Natalie Pulsford also had a strong follow-up to her BYU success earlier this year, as she completed her first official 50k in 11:04. Erika Spearman had a strong run to finish in 11:57. And Cathy Clark won her category in a time of 12:04.
The fastest local in the 28k was Justin Gorges, who finished in 3:46. The top local woman was Kim Coscia, who ran 4:13 and took second in her category. Marguerite Masson had a strong run to win her category in 4:55. Middle-distance runner Adam Commandeur showed his versatility as he finished in 5:03. Not far behind was Neil Collins, who finished fourth in his division in 5:16. Cathie Collins also had a solid day, finishing in 5:34. And Ron Lariviere and Jessica Kaufman finished together in 6:34, with Ron winning his category.
And then there was The Double. Four locals decided to take part in this monstrous undertaking: Jordan Brietzke, Marion Bryan, Derek Kaufman and David Lariviere. Kaufman had already completed the double last year so why would he do it again?
“This year it was about finishing it with friends - Jordan and Marion,” he said.
Brietzke, on the other hand, said: “I was somehow persuaded by Derek Kaufman to sign up despite previously not finishing. I ran the entire race with Derek and it was great having someone to talk to and to help battle through the tough moments.”
The pair finished together in a combined time of 29 hours. Bryan had a solid race to blaze ahead to 28:23. Lariviere held on through the 28k to take second place in The Double in 21:39. Despite the challenges of the course, the runners emphasized how amazing the volunteers were, and many got to enjoy a beautiful and eerie smoky sunrise from the top of Mt. Finlayson.
“I feel like if you’re there doing the 100k, you may as well make the 28k a recovery run,” Kaufman said. “I don’t think anyone else who did the Double regretted the 28 on Sunday.”
Brietzke and Bryan were less optimistic, saying the 28k was gruelling and mentally more difficult than the 100k. All agreed, though, that celebrating with friends and family at the finish was unbeatable.
Full results are available at startlinetiming.com.
For more information on upcoming running events in the Comox Valley, go to cvrr.ca