At this time of year when many people are promising themselves to get more exercise, there are some for whom no such resolution is necessary. Let’s catch up now with local cross country runners who have definitely proven their fitness during the past couple of months…
We’ll start at the high school level where prior to Christmas, runners from various Nanaimo secondary schools competed at the B.C. High School cross country provincial championships hosted at Beaver Lake.
There, some 280 competitors took part in the girls’ race over a muddy 4.4-kilometre distance. Tops among the Nanaimo athletes was Miryam Bassett representing Nanaimo District Secondary, who ran the course in 16 minutes and 27.95 seconds to place fourth in the field. Mari Kondoh from Dover Bay was ninth overall with a time of 16:42.71, with Erica DeSchiffart from Nanaimo Christian School 10th in 16:42.94. Other top local girls were Dover Bay’s Rachel Elliot with a time of 17:41.96 in 32nd spot, Wellington runner Jenaya Pynn 34th in 17:47.97 and Leah Kitsul from Dover who was 35th in 17:50.56.
In team standings, the Dover Bay girls’ team earned enough points to place third at the provincials, thanks to the efforts of Kondoh, Elliot, Kitsul, Madeline Robinson, Jill Hannah and Claire Van Rensburg. The Nanaimo District Secondary girls’ team took seventh place, with team members being Miryam, Rebecca and Hannah Bassett, along with Tkia King, Carly O’Sullivan, Abigail Gilchrist and Katelynn Ramage.
A total of 269 runners took part in the boys’ race at the provincials and competed over 6.5km. The fastest local was Forrest Simpson from Nanaimo District Secondary, who was eighth overall with a time of 21 minutes, 49.86 seconds. Nanaimo Christian School’s Joel DeSchiffart placed 13th by completing the course in 22:01.19, Garrett Dunlop from Dover Bay was 26th with his time of 22:50.87 and Brock Poesiat of NDSS was 45th overall in 23:18.37.
In team points, Dover Bay runners Dunlop, Thomas and Peter Oxland, Jason McKee, Nick Ascui, Andrew DeGroot and Stephen Notley earned their school a third-place finish.
Meanwhile, dedicated cross country runners from the Bastion Running Club and Westwood Running Club have certainly been keeping fit recently.
Congratulations go first of all to Nanaimo’s Erin Burrett, who took part last month at the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Guelph, Ontario. It was a brutally cold, windy and snowy day for the nationals and the 7km route was covered with packed snow. Despite the freezing cold, Burrett did extremely well to finish 27th overall. Her performance also helped British Columbia win the women’s team title.
Snow and ice on the ground also made things extra challenging for runners at the Gunner Shaw cross country race held at Thetis Lake in Victoria. Bryon Trajan sends word that a total of 35 runners from Nanaimo competed over an 8.5km course slightly modified due to ground conditions. Westwood Running Club member Trevor Ruck finished an impressive third overall and second in the M20-29 division in a field of 398 runners. Byron Trajan was seventh overall and fifth in the M20-29 division, while Jeremy Clegg was 15th overall and third in the M30-39 age group. Among other notable performances included Travis Pirozzini finishing 21st overall. John Durkin was fifth and John Hannon seventh in the M60-plus division. Hollis Louie placed third in the F19 and under class, while Deb Epps was first out of fifty runners in the F40-49 division.
A hardy handful of Nanaimo runners also participated in the tough Stewart Mountain 10 Mile cross country race last month. In a field of 149, Westwood’s Trevor Ruck posted a strong second-place finish with a time of one hour, five minutes and 23 seconds. Close behind came Bryon Trajan, sixth overall in 1:08:19. Travis Pirozzini finished 27th in 1:19:22, with Kaylee Beales 44th in 1:24:09 and Alex Counsell 46th in 1:24:38. Other Nanaimo runners who completed the course were Brad Holmes, who finished 52nd in 1:26:16, John Hannon who was 99th with a time of 1:43:28 and Julie Goodman who finished 102nd in a time of 1:45:55.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair and show good sportsmanship.
Ian Thorpe writes about sports Saturdays.
