As it approaches its 30th year, the Legion Twilight Shuffle continues to attract hundreds of runners.
Three hundred and 25 people registered for the 28th annual Legion Twilight Shuffle five-kilometre run/walk, which was held June 12 in Chemainus.
Race director Phil Nicholls hopes to see the number of participants increase and get back up to the numbers they saw in the mid-2000s — in the 800 to 1,000 range.
“We’ve come up with some other ideas,” he said. “We’ve already started talking about doing a true kids’ run.”
Nicholls is also thinking about incorporating more festival-type events during the race.
“I think the evolution of races now is not just to do the same thing but to have more festival-type things,” he said.
While Nicholls is always looking for ways to make the run better, he thinks this year’s Twilight Shuffle went very well.
“It was all very positive,” he said. “It’s still a great turnout. It was a good blend with some of the elite runners and still a great mix of people doing it for the healthy lifestyle.”
Every year, the money raised during the Legion Twilight Shuffle goes toward bursaries for local students.
Nicholls is thankful to all the volunteers who help this race run smoothly year after year.
“We have tremendous volunteers at the Legion,” he said. “The event goes off without a hitch every year.”
National Triathlon Training Centre athlete Matt Sharpe of Victoria finished first overall in the race. He crossed the finish line in 15:40, a time that meets the standard for the five-kilometre distance for future world Cup triathlon events.
Sharpe beat runner-up Jonathan Gendron of Victoria and National Triathlon Training Centre teammate Aaron Thomas of Victoria by more than a minute. Gendron finished the race in 16:46, while Thomas crossed the line third in 16:56.
Prairie Inn Harriers club member Claire Morgan of Victoria was the top female finisher in 18:34, with Jessica Knowles of Lake Cowichan (20:33) finishing second and Cobble Hill’s Miranda Nyah (21:21) coming in third.
The top junior runners were Holden Gill of Nanaimo (18:22) and Emily Adams of Chemainus (22:42), while the fastest masters runners were Richard Light (17:46) and Kerri-Lynne Wilson (22:06).
For a full list of results, click here.
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Top local finishers overall:
15 — Jeffrey Boudreau (Ladysmith) 19:29 (M20-29)
37 — Josh Palou (Chemainus) 21:50 (M16-19)
42 — Lee Burridge (Crofton) 22:10 (M50-59)
44 — Edward Bieber (Thetis Island) 22:14 (M40-49)
47 — Emily Adams (Chemainus) 22:42 (F16-19)
67 — Nadine Whitelaw (Ladysmith) 23:52 (F40-49)
70 — Ken Carlson (Ladysmith) 24:07 (M60-69)
93 — Mike Rowell (Ladysmith) 25:42 (M60-69)
97 — Lana Montgomery (Chemainus) 25:55 (F40-49)
109 — Dave Oconnor (Ladysmith) 26:44 (M50-59)
112 — Justin Pagan (Ladysmith) 26:55 (M30-39)
118 — Michelle Peters (Chemainus) 27:26 (F40-49)
121 — Patti Bauml (Ladysmith) 27:35 (F30-39)
122 — Cathy Lewis (Ladysmith) 27:35 (F40-49)
126 — Geoffrey Hendrie (Chemainus) 27:50 (M20-29)
135 — Ruth Kirson (Chemainus) 28:26 (F50-59)
145 — Timonthy Hendrie (Chemainus) 29:08 (M60-69)
146 — Jack Porter (Chemainus) 29:16 (M11-15)
149 — Dean Porter (Chemainus) 29:25 (M1-10)
150 — Josh Mountain (Chemainus) 29:26 (M50-59)
