Five Comox Valley Road Runners represented the community well as they joined more than 2,000 other racers in the 21.1 km First Half Marathon held Feb. 14 in Vancouver.
It was a cold and wet day for racing along a route that included a frigid loop of the Stanley Park Seawall. Competitors were led by Olympian Eric Gillis who completed the course in a time of 1:05:46. The first woman finisher was Dayna Pidhoresky in a time of 1:15:11.
Comox Valley racers were led by fast improving Mike Bridges who had an excellent performance. He set a personal best time by more than four minutes to finish fourth in the very competitive M40-44 age group and a stellar 52nd overall with a time of 1:20:14.
Brian Stewart continued his recent strong performances with another great race, winning M55-59 in a great time of 1:22:38, finishing 70th overall. He was followed closely by hard charging Danny Keyes, who finished second in the M55-59 age group and 103rd overall in a time of 1:25:41.
Wayne Crowe (Extreme Runners/Asics) returned from injury to dominate the M60-64 age group, winning by over five minutes and finishing 148th overall in a time of 1:27:52. Honourable mention goes to Janet Green, who completed her 12th First Half Marathon in spite of a recent shoulder dislocation. She is already on the road to recovery for her upcoming race schedule.
Next up for the Road Runners is the Hatley 8K as they build towards the Comox Valley Half Marathon on March 20, as well as a number of international marathons which include Big Sur California, London, Boston and Vancouver.
