Vancouver’s Sun Run participants were treated for a reception and a “mini breakfast” held at the Hyatt Regency which was followed by the formal introduction from Leza Maloney who welcomed a new sponsor (Ford) that saw Regional Manager Mike Fisher address the gathering.
Liza made mention that this year the event was fortunate to have 2,500 volunteers assist the event all placed at various locations on the course in able to assist the more that 40,000 participants.
A mini Sun Run started at 8 am at the Pacific Boulevard in front of BC Place located directly across from the stadium at eight with the competitors gathers at the Burrard and Georgia intersection.
The Wheelchair and Race-Walker participants starting things off at 8:40am and were followed by the Elite Women’s Start.
The men’s elite began at 8:50 which was followed by the start of all other participants at 9:00 following the singing of Canada’s National Anthem.
One competitor from Colorado is Joseph Gray who is no real stranger to the area as on one of his previous visits he has completed his conquest of the 2.9 kilometer Grouse Grind, which is no easy feat.
While he (Joseph) is more adapt to mountain running, this year his running allowed him (being first time) to enter the Sun Run, crossing the finish line in 29:38 (official time) capturing a first place finish in the Men’s Elite category in the 10-kilometre race.
Following the race he mentioned to the media “It’s always good to come away with the win. It would’ve been nice for a little bit better weather so we could run a little faster, referring to the cool and cloudy conditions in Vancouver.”
He continued “We had to deal with the weather and it ends up being more of a tactical race and either way, it was a good experience and any day you can wake up and breathe the fresh air, it’s just a blessing. It’s a cool way to win. It’s just icing on the cake.”
Starting June his attention turns to Mountain Racing and it’s obvious the difference in the two events is terrain and going from road running to mountain running.
He (Joseph) finished eight seconds ahead of Vancouver’s Geoff Martinson in the Elite Division, who was one of four local entrants to finish in the top 10.
Vancouver’s Kevin Coffey finished fifth with a time of 30:20, while Surrey’s Paul Kimugul finished with a time of 30:30 and Langley’s Caleb De Jong finished with a time of 30:38.
Speaking of International competitors Poland’s Karolina Jarzynska-Nadolska managed to grab first in the Women’s Elite category (32:39), while Moscow Idaho; Kinsey Gomez placed second (33:20) and Vancouver’s Rachel Cliff placed third with a time of 33:35.
Following the race Jarzynska-Nadolska mentioned “It’s first time for me in Vancouver, so I’m very excited. The city is beautiful. The race is a very nice course and the weather is better for (a faster) run. So I am very happy.”
Different racers had different views on weather conditions in the 5-K Elite Division as Jarzynska-Nadolska mentioned “that the wind kicked up in the face of the runners, which did add a degree of difficulty to the front-runners.”
Kitimat’s Ben Thorne (24) was the first race-walker crossing the finish line with an official time of 39:45, only to be followed by Richmond’s Evan Dunfee with a time of 40:15.
Let’s not forget that his (Dunfee) overall profile was increased during a mid-race collision in the Olympic race-walking competition, which cost him a chance at any possible medal in the 50-kilometre event in Rio.
Also competing in his fifth Vancouver Sun Run was Maple Ridge’s Tristan Smyth who went on to win the Men’s Open Division in the Wheelchair race (24:02) which was an improvement over last by only five seconds.
He mentioned following the race “It didn’t require any prior preparation or training’” and it’s important to know that his schedule is about to get increasingly busy as the summer approaches.
He was a member of Canada’s 4 x 400m relay team that took home the bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Once the event began all assembled media were then taken by shuttle to the finish to BC Place so as to catch the first runners crossing the finish line, which was viewed from the overpass above.
Represented in the race this year was 9 Provinces, 23 States and 25 countries with the youngest entrant being a young two-year old who was entered with her Mother in the mini race, while the eldest participant was a 93 year-old Lady.
Following the race was the presentation of the awards that was held (also) in BC Place Stadium where the participants could replenish themselves with food or drink and talk over this year’s event.
Dan Rider was the MC for the Awards who is a 20-year veteran who was joined by Sun Run Race organizer Christine Robinson who presented the Awards to this year’s winners.
As with Sun Runs in the past this event was another great day for not only the organizers, but also the competitors and on a positive note – the rain held off.
Thanks to the Race Committee for hosting Sportswave and we look forward to attending next year’s event.
Submitted B. Nolte/Formatted Steve Erickson
