ROYAL VICTORIA MARATHON
October 8, 2006
The Royal Victoria
Marathon at Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island is my second most favorite
marathon, after the Yakima
River Canyon Marathon (YRCM). I can
qualify this statement by stating that it is my favorite large marathon
since the YRCM would be characterized as a small marathon in the 400-500
participant range.
On Friday, two days
before the October 8, 2006, marathon and associated half marathon and 8K Road
Race, Lenore and I drove north from our Renton, Washington, home to the
Canadian border and to the Tsawwassen, BC, Ferry Terminal. The treat on the ferry was passing some of
the Gulf Islands. At close range
coniferous forests, bluffs and beaches were viewed.
As in years past, we
checked into the Embassy Inn where our room is only a few hundred feet from the
starting line for the events. The
eventful day before the race started out with the Writers Breakfast at the
Fairmont Empress Hotel, a prominent landmark.
The meal was excellent, and the authors made interesting presentations.
Before Steve King, co-editor with Dan Cumming, described the book Running in the Zone, he
asked chapter authors Rob Reid, Evan Fagan, Jack Miller, Maurice Tarrant and me
to join him and Dan at the podium table.
After the breakfast we
went next door to the Victoria Conference Centre for packet pickup and a tour
of the Expo. The long-sleeved,
half-zip, technical, black shirt had an attractive logo indicating the 27th
Annual Royal Victoria Marathon 2006, and it is free of advertisements!!! Its one of the best running shirts that
Ive seen.
At the Expo we visited
with some race officials, race directors who had booths, some runners whom we
know, and Marty Wanless (sports marketer from Vancouver, BC, who is a supporter
of the YRCM that we direct). We
attended several seminars that were of interest during the afternoon, and later
we went to the Carbo Gala Dinner at the hotel.
It was another feast with
great entertainment and a lot of drawing prizes. At our table we met some runners who had interesting marathon
histories and objectives.
On race morning we
awakened to the sounds from a P.A. system outside of our hotel unit that was
welcoming the early participants to their 6:30 a.m. start in darkness. About 100 runners and walkers took off in a
light rain with calm skies and the air temperature in the 40s.
An hour later it was
daylight when the runners started their half marathon at 7:30 a.m. When the marathoners began their run at 8:30
a.m., the weather was ideal. There was a
light rain that lasted until mid-morning, and the skies were overcast
throughout the race. Headwinds along
the coast were light, and air temperatures were in the 50s.
In the first 5K I
enjoyed brief conversations with Bill Schnitzler of Calgary, AB, Mae Palm of
Squammish, BC, and Peter Landolt of Yakima.
I like this variable course and looked forward to what was ahead. In the first mile we passed the Parliament
Buildings, the Royal British Columbia Museum, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, and
the Inner Harbour. We ran through the
city center for the second mile before a short run in the Fairfield suburbs
took us to scenic Beacon Hill Park.
This was followed by running on the sea bluffs and the sea-level
coves. There were offshore boats, bull
kelp beds, yacht marinas and tidal flats in view. It was an interesting area complemented by inland suburbs of
attractive homes.
In the 10th
mile we went through the town of Oak Bay that was celebrating its centennial
year. Al and Catherine Homenchuk from
Burnaby called my name here, so I stopped briefly to say Hi as I passed
by. We had a chance to visit with them
on the ferry the next day. Al and I
have been running marathons together for years, the last time was at the YRCM
in April. Health problems had turned
him into a spectator this day instead of a runner.
It was near Oak Bay
where I saw Steve Osaduik, 27, of Nanaimo, BC, the lead runner, (in his 20th
mile). He and his motorcycle escort
passed by quickly, and Steve ran on to break the course record by two
minutes. His time of 2:16:47 broke a
record that had stood for 25 years.
What an accomplishment!!!
About a mile behind
him was Shawn Miller, 25+, of Juneau, AK, who ran a 2:28:47 for second
place. Adam Campbell, 25+, of Victoria
was third with a 2:29:10. All three
times were great.
As the lead pack ran
by, I spotted the first woman. It was
Suzanne Evans, 30+, of New Westminster, BC.
She was defending her 2005 win and finished in 2:47:03. Later I saw Erin Perkin, 30+, of Tigard, OR,
and Catherine Irons, 45+, of Qualicum Beach, BC, run by as they were racing one
another. Erin prevailed and finished in
second place for the women with a 3:06:34 while Catherine paced third with a
time of 3:07:22.
Eventually, as the
runners passed, a few friends and I exchanged greetings and others called my
name. At the 15 mile turn-around, I
noted a few runners behind me. I passed
a few runners and early starters in the last 10 miles and crossed the finish
line in a chip time of 5:16:20, 1,680th of 1,845 finishers
(including early starters), and first 75-79M.
Congratulations to Rob
Reid, his committee and the volunteers for conducting a successful medley of
four running events and related activities for a record number of over 9,000
participants. Ill be at the starting
line of my favorite
large marathon on Canadas Thanksgiving weekend in October 2007.
..Written
by Bob Dolphin
Edited,
Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin
PARTIAL
RESULTS Royal Victoria Marathon, October 8, 2006
Wheelchair Race
2:18:27 Simon Harrington, 40+, Courtenay, BC
3:37:22 Christopher Samis, 40+, Vancouver, BC
Marathon Runners
2:16:47
Steve Osaduik, 27, Nanaimo, BC, First Overall, 1st in Age
Division
2:28:47
Shawn Miller, 25+, Juneau, AK, Second Overall, 2nd
2:29:10
Adam Campbell, 25+, Victoria, BC, Third Overall, 3rd
2:47:03
Suzanne Evans, 30+, New Westminster, BC, First Woman Overall, 1st
2:50:31 Keith Wakelin, 45+, Courtenay, BC, 1st
3:06:34
Erin Perkin, 30+, Tigard, OR, 2nd
3:07:22
Catherine Irons, 45+, Qualicum Beach, BC, 1st
3:24:30 Jon Mahoney, 50+, Vernon, BC, 100 Marathon
Club North America (100 MC),
Marathon Maniacs (MM)
3:37:07 Janet Green, 50+, Courtenay, BC, 100 MC, 5th
3:38:25 Barb Blumenthal, 50+, Sammamish, WA, MM
3:43:40 Eb Engelmann, 60+, Salem, OR, 100 MC, 4th
3:44:01 Eva Lust Wright, 35+, Yakima, WA
3:44:02 Mary Riehl, 35+, Yakima, WA
3:55:07 John Shaw, 50+, Victoria, BC
3:58:35 Bill Schitzler, 55+, Calgary, AB
3:59:18 Gretchen Bodeen, 25+, Yakima, WA
3:59:18 Charles Bodeen, 55+, Yakima, WA
4:05:30 Pete Nicholson, 45+, Vancouver, WA, MM
4:26:28 Evan Fagan, 65+, Victoria, BC, 100 MC
4:31:11 Jerry Lawrence, 65+, New Westminster, BC
4:34:08 Peter Landolt, 50+, Yakima, WA
5:14:43 Mae Palm, 65+, Squammish, BC, 100 MC, 3rd
5:16:20 Bob Dolphin, 77, Renton/Yakima, WA, 100 MC,
MM, 1st
5:18:40 Debby Wilson, 45+, Bellevue, WA, MM
6:07:24 Virginia Farneman, 65+, Powell, OH, 100 MC
6:07:32 Ultra Al Miller, Jr., 50+, Deer Island, OR
7:26:59 Cathie Harrison, 60+, Coupeville, WA
7:29:33 Nancy Jablinske, 60+, Coupeville, WA
8:21:25 Alan Richardson, 35+, Lantzville, BC
Half Marathon (4,026 Finishers)
1:08:24 Nik Southwell, 30+, Victoria, BC, First
Overall, 1st in Age Division
1:09:37 Jim Finlayson, 30+, Victoria, BC, Second
Overall, 2nd
1:10:02 Ian Fraser, 30-34, Port Townsend, WA, Third
Overall, 3rd
1:18:01 Cheryl Murphey, 35+, Victoria, BC, First
Woman Overall, 1st
1:18:49 Judith Leyroy, 30+, Victoria, BC, Second
Woman Overall, 1st
1:19:15 Lindsay McLaren, 30+, Calgary, AB, Third
Woman Overall, 2nd
1:42:16 Maurice Tarrant, 75+, Saanichton, BC, 1st
2:00:42 Carl Davison, 40+, Snohomish, WA
2:16:27 Michelle Little, 40+, Port Angeles, WA
2:58:45 Jim Davison, 70+, Lakewood, WA