It may have been an overcast morning on Aug.1 but it was perfect weather for the participants in the 麻豆社国产Days 10K run, which started and finished at Howe Sound Secondary School.
The run saw 175 people participate in the 10K run as well as eight young runners in the flashback mile. Three individuals also competed in the wheelchair division of the race.
The race drew more athletes than in previous years, said event organizer Alma Lewis.
"The numbers were up quite a bit from last year and it seemed like we had a larger group of local people competing. It also seemed like we had a lot of people from place all over North America that either happened to be in town for the Loggers Sports or were visiting friends."
Another reason the numbers may be up is the affiliation with the Steve Nash fitness centres, who sponsored and helped promote the race as part of their Lower Mainland road race series, said Lewis.
The 麻豆社国产Days 10K race was the ninth race of the Steve Nash Sports Club's Lower Mainland Road Race Series, which begins in January and will conclude in two weeks time with a 10K run at the Richmond Oval.
The athletes had nothing but praise for the way the event is organized, she said.
"People usually come up to me and tell me how much they appreciate how well run the event is," she said.
"I really think a lot of the credit should go to our volunteers, especially those preparing the food for the runners after the race. A lot of competitors have told me that it's the best food found at any race."
She also had praise for Coast Valley Contracting who, despite doing work on Government road, made room for the race to take place.
麻豆社国产resident Voker Schneider posted the top local time of 38:37, good for 17th place overall. As the top male local time, Schneider received the Slavo Lehocky memorial trophy. The trophy was created to honour Lehocky, a local runner who was hit by a car and passed away while doing what he loved - running.
Margreet Dietz took home the female Slavo Lehocky trophy for top 麻豆社国产female, finishing 26th with a time of an even 41 minutes.
Another 麻豆社国产racer who made an impressive impact was 10-year-old Luke Parry who completed the race in 49:18, good for 87th place overall.
Luke, a student at Mamquam Elementary school, raced with his father Jody Parry who said he was proud of his son's accomplishment.
"For him to get that time at his age is amazing," Parry said.
He said his son's stamina was strong, as he only noticed a small lapse in intensity in the final 400 metres of the race.
Vancouver's Tristan Simpson, who ran a blazing time of 31:39, won the race. In the process, Simpson set a brand new course record.
Graeme Wilson, also of Vancouver, was second with a time of 32:32. The fastest woman in the race was Richmond's Rachel Ruus, who finished 12th and ran the course in 37:27.
Halfmoon Bay's Alex Nightingale won the Flashback mile, running the one-mile course in 7:06. Following Nightingale was a trio of siblings from Prince George; Dawson, Sean and Jonelle Williams who posted times of 7:16, 7:20 and 7:23 respectively.
Three athletes also competed in the wheelchair division of the 10K run, with Simon Harrington of Courtney completing the course in 27:40.
For next year's race, Lewis wants to add a stroller division. It would be a friendlier race, occurring after the runners have started and competitors would receive door prizes for participation.
For a list of the complete results from the race, visit www.raceheadquarters.com/results/2010/run/SquamishDays2010OA10K.html.
