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Ambassador Claire trains and race by “Party Pace”

PARTY PACE

Party Pace is a term I recently stumbled upon. Essentially, you are picking a pace that is comfortable and fun for yourself. Simple. Right?

The truth is, I have no idea what anyone is talking about. Splits, watches, training loads, heart rate, shoes, and for the love of running: STRAVA!

It’s a lot.

I played team sports my entire life and was a complete animal in the competitive department. So, I get the urge to go all in, and while I’m not completely out to lunch on all this lingo, it’s just not for me. Spoiler alert: I don’t even own a running watch.

“But Claire, how do you know your heart rate?” I don’t.

“How about your splits?” Ummmm…

“Will you ever know if you got a PB?” Probably not.

“Or a PR?” Wait, isn’t that the same…

The truth is, I got into running as a new hobby. I was looking for something that I could do whenever and wherever I wanted. I signed up for a few races, thinking my competitive edge would kick in, but by race day, I had logged the km’s but hadn’t “trained hard” like I thought I would. Race after race I would run, usually mid pack, jump in puddles, graze the food tables and go home. Happy as a clam.

Huh, I didn’t expect that. Confused and concerned by my lack of burning desire to crush my competition, I signed up with a running group. Maybe that would be the ticket. It wasn’t. I found I looked forward to my three running dates with myself for a week, and I didn’t want to cancel them. Week after week, I was showing up for myself, with my only goal being to get out the door.

I got so wrapped up thinking I needed a PB, a set goal, or a running group that I lost sight of why I liked running. Don’t get me wrong, I think these things are phenomenal, and I encourage everyone to find their place in the community, but for me, I realized I’m ok just showing up, on my own, chatting with strangers, running my party pace, without a watch, looking like a nut cheering every person on and beelining it to the food station.

This doesn’t mean I’ll never join a group (I’d like to find one now) or that I’ll never get more serious about racing. It just means where I am right now is fun, and I dig that. Being an ambassador for the Island Race Series has taught me that we all have a pace and place in racing, and it’s not linear for anyone. Ready, set, party!

PS For those concerned, I DO have the “Strava,” and I DO turn it on about 5 minutes before the race. The horror, I know!

PPS

If someone in the Parksville/QB area would like to start a weekly Party Pace beer run, I could easily be persuaded.

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Going at my pace: A turtle’s guide to racing

Paige Shaw

There are a few common misconceptions that I often hear online about running and racing. One
of them being that running needs to be a challenging, all-out effort, even when you’re starting
out. Another is that if you’re a slow runner, you’re “not really a runner.”

Based on these two messages, it’s no wonder that some people feel discouraged from joining the sport. I’m here to
show you that racing is for slower runners too!

If we haven’t met before, hi, hello! I am a slower runner. I affectionately call myself a turtle.

When I’m racing, on a good day, my top speed is probably around 6:30/km for a 10km and 7:00-
7:30/km during a half marathon. I have run two marathons, both of which took me over 6 hours
to complete (my current marathon PB is around 6 hours and 11 minutes). You may ask, why am
I’m trying so hard when I’m not even close to being at the front of the pack. Why do I race?

Here’s the thing: racing doesn’t have to be about being the fastest. It can be about the
community, the experience, and the personal growth from just showing up. Every time I show up
on the start line, there is the possibility that I’ll push myself just a little bit harder, go just a little bit
faster. There’s also the possibility that I’m just there to have a good time. And that’s okay, too.
And to be honest, us slower runners bring the best vibes to the race.

Racing can also be about challenging your mental strength.

For me, this is also something I enjoy about taking on longer distances such as the marathon and half marathon. Sometimes,
during a race, I will question what I’m doing — can my body actually do this? Have I tried to do too
much this time? These are some of the mental barriers that pop up and challenge me throughout
the race. But I keep moving forward, and through each race I complete, I build confidence in
myself and my resiliency as a runner. The coolest part is that I feel like I also learn new things
about myself.

Maybe I will get faster, maybe I’ll have setbacks, or I won’t, but racing can be a
time that I have with myself and my community that make running feel amazing.
One of the things I love most about the Vancouver Island Race Series is how it creates an
environment for runners of all abilities to feel welcome and encouraged. The volunteers, race
organizers, and fellow runners bring an infectious energy, no matter where you finish. This is
why I also make it a point to cheer on everyone I can.

As an ambassador for the series, I hope that I can encourage runners to try racing — no matter their pace. And as a friend told me once, forward is the pace. It’s not about speed, it’s about your experience and whatever you want it to be.

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Brandon Vail and Zoe Hamel win 2025 Comox Valley RV Half Marathon

Brandon Vail and Zoe Hamel of Greater Victoria won the *39th annual Comox Valley RV Half Marathon on Sunday. Vail finished in a personal best time of one hour, eight minutes and 32 seconds. Hamel clocked in at 1:18:47 and 20th overall.

Men’s race

Vail with Speedfarm Running Club, ran a near two-minute personal best and more than three minutes faster than he raced the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon in 2024.

“Yes, I am happy with running over three minutes faster than last year. The conditions were good except the final 3km had a tough headwind,” shared Vail.

Brandon Vail for the win. Photo credit: Derek Boessenkool

The 25-year-old ran 1:10:12 at the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in October and 1:11:38 at the 2024 Comox race.

Finishing in second place was Andrew Russell with the Prairie Inn Harrier’s Running Club. He also finished first in the masters 40-plus category clocking in at 1:10:43.

Taking third was Nanaimo’s Nicolas Jirot in 1:11:32. He was the second 40-plus master. Jirot has run as fast as 1:10:09 at the 2023 Vancouver Half Marathon.

Vail will compete in the Bazan Bay 5km on Sunday, April 13. He will look to run faster than the 14:44 that he did last year on the flat and fast course. In August he will compete in the Canadian Half Marathon Championships in Edmonton, where he grew up.

Women’s race

Zoe Hamel had one of her better Island Series races in Comox finishing in the time of 1:18:47 for the win. The performance gives Hamel her highest age-graded performance to date at 84%.

“It was good, but that final stretch was windy,” shared Hamel, a sentiment every runner shared upon finishing including Kate Ayers who took second in the time of 1:20:39.  Ayers is back racing. Next up for her will be the TC10K in Victoria as well as an internship on a farm around her agriculture studies this summer, “I will need a distraction.”

Hamel, a competitive tennis player from France is a teacher at Pearson College. She is with Esprit Run Club and is coached by Jim Finlayson, who also raced winning the 50-plus category.

Zoe Hamel for the win. Photo credit: Derek Boessenkool

Taking third was Speedfarm’s Patricia Roney with her 1:21:15 performance. She was also the first in the 40-plus category. Her best on the course is 1:20:05 from 2024. Her finish time on Sunday and last year are a long cry from her days as a beginning runner 19 years ago, where she finished the Comox race in the time of 1:53:06.

Race director Rob Kelly took in the event coming in at 1:28:57 and finishing first in the 60-plus age group.

The race had the most finishers in the event’s history at 701, with 1101 registered. The race was capped for 2025. This year is the first time in the 45-year history of the series and 39 years of the race to sell out in advance. From 1986 to 1994 it was run as a 20km distance event.

The inaugural race (20km) was won by 1980 Olympian Mike Creery in the time of 1:07:07. Sally Balchin won the women’s race in 1:18:49.

Kelvin Broad — five-time winner of the Royal Victoria Marathon won the first edition of the half-marathon (21.1km) in the time of 1:08:33. Stephanie Wood won in 1:21:11 that year.

Next up in the series is the McLean Mill 10K in Port Alberni on Sunday, April 6 and the Bazan Bay 5K happening Sunday, April 13.

2025 full results
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Teams and individual points races heating up; next three races critical

The 2025 Vancouver Island Race Series has surpassed the halfway mark with the running of the Bastion 12K on Sunday, March 16. There are three key races remaining in the series.

The sold-out Comox Valley RV Half Marathon is the next race on tap, happening Sunday, March 23, in Courtney from the Florence Filberg Centre. The Bastion 12K and Comox Valley Half Marathon are the only races over 10K in length, a requirement for series standings for individual competitions as well as the two team competitions, the VIRA Cup, and the Island Series Cup.

The half-marathon, put on by the Comox Valley Road Runners, is the first race in the 45-year history of the series to sell out. A cap of 1100 was set and met over a week in advance.

The race will be critical for standings, so expect a high percentage of participants to show, especially if the weather is favourable.

Club standings

Island Series Cup

Currently, Speedfarm Racing is in first place in the Island Series with a low score of 137 points. Chasing them is Esprit RC with 144, and in third place is Bastion Run Club with 426. Low score wins, and currently, 16 teams are challenging for positions. Only four teams are currently qualified.

Clubs must field three women and three men at any race to earn points.

Speedfarm are the two-time defending champions and will be difficult to unseat.

VIRA Cup

The VIRA Cup, which is a competition where the highest score wins, sees the usual suspects in the top three with the Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club with 1865 points, closely followed by Speedfarm with 1742 in second and in third is the Ceevacs Roadrunners with 1707 points. The way the points tally works, the VIRA Cup is essentially a three-way tie between these clubs. Each race matters.

Bastion Run Club, which hosted the Bastion 12K Sunday, is not far out of the picture for top three with 1380 points, but they will need all hands on deck to catch up. However, it is possible. There are 127 teams or clubs listed. However, just 26 have at least 100 points.

The Island Series Cup is all about fielding fast runners overall, while the VIRA Cup is about earning as many points as possible within the age groups.

Individual standings

Amanda Polus with the Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club is winning with the overall points, having amassed a total of 780.5 to date.

The top three are Polus, Kim Coscia (755) with Run to Beer Comox Valley and Emily Bugoy with Bad ass Chicks Run Trails (745.57). The race between these three can come down to the wire. It is that close.

The top three men are Paul Auton with Bastion Run Club with 737.79 points. He was closely followed in by Jerry Loeb of Esprit RC with 734.79. Finn Feschuk of Bastion Run Club is in there with 731.72 points. He is competing in the 16-19 category.

Points earners not qualifying for series standings include Russell Pennock, who earned 892.54 points in his only races so far this season. He won the Harriers Pioneer 8K on January 12 in the time of 24:01.

Samantha Jory is the first female who is not going to qualify, she picked up 892 points at the Cobble Hill 10K and BC 10K Championships. She won the race in the time of 34:25 and finished behind only 13 men.

The year prior, Glynis Sim clocked a course record of 33:23 and finished behind just 12 men.

The 2024 series individual champions were Jennifer Erickson and Brandon Vail, both with Speedfarm.

Currently, there are 37 runners with 600 or more points. There are seven with 700 or more. Eighty-seven have 500 or more.

Most prolific runners

Bruce Hawkes (STARR) in the 80-84 category has not raced this season, however, he is the most prolific runner with 238 Vancouver Island Race Series races complete. Considering there is typically eight races each season, he has run for 30 consecutive years.

Currently, the second most prolific runner is Comox Valley Road Runner Keith Wakelin with 201 races.

The third most prolific is Hazura Sangha with 190. The three most prolific who continue to finish events are Wakelin, Gary Duncan with the Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club and Rob Hare with Team West Coast. Duncan has raced 186 times, while Hare has 179 to his credit.

Bob Cook, who is not far behind, raced 178 times. Wakelin, Duncan, Hare and Cook all races the Bastion 12K.

The 2025 Bastion 12K

Previously known as the Cedar 12K, the event was to run in Lantzville in 2025 for the first time. However, the weatherman had something to say about that and caused a postponement with the race moving back to Cedar for one more year.

Even though several runners could not make the new date and with the reschedule, there are three races in three weeks, still 309 showed up and 309 finished the event.

Dusty Spiller from Cowichan Valley Running won in the time of 40:08, clocking an average pace of 3:21 per km.

He was followed in by Nathanael Tabert with Speedfarm, who finished in 41:03, and taking third was Joshua Koromei with his 41:30 performance.

Julia Tschanz won the women’s race in the time of 44:58. She is also with Speedfarm, as was second place finisher Jennifer Erickson clocking 46:40. Emily Bugoy with Bad Ass Chicks Run Trails took third in 47:01.

Jim Finlayson continues to return to form. He is racing in the 50-54 category and won the masters, 40-plus competition with his fifth overall finish recording a 42:05 performance. Finlayson is the head coach with Esprit RC.

Kate Guy with Speedfarm was the first master female in at 47:17. She races in the 45-49 age group.

Forty-one athletes clocked under 50 minutes or 4:10 per km.

David Shanks, who races in the 80-84 age group, clocked in at 1:38:52. There were two women in the 80-84 age group, Jill Davies in at 1:24:53 and Mei-Sheng Shanks with her 1:40:24 performance.

There were two men in the U16 age group, Sebastian Flynn and Locke Legear, who finished in 1:01:02 and 1:07:35, respectively. There was one female in the 16-19 age group, Sricherni Gaddam, clocking in at 1:33:53.

The Cedar race started in 1989 as a 15K race and ran at that distance until 1999, however, two shorter versions ran, one in 1997 at 7K and 8K in 1995, likely due to snow. The race switched to a 12K in the year 2000.

Currently, the series results date back to 1985. The series board of directors, mainly Maurice Wilson and Chris Callendar, continue to digitize and upload results going back to the beginning of the series, which started in 1980.

The 1985 edition of the Bastion/Cedar race was the Bastion 15K. The only runner who took in that race and ran the 2025 edition was Keith Wakelin, who finished in 52:53, nearly one minute per km faster over the longer distance 3:32/km versus 4:24/km today.

Bob Cook of the Bastion Run Club missed the race 40 years ago but was actively competing. He ran today in the 75-79 category. Brian Connon, who is travelling, raced then and will be racing Comox, so he continues to be active as well. he ran 51:46 in 1985 as a 36-year-old for the Prairie Inn Harriers.

Jim Finlayson

Jim Finlayson, the coach of Cameron Levins, North America’s all-time fastest marathon runner with his personal best of 2:05:36 from Tokyo 2023, continues to run well.

Finalyson raced the Cedar 12K event as fast as 37:11 during the 2011 edition. He has also run 37:30 and 38:26 twice. His 2011 performance is an 89 per cent age-graded finish time. This is pre-super shoe era.

Finlayson has run in the 93 percentile at least twice and over 90 several more times, including clocking a 1:05:42 Comox Valley RV Half Marathon in 2005. He finished in second place to three-time Olympian Jon Brown, who holds the course record at 1:03:57.

The next race is the 2025 Comox Valley RV Half Marathon.