As summer approaches, Salt Spring Sneakers and their affiliates will be found far afield competing, travelling or both.
On the June 17-18 weekend, Sneakers were competing in Vancouver and northern England, while over the past month, Sneakers have raced in the U.S. and in Newfoundland, and are travelling in Europe.
On June 16, Sneakers coach and mentor Susan Gordon competed in the UBC Thunderbirds Longest Day 5K on the UBC campus. Her 20:15 finish, not her best 5K time as she had a bit of an asthma attack just before the finish, did nevertheless earn her second place in her age group, fifth of 190 masters (above age 40) women, 16th of 446 women and 60th of 751 competitors. More importantly, it qualified her in the 12-race BC Super Series competition where she is currently ranked first overall for masters women and ninth of all women. The BC Super Series awards prizes to the top three men and women in the open class, masters group and novice classes based on their best four race times in the 12-race series.
Lynn Thompson spent the July 17-18 weekend competing in the 38th Annual Pacific Invitational track meet and BC Masters Championships in Langley where his Saturday 19:12 performance in the 80-metre hurdles earned him a first place in the 70+ age group and his 3.23-metre long jump earned him a first in his age group and eighth place of 11 in all competitors 50 years and above. On the Sunday of that event, his 16.99 performance in the 100 metres earned him a first of four in the 70 and above group, and was a .14-second improvement over his Duncan performance two weeks before, while his 6.84 triple jump performance earned him a first in his age group.
On May 27, Thompson and Doug Wahlsten competed in the Elwood Wiley Invitational in Duncan, doing a one-two punch in the 100 metres in the 70 and over group, Wahlsten earning a 17:05 finish and Thompson a 17:13 finish.
On the same weekend, Hannah and Fiona Munro, daughters of Sneakers member Karen Clark and graduates of GISS, completed 81 kms of the Hadrian’s Wall Rat Race ultra marathon across northern England in 16 hours.
As they traversed the northern United States, Eric and Julie van Soeren competed in the May 29 Bozeman, Montana Run to Remember 10K. Despite running extra mileage and competing at 5,000 feet, Eric finished 16th in 58:34 while Julie finished in 30th place at 1:01:11. On June 10, they competed in the Capital City Stampede 10K in Montpelier, Vt., far closer to sea level. Eric’s 50:01earned him a sixth place in his age group and 44th overall, while Julie’s 1:03:26 earned her a second in her age group and 75th overall.
On June 11, Sneakers affiliate Melanie van Soeren competed in the Uniformed Services St. John’s half marathon, where her 1:33:49 earned her a first in her age group, a third place for all women competing and 23rd of 144 competing.
In other track news, Ness Murby flung the discus a remarkable 27 metres at an event in Duncan, followed by a winning toss of 23 metres of the javelin. Murby, who represented Canada at the Paralympics in Rio last year, is now training for upcoming world championships in London, England.