SUBMITTED BY SS SNEAKERS
On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Salt Spring Sneakers running group held its Ninth Annual Prediction Run.
Unlike most competitions, the winners of this running event are not those who finish fastest but those who finish closest to the time they predicted when they registered for the race. The challenge is made more difficult as watches are banned during the running of the race and the course is usually not identified until just prior to the race. The race registration fee is a donation to the Salt Spring Food Bank. A trophy is awarded to the person who finishes closest to their predicted time, and to the person who is most “predictionally challenged,” with a time furthest away from their prediction.
Saturday’s race saw 27 participants, 21 who ran the 10-km course (one of whom was a child), three who ran the five-km course, and three children who did a two-km course. The winner of the first-place trophy was Donna Cloete, who finished just 18 seconds off her prediction. Cloete had previously distinguished herself for having won the predictionally challenged trophy for the last two years.
Three runners tied for second place, all with predictions 27 seconds off their actual time: Karen Clark, Doreen Person and Eric Ellis. The winner of this year’s predictionally challenged trophy was the runner who finished first in actual time, Khai Foo, whose prediction was more than three minutes slower than his actual time.
The other winner from this event was the Salt Spring Food Bank, which is receiving $665 donated by the participants. The total sets a record for the largest amount raised in previous runnings of this event.