Run the Rock, Texada Island’s first marathon and half marathon, took place on Sunday, August 28. The event “wildly surpassed expectations,” said event organizers, with 71 runners participating, including 38 from Powell River and five from Texada.
In the 42.2 kilometre full marathon, Keith Wakelin, 52, of Comox was the first male across the finish line, with a time of 3:18:02. The first female was Angela Plamondon, 45, also of Courtenay, with a time of 3:59:54. Plamondon’s husband, RCMP Staff Sergeant Roger Plamondon, 50, was the second male finisher while Rod Campbell of Vancouver was third. The second female to cross the finish line was Janet Green, 57, of Courtenay, running in her 248th marathon, while third place went to Lisa Morrow, 43, of Powell River, who was running her first race. Morrow is co-owner of Avid Fitness, one of Run the Rock’s sponsors.
In the 21.1 kilometre half marathon, the North Vancouver husband-and-wife team of Ramsay and Allison Ezzat, 28 and 29, were the first male and female finishers with times of 1:23:52 and 1:35:27 respectively. Lawrence Behan, 43, was the first Powell River runner to cross the finish line, while Nadine Nyl, 40, was the first Texada Island resident to finish after her first-ever race. The second male finisher in the half marathon was Alric Henry, 16, of Kempville, Ontario, followed by Chris Winkelaar of Comox. The second female finisher was Andrea Prager, 36, of Comox, with Shelley Armitage, 38, of Powell River in third place.
Runners from ages 15 to 73 came from Mexico, Ontario, Alberta, the Yukon and throughout BC. Male competitors dominated the full marathon, with 13 males and four females running. It was the opposite with the half marathon, where females outnumbered males 37 to 17. Complete standings are available on the Avid Fitness website, www.avidfitness.ca.
Race marshall Maureen Northrup of Gillies Bay said the hilly terrain of the race courses resulted in slower times than some runners expected, “but with sunshine and no major glitches, Run the Rock was hugely successful,” she said. “We hope runners will spread the word about how beautiful Texada is and that they’ll come back with friends next year.”
