Runners from around the globe will be lacing up on Texada Island this weekend for the fifth annual Run the Rock.
A full marathon, half marathon and eight-kilometre road race will take place this Sunday, August 23.
The marathon’s course will remain roughly the same as previous years, according to organizer Rob McWilliam. “We’ve sort of billed it as the toughest marathon in Canada and last winter’s floods did a number on the logging road by Barfield, so it’s even tougher,” he said. “For the marathon, it’s a challenging course. For the half marathon, it’s not much different than a lot of other half marathons. And the eight-kilometre, it has a lot of gentle downhill on it.”
The full marathon will begin at 7:30 am at Shelter Point Regional Park, with the half marathon starting at 8:30 am at Texada Island Elementary School in Van Anda. Runners of the eight-kilometre race will leave Texada airport at 10 am. All events will finish at Shelter Point.
Even with a few days left to go, registration numbers have already exceeded those of 2014. “In terms of last year, we had 14 in the full marathon and we had 34 in the half and 24 in the eight-kilometre,” said McWilliam. “To date, we’ve got 19 registered in the marathon, we’ve got 39 registered in the half and we’ve already got nine registered in the eight-kilometre.”
The cut-off to sign up for the full and half marathons is Thursday, August 20.
McWilliam said that although last year’s reduction in ferry service between Westview and Blubber Bay had an effect on the schedule, he has made some adjustments in 2015 and is sure the event will run smoothly.
“We can’t have half marathoners from Vancouver Island come over on the first ferry and run that day,” he explained. “They’ve got to come over the night before, so they get to spend the night in Powell River or on Texada which, from our perspective, is not that bad a deal. But we tried last year to delay the start of the half and that meant people were running when it was just too hot.”
Run the Rock has become known for its unique location and picturesque scenery. This year, participants will be coming from as far away as Bermuda, Germany and New Zealand.
“We always attract a few people from away who are looking to run in all of the different jurisdictions and different unique places,” said McWilliam. He pointed out that one participant, Dr. Janet Green from the Comox Valley, has run 325 marathons. “In the half marathon we’ll have Roz Smith who is an age group record holder for Canadian women.”
An avid and well-decorated runner himself, Sunday’s marathon will be McWilliam’s 150th. “I have a deal with the organizing committee,” he said, laughing. “I’ll do a lot of the work up front on the condition that we have somebody who is race marshal on the day.”
For more information or to register for this year’s Run the Rock events, readers may visit the event's website.
