Bastion Ross Notes: Glory Days of April

Dear Bastion

These are the glory days of April, hog heaven for runners, Valhalla for those seeking new horizons to conquer. Last Sunday saw two big running races and a mountain bike race with Bastion bringing home a lot of hardware and ribbons. Meanwhile, people are jetting off or coming back from warm, exotic locales.
Down in Sooke, Bill Hollingshead set a new course record for his age group, Cameron Pauph and Brendan Decontie finished 1-2 in the under 16 age group, Michael Gill and Delbert Horrocks finished 2-3 in their age group and Robert Cross finished ninth in his age group.
Everyone knows by now that Stefen won the half at Whidbey Island but there were a lot of other stellar performances down there. Janet Oxler won her age division and got a honking big statue for the trophy case. John Loewen finished seventh overall and second in his age division. Julie Greenhill finished second in her division, 11th overall in the women’s category. Ken Jones, Monti Burtini, Darren Frey and Tony Pires held hands and skipped along the course to finish 3rd, 5th, 6th and 6th in their age divisions. Rumours are they are opening a flower shop downtown (Renee put me up to that one, I swear). Tom Barr finished 8th in his division. Terri Merritt-Worden finished 5th in her division, Kathy Barber 6th, and Inge Hornby 5th in hers. Then there are the many, many runners who trained hard and did well down at Whidbey.
Wendy Sims won the expert women’s division at the Nanaimo XC at humility/Abyss. Andy Watson finished 7th in the men’s division. I’m hoping Wendy skips the downhill race coming up. Norm is too young to be a widower.
Finally, Steve Osadiuk finished the second Canadian, 92nd overall at the World Cross Country Championships in Japan. Next, he’s off to the London Marathon.
This Sunday brings the Merville 15 K way up north. Car pooling is from the north end Tim Horton’s at the Canadian Tire Mall at 8:00 am. It’s a scenic course in the country and the last race of the Island Series until May.
Next week is the Gutbuster in Duncan, then the Boston Marathon, the Snow to Surf Relay, Sooke Sprint Tri, a kamikaze downhill bike race, the Sun Run and the Times Colonist 10 K to go in April. Enjoy these days while you can.
Speaking of the Snow to Surf Relay, our President Dave De Pasquale is looking for two men, 25-45, to join his team. This relay involves alpine skiing, cross country skiing, mountain biking, road biking, running, canoeing and kayaking, so there’s something for everyone here. You can reply to me if you are interested.

Remember, rest, ice, and elevate,
Ross