Posted: June 21, 2006

Athletics: Local elite runners and bands ready to rock record field in Sunday’s Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon

Two of BC’s leading Half-Marathoners, Jim Finlayson and Steve Osaduik, will be leading a record field of 4500 runners in Sunday’s Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon, as they try to steal the win from defending champion Giitah Macharia.

Steve and Jim recently placed first and second respectively in the Oak Bay Half-Marathon May 28th, each breaking the course record. Giitah Macharia of St. Catharines, Ontario has been burning up the east with a recent first place finish in the Sporting Life 10k in a blazing 28:5. Giitah is also the 2006 Canada Running Series Champion.

Most of Canada’s strongest elite runners live and train in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and you could hear the sigh of relief when four time defending women’s champion Lioudmila Kortchaguina announced she would not be able to run the event this year. A great women’s race is developing between Lisa Harvey of Calgary, recent new mother Leah Pells and local Tina Connelly, three strong runners who will be challenging each other for the women’s top spot.

Rounding out the over forty elite runners, will be three of Canada’s top over forty Masters runners. Norm Tinkham (Maple Ridge), Richard Lee (Port Coquitlam) and Jamie Black (Toronto), continue to challenge each other for top spot in the Masters category of the Canada Running Series, each running a challenging time in the low 70 minute range.

Keeping the runners energized and moving their feet will be five new live entertainment stations on course. Runners will find themselves rocking through UBC, as they run down to Spanish Banks to the Channel M Community Station featuring the jazz stylings of Buckwyld. They will run by two more live bands at Kitsilano Beach and English Bay, before coming into the finish with music of P-Shiv at Second Beach.

The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon and 5k is the third largest running event in Vancouver and is part of both the prestigious Canada Running Series and Vancouver Sun Run Series. Five hundred runners will take to the paths in Stanley Park in a for fun 5km component on Sunday morning. The event is in support of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Your Health – Your Choice Program, which supports a variety of health related causes at the hospitals. The event raised more than $160,000 for the Foundation in 2005.

The race website is at: CanadRunningSeries.com

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