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Ambassador Sander Nederveen trials Brooks shoes at Hatley Castle 8K

Sander wearing the Hyperion Elites at Hatley Castle 8K. Photo credit: Joseph Camilleri

With the fourth race just behind us, we’re at the halfway point in the series. This likely is the point in the season where you’ve probably put lots of miles on your trainers, and perhaps also on your race shoes. So you might want to be looking for a fresh pair of shoes for the next phase in your training and for the second half of the race series.

With both Brooks and Frontrunners Footwear, the Island Series has two great sponsors that can help you to the right pair of shoes. Brooks recently launched two updated shoe versions: The first one is the newest version of the Brooks Glycerin, their higher-cushioned daily trainer. The second one is the Hyperion Elite, their carbon-plated race shoe. Island Series Ambassador Sander Nederveen put both shoes on his feet and gave them a spin around town. Read his thoughts below.

Brooks Glycerin 21

The new Glycerin is a super comfortable shoe. I keep reaching for them when I want to go for an easy run, or even just for a walk. The toe box is a bit wider than in other Brooks shoes, which is quite nice for somewhat wider-footed people like me. Aside from a comfortable fit, there’s a lot of cushioning too. It’s the kind of cushion that absorbs a fair bit of the impact when you’re running, but simultaneously gives you a bit of a bounce. On a longer run, the shoe performed well: the shoe didn’t force me to work harder (which heavy cushiony shoes sometimes do), although it also didn’t have the energy return of a tempo/race day shoe.

Essentially, the Brooks Glycerin 21 is a solid and sturdy shoe for your easy recovery run after work or an easier longer run.

Brooks Hyperion Elite V4

It was at Hatley Castle 8K that I christened the Brooks Hyperion Elite v4s. I didn’t know what to expect, because Brooks has been hyping this shoe for some time, but their previous race-day shoe didn’t get very much critical acclaim.

The Elites exceeded my expectations. Even during my warm-up, I had to control of my pace: the shoe wanted me to go faster. During the race, I learned that it’s a solid race-day shoe. The energy return is high, and in some sense, it feels like your shoes are encouraging you to go give ‘er. So I did!

Glycerin GTS (support) in black and Green shoe in front: Brooks Hyperion. Photo credit: Joseph Camilleri            

Something I realized after I had worn the shoe for a while, is how normal the shoe felt. Race day shoes can feel very unstable, and sometimes flimsy around your feet. Not the Brooks Hyperion Elite: I felt stable and it’s quite comfortable.

My first impression of this shoe is good. It held up super well on a wet and muddy course. I’m excited to lace it up for the Westcoast Sooke 10K and the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon later this month and try it out on longer courses.

If you’re excited to try out these shoes and/or get yourself a pair, stop by at Frontrunners Victoria. There’s a Brooks shoe for every type of runner and Frontrunners will have them for you. And who knows, maybe I’ll be there to help you out and find the right shoe for you.

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Hurricane Hatley ‘24: a race recap

By Ambassador Holly Pinto

When I first read Hatley Castle 8K, I immediately thought like anyone would; of magic and folklore. And while indeed it’s a beautiful architecture; magic quickly transformed into adventure. With a 95 per cent chance of precipitation, I anticipated a wet, west coast running race.

Like any quest, Hatley promised an “over the hill and around the bend” course. I started the course with a gentle decline slope leading to ocean views. Headwinds on that moody February morning combined with rainfall set the scene for a J.R.R. Tolkien quest more than a Disney fairytale. Then suddenly at 2K the course took a rolling incline; with a baby hill and then a mama hill. In my peripheral I viewed stone walls with vines as the castle awaits at the bottom, connecting one hill to another. Perfect placement to occupy my thoughts as I climbed and climbed. If magic was really here, there would have been a unicorn ride with a catchy soundtrack. Yet, this is a running race and I kept perspective and pulled one foot up after the other. Trumpets sound triumph as raindrops trample trees; the beast of a hill has been slayed. And soon the summit brought me into the forest.

By this point, I am drenched from torrential rainfall. Washing away all that sparkly sweat. And the only twinkle was that of a wiggle in my toes to keep warm. ‘Are we having fun yet?’

Well, this was Hatley Castle and I was on an adventure.

I sloshed through muddy puddles which I didn’t care to miss because Hurricane Hatley had left me already soaked. Around 6K the wind picked back up like a big ugly monster. As the fauna ahead led to the end of this quest, I took time to enjoy the eye of the storm. As the path was smirking with pools of rainfall and paces were withheld by potentially slippery corners there is something. Something in lieu of a rainbow and sunshine. And it’s you, my running friend. Sometimes, the prize is within the adventure.

You see, I set to make my best 8K time on this day. But fate had otherwise. I knew that morning weather would withhold my goals. Like any true adventurer, I adapted… Close to me from the starting line was a team of runners. Their goal: to finish. More than that. To finish happily. While I was caught up on the weather and the letdown by the downpour they offered an opportunity. And that is the heart of VIRS. The eye of the storm; the beauty within. Showing up and completing the adventure with your team. Coming together to cheer each other on despite coastal conditions and soggy socks. Chasing personal best times is rewarding. Seeing the race through with the team is the trophy.

Now I’m left wondering, will the next race recap be named “Soggy Sooke 10K” from winter weather on Vancouver Island. Or perhaps “Sunny Sooke 10K”?

See you there!

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Ambassador media: Hatley’s thrilling hills

By Sander Nederveen

The next race in the series is Hatley Castle 8K, and you’re in for an absolute rollercoaster of a course. The rollercoaster includes an interesting collection of hills, variations in terrain, and a fast finish.

This course is not your typical PB course. Unless you’re faster uphill than downhill, you likely won’t pull off your best-ever time in the 8K. But that is the trade-off for all the fantastic things this course has to offer.

In the first half kilometre, you will go towards the lagoon on a gentle downhill. With fair weather, you will forget to look at your watch and will simply be amazed by the gorgeous views of the Olympic Mountains. While you’re still processing that you’re in one of the most beautiful spots on the island, you head uphill and will soon be surrounded by trees before your watch beeps that you finished your first klick.

Sander Nederveen finishing 2024 Cedar 12K. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall

That’s when you’re in for a treat: the uphill gets a bit steeper, and the course will turn right. More uphill you go. You may wonder: what’s the point of this hill? The answer is exactly what you would expect: there is no point. We are Vancouver Islanders; we just love hills for the sake of them.

You will go up until you hit kilometre 2, and then you turn right around and go back down. Once you’re back down and you are still wondering what it is all for, your thoughts will get interrupted by yet another hill. Did I tell you yet that this course is an absolute rollercoaster? Well, you will have found out by now. After you climb this hill at kilometre 3, things slow down for a bit. Some rolling up and down, and you might almost start thinking that it’s a normal course.

The joke’s on you! Just after the 5th kilometre, you suddenly take a sharp turn into the woods, and you will be dodging roots and trail running pretty much until the finish line. A big downhill will be waiting for you in the last kilometre, and you will fly to the finish line.

I look forward to toeing the line and having an absolute blast out at Hatley Castle, taking on the challenging hills and the beautiful trails. I hope to see you there!

One of two major hills at 1K. Photo credit: Joseph Camilleri
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Every step we take involves a choice

Well this was a first…

I was late to the start line! Some may argue they are late to the finish line but mine was a bit of both on the day of the Hatley Castle 8K at Royal Roads University.  Having said that, this is not what my message is about. My message is about making choices in life and remembering to make them based on your “whys.” 

Yes, I arrived late to the start line and at that moment I had a choice: run, walk, or turnaround and go home.  

I knew when I arrived the timing would be tight. I realized quickly as I meandered through an unfamiliar campus, that the likelihood of me arriving on time was gone. It was confirmed when I showed up at 11:06 am to a very lonely start line that I was definitely late. I crossed with no noise made so then I made the choice to run to the timing van to see if it was “okay” to still run. I was answered with a quick, “if you crossed the line, you are being timed.”  

Mena Westhaver
Mena Westhaver

I had a choice…

My decision took no time at all — run Mena run!  That’s what I signed up to do, that’s why I drove out there, that’s why I signed up for the Vancouver Island Race Series and that’s why I pinned on my bib! I had made a choice to be a part of something. Does it really matter what your numerical time is (okay — I am a runner at heart so I will say I do love numbers) BUT — what’s really important is the time that you experience and I was about to enjoy a very special time throughout this event; one that was unexpected. It was an experience like no other and full of awesome realizations. I didn’t see anyone for about 500 metres except a photographer that really had no choice but to shoot my smirk of desperation to find a crowd of people somewhere in the distance. Then I came across a powerful walker who quickly informed me that they had come out to walk no matter what position they finished in. Their smile was full of pride and confidence — this was cool.  

Then I passed a couple of familiar faces on the out and back, but typically I would be on the “other side” of them, they were thrilled to see that I had showed up. Despite where I was, and what joking was shared, they made me feel a part. I witnessed people of all ages, stages, and abilities push up hills and push through pain. It was clearly demonstrated that there wasn’t a single person I passed that was not working their hardest. Each of these walkers and runners had made the choice to show up and do the best that they can.

Every finish line is special and in this case on this day, I cannot imagine missing the opportunity to run downhill through a beautiful forested area to the sound of cheers and encouragement. 

So as we near a new and exciting course — the McLean Mill 10K — think about why you “show up.”  Make choices based on your whys. Don’t worry about your time in performance but the potential of the experience. I want to be a part of a community, a part of the run community, a part of the Vancouver Island Race Series. I want to feel strong, athletic and physically fit. I want to feel that sense of accomplishment when I cross the finish line.

Thank you to the crew of the Island Race Series for providing me a space to make choices to participate and to feel like an athlete. I have a feeling my “whys” are similar to most that show up in shorts, spandex run tights, tank tops and run hats on chilly Sunday mornings

…. I hope to see you again on Sunday, April 2nd!

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Hatley Castle 8K a success, record potential at Comox Valley RV Half Marathon

Hatley Castle 8K

The Hatley Castle 8K, the fourth race of the 2023 Vancouver Island Race Series, had a big turnout. Organized by Frontrunners Athletic Club (FAC), they saw the most finishers in seven years and the eighth most in the event’s 24-year history at 445.

@pellegustavs

The winners were Brennen Smith (Speedfarm) in 25:55 and Emily Bugoy (Mettle Heart Endurance) in 30:40. The top masters were Nick Walker (40-44, FAC) and Catrin Jones (40-44, Prairie Inn Harriers). They finished in the times of 27:43 and 30:51, respectively.

Smith, one of Canada’s top triathletes said, “The race was good training for triathlon season coming up. I am happy with how the race went and am looking forward to next Sunday’s half-marathon.”

He won by nearly a minute with teammate Martin Odendaal finishing second in 26:49. Owen Torres took third just six seconds back. For the women, it was Bugoy, Jones, followed by Mikaela Barnes in 32:10.

Comox Valley RV Half Marathon

Sunday, March 19 will see the 37th running of the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon and perhaps the all-time largest field assembled for this flagship Island Series event.

The top-seeds are Jackson Bocksnick of Victoria (Frontrunners Athletic Club). He is a former UVic Vike athlete who suffered from injuries for a few years. He is back and is training for the Boston Marathon. Bocksnick finished third during the Cobble Hill 10K clocking a time of 31:48 and will be seeking a sub-70-minute finish on Sunday and 2:20 or so in Boston.

“I will be happy with marathon pace while feeling comfortable,” share Bocksnick.

Fellow former Vike Matt Noseworthy and Smith will be toeing the line, making for a competitive lead pack in the sub-70-minute range.

Currently, the top three female athletes are Meg Lewis-Schneider (Esprit RC), Jones and Yume Kobayashi of Edmonton, who is a former national-level triathlete. Lewis-Schneider won the 2022 Cobble Hill 10K.

The Comox Valley RV Half Marathon is the fifth of eight events in the 2023 series. It is followed by the McLean Mill 10K, Westcoast Sooke 10K and the Synergy Health Centre Bazan Bay 5K All series information is available at www.islandseries.org.

RESULTS