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Sean Mitchell: Sooke 10K race re-cap, chocolate, mascots and personal bests

Well, it wasn’t Easter and there was no chocolate bunny, but there was great weather, a #BigTurk bunny, a no prob-llama, pancakes and a whole lot of fun at Sunday’s Westcoast Running Sooke 10k. It was race #5 in the 2024 Vancouver Island Race Series. 

Going in, I honestly wasn’t sure how to approach the effort. Those of you who have run the course will know it’s a rolling out and back with a good long incline at 7k leading into a nice fast finish (if you play it right). I figured I’d set out at a steady 4:15/km, see if I could maintain a steady pace up the “incline” (note: not a hill), then rip down the backside and onto the finish. Well, as I am often fond of doing, 4:15 turned into 4:05, but it felt pretty good. Ceevac’s own Micheal Gerhardt and I attacked that hill, and when I got to the top I (honestly) felt great — so off we went.

We kicked it up a notch over the final 2k and was shocked to cross the line in 40:33, a 30-second improvement over Cobble Hill a few weeks ago. That time was good enough for 72nd overall and 6th in the always competitive M50-54 age category.

Sean Mitchell rolling out a new personal best in Sooke. Photo credit: Joseph Camilleri.

Before all that, my youngest tackled the kid’s run, enjoying himself while keeping the Harriers tent warm. Tough job, I know. But I was proud of him for giving it a good effort, even though the candy was calling… 🤤

And, after all the running was over, we were treated to a primo feast of pancakes and sausages with whipped cream and strawberries courtesy of the Sooke Lions, plus a whole bunch more goodies (and maybe a Fat Tug for dad). Also, I appreciated seeing the gluten and vegan options so enthusiastically received. 

It is always a pleasure to see so many people out racing, having fun and enjoying themselves. Kudos to rockstar race directors Katie Quast and Jason Ball for putting on such a great event. See you in Courtenay on Sunday, March 24 for the CVRR Comox Valley RV Half Marathon!

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Ambassador media: Cedar 12k recap – AKA what to do, and what not to do

So the third race of the 2024 Vancouver Island Series, the Cedar 12k, fell on the day after another event in my calendar, a retirement party for local sporting legend and SMUS teacher Ian Hyde Lay. Let’s just say that a good time was had by all. Those who visited the Bard and Banker that evening, and let’s also say that when my Sunday morning alarm went off, racing 12k was far, far from my mind. 

But, mainly because I volunteered to drive the carpool (sucker!), off I went. I said to one of my club mates that I was going to take a wait-and-see approach. And after a cup or two of black coffee, a bite to eat and some last-minute hydration on the drive up, I was feeling good enough to toe the line. Not good enough to challenge my PB, mind you, but still OK. In the back of my mind, I thought “Well, let’s start at a minimal effort pace (5:00/km for me), and see how we do.” And then the horn went on the start line, and away we went…

Sean Mitchell finishing the Cedar 12K. Photo credit: Christopher Kelsall

And of course, all those good and sensible ideas got thrown out the window. Truth be told, I got into a comfortable rhythm and managed a respectable 4:30/km for the first 5k. After getting to the one standout ‘hill’ at that point (and waving at Brandon and Dusty already headed back…), I took a bit of stock of my condition and felt pretty good, truth be told.

I decided on the way back to see if I couldn’t get progressively faster on the return. And I ended up doing just that, negative splitting by almost two minutes (26:53/25:07) to finish right around 52:00, which would have been just 5 seconds off my PB. If it hadn’t been determined later that the course was approximately 90m short. Ah well. That time was still good enough for 10th place in the horrendously competitive M50-54 age group. So I was pretty pleased overall. And the warm hospitality and snacks from our friends at Bastion Run Club made it a great day. 

Sean’s Strava race stats: https://www.strava.com/activities/10743274292

Cedar tips: What to do

  • Have fun
  • Run the rolling road to your advantage
  • Run the tangents – every little bit helps!
  • Hang around and socialize afterwards, and cheer on the award winners 

What NOT to do

  • Neglect your hydration and race prep as I did
  • Get too excited with the first 1k downhill – hope you didn’t go out too fast!

This coming Sunday, Feb 25th is the unique Hatley 8k, put on by Frontrunners Athletic Club on the grounds of Royal Roads University in Colwood. I say unique because it’s part road, part trail with a sizeable hill in between. This is a race to focus on effort, not pace or time, but don’t let that scare you – it’s a great course and a lot of fun. Hope to see you there!