Weekend recap: Victoria Half Marathon and Canada West XC action

It was a busy weekend of road racing in the U.S., but north of the border, in B.C., the Victoria Half Marathon and 8K welcomed back over 4,000 participants for the Royal Victoria Half Marathon and 8K. This was the first in-person road race to be held in Victoria in over 18 months.

Matthew Travaglini of Calgary won in the race in 1:06:44, followed by Brendan Wong of Coquitlam, B.C., in 1:06:53. The third-place finisher was Logan Roots from Courtenay, B.C. (1:10:00). Travaglini came to the race confident, having won the Calgary Half Marathon last month in 1:09:04.

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Leanne Klassen, who is also from Calgary, broke the tape in 1:17:15, winning the women’s half. Klassen was the favourite to win the race with a personal best of 1:15, which she ran in early 2020 at the Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon in Mesa, Ariz. Fellow Calgarian Maria Zambrano came second in 1:18:16 ahead of local Victoria runner Chloe Hegland, who was third (1:18:40). 

Royal Victoria 8K

Sarah Inglis won the women’s 8K in 25:35, setting a new course record for the second year in a row. This was her third straight win in the 8K, breaking her own 2019 course record by eight seconds. The second runner to cross the line was Mariah Kelly in 27:05, and Rebecca Bassett from White Rock, B.C. was third (27:29).

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The men’s race was won by Reid Muller in 24:00, finishing ahead of Kevin Friesen by 10 seconds. Muller is a track and cross-country runner in his senior year at Washington State University, with a mile PB of 4:02. Muller’s time set an age group record in the M20-24 age category, the previous record of 24:20 by Gary Barber has stood for 35 years. B.C. Endurance Project runner Theo Hunt came third in 24:21.  

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TWU Invitational XC (Canada West)

Thomas Nobbs of UBC won his second consecutive race at the Trinity Western University Invitational cross-country meet in Abbotsford, B.C., on Saturday afternoon. This win comes two weeks after his previous win in Victoria. Nobbs finished the 8K race in 23:53, finishing 43 seconds ahead of second-place university finisher and UBC teammate Tyler Dozzi (24:36). Exchange student Lauren McNeil of UBC Okanagan continued her dominant run on Canadian soil, winning the women’s 8K race by 29 seconds (28:02). The next race for both runners will be at the B.C. Cross Country Championships on Oct. 23.