Dick Beardsley, Hilary Stellingwerff headline Victoria Marathon expo

From the Press release:

Running legend Dick Beardsley, author and editor of Marathon & Beyond Rich Benyo and Olympian Hilary Stellingwerff are among the speakers at the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon Speaker Series, to be held on Saturday October 12 at the Marathon Race Expo. The Speaker Series runs from 9:30 am – 3:00 pm and will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre, Level 1 in the Auditorium.

Beardsley, known for his famous ‘Duel in the Sun’ with Alberto Salazar at the Boston Marathon in 1982, is now a passionate motivational speaker and he will be talking about how being a runner taught him to turn roadblocks into stepping stones despite debilitating circumstances. Benyo will be on a panel with race announcer Steve King, 2010 Women’s Marathon winner Catrin Jones, and Women’s Half Marathon world record holder Betty Jean (BJ) McHugh. The panel, chaired by CBC broadcaster Paul Kennedy, will discuss the allure of destination marathons and running in extraordinary places.

Olympic 1500m runner Hilary Stellingwerff and husband, Physiologist Trent Stellingwerff will discuss the specifics of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and 19-time Canadian Champion Lucy Smith will share her secrets and passion for running.

Mena Westhaver, founder of Sole Sisters, and Sara Joy Erickson, founder of Running Moms talk about the growing number of female runners, the fastest growing demographic in North America, and Cathy Noel, Rob Reid and Bruce Deacon from the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon host a pre-race information and discussion session.

“Our Speaker Series continues to grow, and we continue to offer participants high quality sessions from internationally renowned presenters,” say Race Director Rob Reid.

For the fifth year in a row the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon will host the BC Marathon Championships. There is $37,300 available in prize money with $3,000 each going to the top male and female and a $5,000 bonus for a new men’s or women’s course record. The Men’s and Women’s Marathon course record was set in 2011 by Thomas Omwenga (2:14:31) and Lucy Njeri (2:37:56).  Natasha Fraser set a new Women’s Half Marathon record in 2012 (1:14:06). The Men’s Half Marathon record is held by Jon Brown (2002 – 1:02:32). Gary Barber holds the Men’s 8K course record (1989 – 23:23) and Ulla Marquette holds the Women’s record (1991 – 26:24).

For more details, visit www.runvictoriamarathon.com