Vancouver Eastside 10K runs for third year

September 19, 2015
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Van_Eastside

Saturday morning in Vancouver, over 2,200 runners headed to Vancouver’s east side to run the third annual Vancouver Eastside 10K.

The race, directed by Clif Cunningham, is relatively new but already something for west coast runners to be excited about. Not only does it continue to grow in participation numbers, but it has also has gotten a reputation as being quite a competitive 10K.

That’s one of the big attractions, says Cunningham. “We have a great set of competitors,” he says. “There’s always the opportunity to have that great experience whether you’re first or last.”

This year, in the women’s race, Natasha Labeaud returned to defend her title. This year’s competition proved to be too good though. Natasha Wodak instead took first place running 33:04. That’s a course record which won Wodak an extra $500 to bring home. This is the performance which will end Wodak’s season. 

“It’s a really fun way to end out my season with a win and a course record is great,” she said. “My plan was to come out strong with the leaders and then I took off at the 2K mark and stayed out in front.” 

Wodak just raced in Toronto last weekend winning the Canadian 5K Championships. Second to her in Vancouver was Dayna Pidhoresky with a 34:01. Malindi Elmore placed third with a 34:32 race and Labeaud finished fourth still running a fast one in 34:43. 

In the men’s race, Geoff Martinson came in for the win crossing the finish line in 29:32 coming ahead of the lead pack by almost minute. Runner-up Trevor Hofbauer ran 30:25 with Chris Winter coming in after him for a third place finish. Winter ran 30:55. (For full results, see here.) Defending champion Kelly Wiebe also finished fourth running a 31:18. 

Elite presence aside, this race has plenty to offer the Canadian running community. For example, it started to fill a gap in the Vancouver running scene. “We just wanted to have a nice race in the east side and showcase the community,” says Cunningham about why he started the race three years ago. “The stuff that we have here, we love to show off. At the time [it started] there wasn’t a lot of events in that neighbourhood.”

It has since grown to the point where it is now Canada’s fastest-growing running event. Runners are taken on a tour of Old Vancouver. The east is where the first city hall was and, for a bit of trivia, it’s also home to the busiest fire station in all of Canada. For those who know Vancouver, the east side hasn’t always had the best reputation.

These are obstacles that Cunningham has overcome with this race. Having a crowd out in the middle of the day highlights the best parts while bringing the community together. “It’s still a young race. We’re getting a little bit more participation every year,” says Cunningham. “The community does come and watch it.”

This year’s event had a crew challenge. Vancouver crews had to pick one of the race’s charities and see who could raise the most funds. Charities they chose from were The Vancouver Food Bank, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Watari Counselling and Support Services.

While the minimum amount to be raised was just $200 per crew, the East Van Run Crew and Fraser Street Run Club both managed to raise over $3,000.

“We were thrilled with the turnout today,” said Canada Running Series president Alan Brookes.  “Canada Running Series events build communities through running and the Eastside 10K is a perfect example of people coming together to support their community.”

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