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Vancouver’s Thomas Nobbs will be looking to defend his Times Colonist 10K (TC10K) title, while Victoria’s Jennifer Erickson will be after her first win in the event that takes place on Sunday in Victoria, BC. The TC10K expects up to 9,000 runners on the streets of the capital of the province of British Columbia for the 35th running.
The men
Thomas Nobbs set a new personal best last Sunday in the Vancouver Sun Run. He clocked a finish time of 29:16. While the Sun Run course is not certified for records and standards, it offers the required 10 kilometres of length plus a little extra just to make sure (1m/1km). The World Athletics certification requirements include a drop of less than 1m per 1km. The first km drops enough to disqualify it. Nobbs’ personal best is officially 29:37 from the 2023 Ottawa 10km, which is run in conjunction with the Ottawa Marathon on the third weekend of May. The 10km goes on Saturday night, and the marathon on Sunday morning.
Nobbs will be running in Ottawa again this year and looks to continue to improve his times over the distance.
Asked about his goals leading into the season he said, “Place on the podium at Canadian 10km road nationals (Ottawa) and Canadian Half marathon championships in Montreal and run personal bests (PBs) in all road events.”
“[I will] race to compete and race with nothing left to give, sub 29:15 or sub 29:20 would be good in Victoria,” added Nobbs.
If he sounds pumped, he certainly was after his new best at the Sun Run — he was all smiles.
The 24-year-old owns a half-marathon best of 1:04:54 from the 2024 running of the Vancouver First Half Half Marathon which is run in February.
The TC10K course is fast, but not as fast as the Sun Run’s. The majority of athletes racing both events back to back typically finish 15 seconds slower in Victoria. However, some, who are on an upward trajectory, like Nobbs, may run faster in the TC10K. We will have to wait until Sunday to find out, but Nobbs is fit and ready to toe the line.
His competition comes from Victoria’s Daniel Mulushet Zewdu. Originally from Isreal, the 20-year-old looks to round into form this year after battling some injury. He is currently training under two-time Olympian Bruce Deacon with the Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club’s junior development program. His best 10,000m performance happened in 2022 where he clocked a 30:04.08 finish time. In Feb. he ran the First Half in Vancouver in the time of 1:06:51. David Mutai, a former Kenyan living in Greater Vancouver will be looking to improve his 30:13 personal best.
The women
Defending champion and Tokyo Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky, who has won the TC10K three times is in Hamburg, Germany, ready to take on the Canadian Olympic standard of 2:26:50. The Vancouverite has joined Canadian record holder (2:23:12) Natasha Wodak, Leslie Sexton and Ben Preisner in an unofficial defacto Paris Olympic marathon trials. They need to achieve the standard this Sunday or miss Paris, it’s that simple. Sexton finished second in the Vancouver Sun Run going after her third win. The men need to be faster than 2:08:10 to make Team Canada. Also, going after the standard is Thomas Broatch from Vancouver, however, he will run on the deadline day, Sunday, May 5 in Copenhagen. Broatch ran a new personal best on Sunday in Vancouver.
So, with Pidhoresky, Sexton, and Wodak out, the favourite could be one of several Victoria-based athletes. The most likely is Speedfarm’s Jennifer Erickson who has been tearing up the Vancouver Island Race Series over the past two seasons. In January, she competed in the series’ BC 10K Championships at the Cobble Hill 10K, running a new personal best of 35:32 and finishing fourth. The race was won by Glynis Sim, who went on to win the Sun Run and set a new best of 32:17. Sim is now moving onto the track to compete in the 5000m event.
On Sunday, there may be a sprint to the finish for Erickson as she could be neck and neck with Vancouver’s Jouen Chang. Chang has run 35:31 during the 2023 Summerfast 10K.
Times Colonist 10K
The event started in 1990 as the Garden City 10K. The Times Colonist newspaper took over sponsorship a few years later and the event has been called the Times Colonist 10K or “TC10K” since. In 1995 Kenyan Simon Chemwoyo ran 28:47 to set the event record, on a different course. Scottish Canadian Sarah Inglis, now living in Langley, took the women’s record in 2019 with her 32:23 performance. Nobbs ran 29:43 in 2023 for the win.
Like the Sun Run, the TC10K helps fund an annual professional track meet. The TC10K owned by RunSport Victoria assists with the funding and organization of the Victoria Track Classic that will happen in June, likely within days of its counterpart in Vancouver the Harry Jerome Track Classic funded by the Sun Run.
More information on the TC10K can be found here.
