Road racing season is in full swing on the west coast of Canada. Well, it has been “on” since January, however, the big Vancouver Sun Run took place on April 16, then there is the TC10K on Sunday, followed by the BMO Vancouver Marathon and Half Marathon the following week, all running over a four-week span.
And there are other local races as well like the Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, Washington on May 7.
Sunday, the 34th TC10K in Victoria, will go with over 7500 registered runners and walkers. At the front will be Vancouver’s Thomas Nobbs duking it out with Calgary’s Matthew Travaglini while Dayna Pidhoresky is the lone favourite on the women’s side (at press time).
Twenty-three-year-old Nobbs will be looking for the win. At the Sun Run, he clocked a 29:52 sixth-place performance, just 12 seconds behind Tokyo Olympian John Gay who won. In January, Nobbs won the BC 8K championships at the Harriers Pioneer 8K in the time of 24:01. Conditions in both the Sun Run and Harriers Pioneer 8K were windy and wet.
“I would call this ‘building race experience’ while building fitness in training towards the Tamarack 10k (Ottawa) and Canadian 10,000m Championships,” shared Nobbs. “The goal is always to win and as many have said long before me, a person must always bet on yourself.”
The Canadian 10,000m Championships take place in Langley, BC, near Vancouver on June 23 at the Pacific Distance Carnival. The Tamarack 10K happens May 27/28 as part of the Ottawa Marathon weekend.
“[I am] Looking forward to sharing the great island running community atmosphere again soon.”
Nobbs owns a 10,000m best of 29:31.68 from June 2021 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby (Vancouver). Travaglini clocked a 29:55 to finish second at the 2019 edition of the TC10K. The question will be whether he has returned to form. The 30-year-old also owns a track best of 29:38.04 from 2019.
Also in the men’s elite field are Logan Roots, David Mutai, Matt Noseworthy, and Josh Kozelj among others.
Langley’s Mutai clocked a 30:32, while Coquitlam’s Kozelj 30:37, and Noseworthy 32:18 at the Sun Run. Kozelj and Noseworthy are former University of Victoria Vikes teammates. Roots recorded a 32:45 at the Sun Run, both he and Noseworthy will be looking for a little redemption Sunday.
Dayna Pidhoresky, who has been training for the Vancouver Marathon, is not sure where her fitness lies. She has been too busy putting in the requisite mileage, but if the 36-year-old Tokyo Olympian has prepared like she usually prepares, she is very capable of the win on Belleville St. in front of the stately Parliament Buildings and Empress Hotel.
Asked how training is going she responded by saying, “Fitness is good. Although I’m not too focussed on running a particular time. I’ve been gearing up for the BMO Marathon the week after and have had some huge sessions lately, so it’s hard to know if my legs will be on for Sunday. My plan will be to try to put myself in the mix and just get in a good effort ahead of a little taper week before the marathon.”
Pidhoresky always seems to be in the mix. She won the race in 2018 with her 33:20 personal best.
