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The 2025 Vancouver Island Race Series begins in just 20 days. The 45th annual fixture offers eight road races in eight different island communities.
Getting to the island is just a one-hour and 40-minute ferry ride from Greater Vancouver or Washington State. Flying from downtown Vancouver provides beautiful views over a short 20-minute flight.
Pictured to the right is the start of the 2022 Harriers Pioneer 8K.
The first event is the Harriers Pioneer 8K taking place Sunday, January 12 at 11:30 AM. The race start and finish areas are located just a short 20-minute drive from downtown Victoria as well as five minutes from the Schwartz Bay ferry terminal and Victoria International Airport.
Women’s course, event and masters records are all held by three-time Olympian Natasha Wodak of North Vancouver. She set the national best time of 25:28 in 2013 and 25:55 as a 35-plus master in 2020. The men’s event record is held by Carey Nelson from 1985 at 22:58. The current course record was run by Tristan Woodfine of Ontario at 23:10 in 2022.
The 8K course is World Athletics certified for records and standards, and fast. While the course roles and winds, there are some long straight stretches and a final flat finish. The out-and-back course is located in a rural setting, with a good exposed aggregate for grip. Typically 500-600 athletes take in this race that kicks off the season. It is one of the first of the year in Canada.
On the same day, the Steveston Icebreaker 8K takes place in Greater Vancouver in Richmond. While the Pioneer 8K is part of the Vancouver Island Race Series, the Icebreaker is the first event of the Lower Mainland Race Series — a cohort series. A third series in the province of British Columbia is the Interior Race Series hosting a number of events taking place in Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon, Oliver and other locations around Okanagan Lake.
The Island Race Series as it has become known locally offers 8K (2), 10K (3), a 12K, half-marathon and a 5K.
Provincial 10K Championships
The 2025 provincial 10K Championships take place at the second race of the Island Race Series, in conjunction with the Cobble Hill 10K on Sunday, January 26 at 11:00 AM. Cobble Hill offers a fast course, with a gentle 3K flat and downhill finish.
The third race, the Bastion 12K, replaces the former Cedar 12K in the Nanaimo areas. The race was run south of Nanaimo in the community known as Cedar. The Bastion 12K now takes place in Lantzville north of Nanaimo.
Other races include the Hatley Castle 8K, Westcoast Running Sooke 10K, Comox Valley RV Half Marathon in Courtenay, McLean Mill 10K in Port Alberni and the Bazan Bay 5K in Sidney.
Each race offers a unique race experience. While the McLean Mill 10K and Sooke 10K races are challenging, the post-race food and choice of beverages make for a fun race event, while taking in accurate (certified) courses that are professionally organized.
Comox Valley RV Half Marathon
Where else in the world may a runner race a certified and well-organized half marathon for just $35? In US dollars entry is just $24. The Comox Valley RV Half Marathon offers a fast course that requires well-planned tactics to race effectively. The 2025 running is the 39th annual Comox Valley race, formerly a 20K.
Each race in the series is locally managed by a running club. It is the popular Comox Valley Road Runners who organize the half-marathon.
Course records are held by three-time Olympian Jon Brown with his 1:03:57 and 1:11:52 by Wodak from the 2024 running.
Bazan Bay 5K
This race caps off the season with one of, if not the fastest 5K road races in North America. While the event records are speedy, they are breakable. Former University of Victoria Vike, Geoff Martinson of Prince George, set the current course record clocking 14:12 while running alone at the front the entire way in 2014.
Three-time Olympian Malindi Elmore of Kelowna, BC holds the women’s record from 2012 at 15:48.
Racing Bazan will not garner athletes a payday but just may mark a lifetime best performance. The course is nearly dead flat, with a barely noticeable uphill on the way out. The 2.5K return brings finishers to where they started while running on the oceanside with beautiful views of the San Juan Islands.
