Runs and roses Vancouver Sun Run 10km, Canada. 23 April 2006 By Sergey Porada and a sawmill settlement called Granville in the 1870s, but in 1886 Yelena Kurdyumova it was re-named after Captain Vancouver. Since then it has A much anticipated barrier become Canada’s third city and in was broken in the 22nd 2005 it was rated as boasting the Vancouver Sun Run: in all, best quality of life in the world by the Economic Intelligence Unit. 50746 runners registered for Little wonder that Vancouver won this largest 10km run in the right to host 2010 Winter Canada – although 2049 Olympic Games. parents and children among them had signed up for 2.5km An hour before the main race, mini Sun Run. designed to showcase top distance runners, the 2.5km mini A cool sunny morning, with a Sun Run began. Under blue skies Burrard Streets. At 09.00 the spectators. temperature of 9C at the start, and brilliant sunshine, a motley starting gun sent a few dozen was excellent for further record crowd of parents, children, and international elites chasing after Gilbert Okari, one of the top 10km setting. Vancouver’s climate is the those who like it shorter cheerfully the awards and titles, leaving road racers in the world, and mildest in Canada with warm took off from the start line, which space for the huge field of runners Meshack Sang took the lead soon winters and cool summers. The coincided with the finish line of behind them, who set off at short after the start. Joel Bourgeois, city is surrounded by water on the 10km, near BC Place Stadium. intervals, in a wave start. who ran the 3000m steeplechase three sides and overlooked by Mascots and performers Thousands ran for schools and for Canada in the Atlanta and mountains that rise to more than entertained the kids at the start corporate teams, others brought Sydney Olympics, kept them 1500m, - a favorite destination for and in the Kids Zone inside the the whole family onto the course. company for a little while after the rock climbers in summer and Stadium, which is the venue for Some showed off their fancy dress Kenyans broke away. downhill skiers in winter. several Winter Olympic events. costumes while others fought for awards in age groups and team The course soon enters Stanley People have found it a hospitable While the last participants of the divisions. British Columbia Park, an amazing wildlife environment for millennia: mini Sun Run were finishing to Premier Gordon Campbell and sanctuary only minutes away from archeologists claim the area was live entertainment and several other government officials downtown. A miniature train takes settled by coastal Indians in 500 refreshments in BC Place joined the race. Bands livened up passengers on an eight-minute B.C. British naval captain George Stadium, elite athletes and fun the proceedings and mascots trip through the forest, typical of Vancouver explored the coast in runners alike were preparing to cheered on the competitors the Pacific Northwest. Nearby 1792. The city was first founded as start the 10km at Georgia and together with thousands of there is a Children’s Farmyard, DISTANCE RUNNING July – September 2006 25 Result MEN: 1 Gilbert OKARI KEN 28:25 2 Meshack SANG KEN 29:23 3 Joel BOURGEOIS CAN 29:46 4 Jeremiah ZIAK CAN 29:55 5 Anthony GITAU KEN 30:04 6 Scott SIMPSON CAN 30:07 7 Jeremy DEERE CAN 30:26 8 Jim FINLAYSON CAN 30:28 9 Dave JACKSON CAN 30:31 10 David WAMBUI KEN 30:41 WOMEN: 1 Isabella OCHICHI KEN 30:55 2 Tatyana HLADYRUKR32:11 3 Aster DEMISSIE ETH 33:02 4 Lisa HARVEY CAN 34:10 5 Caroline MURRAY CAN 34:19 6 Cari KUZYK CAN 35:18 7 Lucy SMITH CAN 35:26 8 Cheryl MURPHY CAN 35:27 9 Kristina RODY CAN 35:46 10 Nancy TINARI CAN 35:53 enjoyed her first race in Canada. entered Vanier Park, the city’s She finished with a new course Vancouver Aquarium, a rose “It was nice to run in the sun, and garden which holds 275 sorts of favourite place for flying kites and record of 30:55. Tatyana Hladyr you call it sunny, but compared to roses, and a monument to the home to the Vancouver Maritime came in second, only a month Scottish poet Robert Burns. Museum, the Pacific Space Centre, after winning the Rome Marathon. where I train back home, it’s cold.” the Gordon Southam Observatory, Aster Demissie, who won this She commented that Vancouver is Vancouver has some of the most and the Vancouver Museum. event in 2003 and is now resident a beautiful city and suggested beautiful parks in the world, close in Edmonton, was almost another “…maybe I could be invited back to the heart of the city. The 10km Having covered two-thirds of race 300m back in third. Ochichi again.” course goes through the best of solo, Okari secured his third them and winds up close to the major road race win in a month, “Garden of Ease.” Clearly this was with a speedy 28:25. Okari’s not named with runners in mind, victory continued the tradition of but it is the only full-sized Kenyan wins in the men’s Sun classical Chinese garden outside Run: 11 out of the last 13. Despite of China. It is maintained using his large winning margin Okari got Ming Dynasty techniques, where an unpleasant surprise at the each plant, rock and piece of finish line when the starter architecture has its symbolic disqualified him for stepping over meaning and mood, compressing the start line before the gun had the serenity of mountains, been fired. He appealed to the streams and valleys into an urban Race Committee who accepted his retreat. account: “The starter began his countdown and people behind me Joel Bourgeois was left to savour began to push forward.” the surroundings in solitude, as the two Kenyans left him behind in Stanley Park. “Nobody else Isabella Ochichi, the 2004 went with me, so I wound up in Olympic silver medalist at 5000m, sort of no-man’s land for the rest dominated the women’s race from of the race” he said. Sang tried to the gun. Slender, 1.60m high and keep with Okari for a while, but 42kg in weight, she works as a had to let him go when they police officer back home at turned into Beach Avenue at 3km. Nairobi airport. She increased her Running past a long strip of sandy lead throughout the race to finish beach known as the English Bay, 400m ahead. “I went away at the one of the most popular hang- beginning because I wanted to outs in Vancouver ever since the run a good time. I tried to go with 1890s, Okari continued building the men, but I could not stay with up his lead. Still unchallenged he them and I was just running on crossed Burrard Bridge and my own” she said. DISTANCE RUNNING July – September 2006 27.