From the east coast to the west coast, Cruisers had the runs covered – Rod in Boston, Alex in Kelowna, Rob in Portland and Debra, Ruby, Neil and Tanya in Victoria.

Five Cruisers ran Monday on an autumn evening. Alex, Laura, RA Edie, Shiraz and Bobtoc ran west to Greystone then east up Shellmont to Underhill. south to Forest Grove Drive, used the pedestrian overpass to the Beaverbrooks to return to the Centre Distance 7.5 km, time 1:15 to 1:19. Before the run started the five met Damien and his parents Rick and Val inside the Centre, a happy family to be sure. We found the route used Monday very dark in places; we may have to resort to the sameoldsameold IGA route more than we are using it thus far.

Five Cruisers met Wednesday for a walk/run/coffee evening. RA Edie, Libby, Larry and Bobtoc opted to walk to Underhill and Broadway and return, time 1:08, encourtered some light rain while out there. Alex came prepared for a tactical coffee briefing but was unable to persuade the others to do so, therefore he elected to return home. He will be on the Grouse Grind Friday with Carla.


Cruisers were busy Sunday October 9 in various cities. Here are the stats:
Victoria Marathon:
Rachel Fouladi 3:54:07 in first quarter of her age group
Victoria Half:
Debra Nicol 1:57:11
Portland Marathon:
Rob Stagg 3:43:05 50th of 336 in his age group. 2 minutes faster than 2010.
Boston Half Marathon:
Rod Hargreaves 2:23:29 4th in his age group.
Kelowna Half Marathon:
Ryan Lekivetz 1:43:36 26th of 84 in his age group.
Larry Kuhn 1:54:12 in top half of his age group
Alex Lau 2:03:41 12 of 28 in his age group.
Christina Saremba 2:11:19
Betty Lekivetz 2:18:04 Ryan’s mother
Laurie Hillborn 2:30.30
Ken Blowey 2:33.34
Edie Kernighan 2:39:02
Kelowna 10K:
Bob Kuhn 1:31:21 Adjusting to the realities of arthritis and sciatica, 3rd in his age group. Of three. In front of the guys with the shovels however.
I have no particulars of weather conditions in Victoria, Portland and Boston, but can describe those in Kelowna yesterday. The runners/walkers enjoyed a mild, overcast morning, with a very light, short shower midway through the runs. Runners enjoyed the slight moisture and increased humidity plus the overcast skies. There was even a rainbow with it’s feet in the lake and in Fintry. The organization was excellent as usual. The routes were flat! On Friday Ryan received the third degree, that is, his PhD. at the Simon Fraser University convocation. Ryan is now a teacher in the Okanagan campus attached to UBC. Not finished yet: he is now engaged to his squeeze Carole whom we met in 2009 at the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll. Ryan’s family: Mom Betty, dad Russ, sister and her squeeze were in BC from the prairies for the convocation and Kelowna race. Dinners convened Saturday and Sunday evenings by Sgt Major Christina respectively at MamaRosa;s and the Eldorado Hotel on the lake waterfront for the runners and athletic supporters were excellent.

Report from Rob on Portland:
At 3:43 it is my best marathon time so I’m pretty pleased with the result. The killer hill at kilometer 25.5 to 27 went much better this year. I felt strong on the other side of the St John’s bridge which is a real improvement on last year. I ran with the 3:40 pace runner for almost the entire run. I started to fade with 5km to go but I’m on the right track to break 3:40. The weather was dry to start, light rain in the middle third then dry at the end. It was nice to start and finish dry and warm rather than the cold and wet of last year! 10,000 registered in the marathon – about 7,100 finished. Lots of music throughout the route (highlight was a 20 piece jazz band at kilometer 32 playing the B52’s Rock Lobster), great organization as usual, good food at the end, Powell’s books. What more could a person ask for?