I had a great time this morning pacing at the Vancouver Eastside 10K. Before the run, I ran into several people I knew; despite the relative small size of the run (~1,500 runners), it seemed as though 75% of the local runner community was participating!
Me and my friend Janet and before the Vancouver Eastside 10K
This was my first time as a pacer (for the 60 minute group), so it was great to have Courtney pacing with me! We brought them group in almost right on schedule (even though both put GPS’s felt the route was long—something to remember for next time…) I must say the despite few minor hills, he course was a fast one and would be a great choice to go for a PR.
Vancouver Eastside 10K Medal
Vancouver Eastside 10K Medal (Reverse)
After the run, I had a few people come up and thank me for helping them keep on track. I must say that in addition to being able to help others, it was great to run at a relatively relaxed pace and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere; I’m usually so focused on pushing myself during races that I don’t pay to much attention to anything other than my splits ;-).
It was really nice to run through a part of town that I do not often get a chance to see. Nicer yet was the support from the communities of Strathcona, Gastown and the Downtown Eastside. Despite the challenges faced by many living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, several were out cheering us on.
Vancouver Eastside 10K route
As I mentioned earlier, this event was a ‘who’s who’ of Vancouver’s running community. It was great to see so many familiar faces out running this morning including Dailymilers Courtney, Phaedra M., Corinna C. and Eric B. as well as several other friends. It’s awesome being part of such an great community!
Based on the immediate post run reviews, I would say that Canada Running Series has another classic to their race roster. The Vancouver Eastside 10K will be on the top on most runner’s fall race line ups next year and beyond.
A group photo of some of my co-operative housing colleagues who I ‘ran’ into
Here is some local TV news coverage of the race:
