Luke Hubner was the best again for the second year in a row in the 5K distance of the Oceanside Mother’s Day Run.
The young man from Qualicum Beach set a blistering pace on Sunday, May 12, that saw him cross the finish line ahead of the pack and set a new course record of 19:04, breaking his winning time last year of 21:03. He was the overall 5K champion and also top runner in the men’s U-15 age group.
Jill Morse of Qualicum Beach was the second fastest runner and was the top female athlete in the 5k race. Moore’s time of 20:00 was a new course record, as she reset the previous mark of 23:26 that was set in 2018 by Maria Marciano. Not far behind in third spot overall and second-best women runner was Ezra Morse of Qualicum Beach, who was just six seconds slower in a time of 20:06.
In the 10K race, Royd Burkart of Port Alberni took home the gold in a time of 37:29, defending the title he won last year. He was the top male in 50-54 age group.
Burkart has been taking part in the Oceanside race since 2014 and has always finished in the top three. This was the third time he has won this, having done it in 2015. He’s finished second twice and had one bronze-medal finish.
Duncan’s Richard Light came in second overall in 39:26 and bagging the bronze was Ceri Jakobsen. who crossed the finish line at 41:57. Jakobsen won the female division and was the best in the 35-39 age group.
Finishing in second place in the women’s division was Stefanie Mooney of Lantzville in 42:43 and was first in the 30-34 age group.
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The annual race organized by the Oceanside Running Club Association was blessed with nice, cool sunny weather that made the race festive and fun. There were more than 420 runners with 177 taking part in the 10K race and 244, who walked and run the shorter 5K race.
The oldest participant was 96-year-old Jim Sylvester of Shawnigan Lake. He was presented with a special award for completing ,the 5K run/walk event in 1:02:10, which was a personal best.
Sylvester said the nicely crafted award to him meant more than any medal. He plans to take part in two more events later this month and in June.
One of the biggest feature of the ORCA event is the close to 50 participants who are graduates of the 2019 ORCA Learn to Run program. Most of them competed in the 5k race while there were a few brave souls who challenged themselves by running the 10K race. The program this year had close to 70 eager participants, which is the largest ORCA has ever had since it started it.
The proceeds of the popular annual run will be used to support the Haven Society, Forward House and the Mid Island Distance Runners.