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2010 |2009 |2008

Campbell River still the talk of Great Lake Walk

By Don Bodger - Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial

Campbell River is becoming a factory for churning out Great Lake Walk champions. With Jason Wellard, a three-time titleholder and winner of the last two Great Lake Walks out of the picture due to his current travels in Australia and New Zealand, that opened the door for someone else. Top honours stayed in the Campbell River family when Rob Fontaine won the 56-kilometre event around Cowichan Lake Saturday in an amazing 4:40:16 clip. “I was really good for about 48 kilometres, but the last eight were very tough,’’ said Fontaine. He said the secret during the last stretch was to just keep moving, knowing the end was in sight.

Fontaine added the weather was perfect, with partly overcast conditions and overnight rain that settled the dust. He also had high praise for everyone at the rest stops and all the volunteers. Wellard was disappointed to be missing his shot at a three-peat, but will make up for it by running a 100-km event in Australia in November. Wellard was happy to pass along some of his GLW knowledge to participants via an e-mail message. “My only advice is in pacing,’’ he noted. “Most people that can run the distance start too fast and fade to a walk by the end so they need to have discipline and hold back for the first couple of hours. I have been lucky enough to have run fairly even splits and have passed many a good runner walking on the second half of the event.’’ Wellard will undoubtedly be back to try and win back the crown in the future.

Jeff Hunt of Victoria was second to Fontaine in 4:47:55. He was thrilled with the result, which was about 40 minutes faster than last year.

Sidney’s Allen Crawshaw was third in 4:54:02 and another Campbell River resident, Ken Wright, rounded out the top four in 5:03:23.

Thomas Marrs, 18, who graduated from Lake Cowichan Secondary School in June, was the top valley finisher, ninth overall in 5:59:23. “I feel pretty good,’’ said Marrs as he replenished his energy with some food in Centennial Hall at the end. “I didn’t train at all.’’ Dad Ben Marrs wasn’t far behind, clocking 6:12:19 for 12th overall, while Bernadette Knowles was the top Lake Cowichan finisher in 7:23:16.

Janet Green, 55, of Courtenay was the first woman to cross the finish line in 6:01:14. She’s no stranger to long distance events, having done 36 ultramarathons and 215 marathons. “The only problem was all the traffic, especially on the second half of the route,’’ she said.

There were many great stories of individuals conquering the course whether it was their first time, eighth or somewhere in between.

Bridget Bruneski, 65, of Maple Bay completed her seventh GLW in a personal best time of 10:18:04, just seconds faster than last year. “The success was I felt so good at the end,’’ said Bruneski. She entered the event with sister Colleen Brenize of Spokane and her daughter Kathryn Bradley of Seattle as part of a team of six that raised money for Cowichan Family Life. Five of them completed it. Bruneski, who’s originally from Zimbabwe, also raised money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation in support of HIV and AIDS research.

In all, walkers and runners raised more than $68,000 for the charities of their choice. Bruneski said she’ll definitely be back next year. “I’m not very disciplined about exercise,’’ she said. “If I have a goal, I keep fit for that goal.’’ Bruneski raved about all the rest stops, but her favourite was the Dragon Divas, a sentiment shared by first-time participant Colleen Gellein, a breast cancer survivor. “I thought it was wonderful,’’ Gellein said of the event. “It’s so well-organized and so well-supported.’’

Gellein and daughters Alison and Kirsten raised money for Thomas Kay’s cancer fight. “We’re going to give it to the family to help them with their financial needs,’’ she said. Gellein and her daughters all finished within a half hour of each other. — with a file from Doug Marner.