Eighteen-year-old Thomas Marrs graduated from Lake Cowichan Secondary School last June and is now, coincidently, working on the seismic upgrade currently being done on the school.
With the busy work schedule, Marrs, who lives on Stoltz Road near Duncan, didn’t have the time to train for this year’s Great Lake Walk.
That didn’t stop him from placing ninth in Saturday’s event, with a time of five hours, 59 minutes and 23 seconds.
That’s about 20 minutes slower than his time last year, when he placed eighth, but it’s still pretty impressive.
“I feel pretty good,” said Marrs, as he replenished his energy with some food in Centennial Hall. “I didn’t train at all.”
His dad, Ben Marrs, wasn’t far behind, finishing 12th in a time of 6:12:19.
Bernadete Knowles of Lake Cowichan was the first lake resident to finish. She did the course in 7:23:16.
Everyone trailed 41-year-old Rob Fontaine of Campbell River, who scorched the 56-kilometre route in 4:40:16, just three minutes behind the course record.
“I’m glad to be done,” said Fontaine. “I was really good for about 48 kilometres, but the last eight were very tough.”
He said the secret during the last stretch was to just keep moving and knowing it was going to get better.
Fontaine said the weather was just about perfect, with a little overcast and the overnight rain settled the dust. He had high praise for the rest stops and all the volunteers.
“Oh, they’re great.”
Jeff Hunt of Victoria was second to cross the finish line, in 4:47:55. He was thrilled with his result, which was about 40 minutes faster than his time from last year.
“I ran a smart race,” he said. “Last year I went at too fast a pace early and it cost me. I paced myself better this time.”
He said that when Fontaine passed him about halfway through the race, he had no urge to keep up with him. “I just stuck to my game plan.”
Sidney’s Allan Crawshaw shaved 38 seconds off last year’s time, but couldn’t climb out of third place. Crawshaw used the help of pacer Allan Cook, who ran with him over the last few kilometres.
“It was my seventh time in the run and the objective is to run faster each time, which I’ve done,” said Crawshaw. “I couldn’t have beaten my time without Allan’s help.”
He also credits the support of the Island Road Racers and he praised the volunteers. “They’re fantastic,” he said.
Janet Green of Courtney was the first woman to cross the finish line, with a time of 6:01:14. She said she felt pretty good, using her experience of 36 ultramarathons and 215 marathons to pace herself.
“The only problem was all the traffic, especially on the second half of the route,” she said.
For 61-year-old Eric Spence of Vernon, it was his first race since he learned that he’s qualified for the Boston Marathon. He finished the course in 6:09:16, good enough for 11th in the standings.
“When the sun came out and I could see, that was the best part of the run,” said Spence. “That hill is pretty brutal, but the rest stops are excellent.”
The youngest girl in the event, 10-year-old Cate Broere of Chemainus, walked with mother Jenny. They rang the bell at 9:41:27, good enough for 120th. They ran and walked the course, although they walked most of the last 10 kilometres.
“We didn’t want to be out there all day,” said Cate. When asked how her feet are, she replied, “Owe.”
“We’re exhausted,” said Jenny, although you wouldn’t have guessed it by the smiles on their faces. “The volunteers were great.”
Stacey Berry of Lake Cowichan trudged along in 9:52:42, raising more than $1,000 along the way for cystic fibrosis. John Hieta, the son of good friends John and Jodi Hieta, has cystic fibrosis and young John presented her with flowers at the finish.
Kris Patterson of Port Alberni was the last to finish the Great Lake Walk, getting to the finish line in 15:02:09.
Deborah Brinacomb of Lake Cowichan was a few minutes ahead of him, at 14:57:37.
