In 28 years the Legion Twilight Shuffle in Chemainus has seen a lot of national level runners burn through the five kilometre course.
This year was no different as Matt Sharpe, a triathlon prodigy of Victoria’s national training centre, bolted ahead of the field to win the race in 15 minutes and 40 seconds.
“Sharpe came to the race on a mission, needing to hit the 15:40 standard for the 5km to qualify for future World Cup triathlon events," said race organizer Phil Nicholls. "He did it with coaches and national triathlon teammates cheering him on."
This year the Twilight Shuffle is the B.C. championship and records there will stand as the course is certified by Athletics Canada.
Victoria’s Jonathan Gendron finished runner up with a time of 16:46 and Aaron Thomas, a triathlon teammate of Sharpe’s, came in third at 16:56.
Claire Morgan (Victoria) won the women's in 18:34, with Jessica Knowles 20:33, and Miranda Nyah 21:21 in second and third.
Nicholls is currently plotting the second running of the McNeill Bay Half Marathon for Sept. 9. Nicholls brought the 21km race through Oak Bay and Fairfield back last year after a multi-year hiatus.
This year’s McNeill Bay event is adding the Lightspeed 5km. Up for grabs are a Lightspeed M1 road bike and a Quintana Roo triathlon bike.
To register for the McNeill half marathon visit Events Online and for the Lightspeed 5km visit Race Online.