Plumber Young taps into running to go with the flow of podium placers
Credit to Author: Gord Kurenoff| Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:06:07 +0000
Hear about the plumber who went to Las Vegas and couldn’t believe a full house was better than a flush?
Watching Mark Young‘s eyes roll like wild casino dice suggests he has — perhaps a few times too many.
The classy 58-year-old North Vancouver resident, fresh off posting a 5K time of 23:19 in Sunday’s WECHCPC Vancouver Historic Half at sunny Stanley Park, appeared satisfied with his eighth overall finish, and second in the 50-59 men’s age class. And he should be.
The owner of a small plumbing company and father of four only started running three years ago to “stay in shape to live as long as possible for my kids.” Since taking the “plunge” he’s wasting no time making his new passion look much easier than it is.
♦ FOR SUNDAY’S UNOFFICIAL RESULTS, click HERE
♦ FOR MY FUN SUNDAY PHOTOS, click HERE
Even though Young took it easy Saturday morning in the fifth Movember Moustache Miler — a “gentle” 5K effort at 26:20 to “show support for men’s health and save my speed for Sunday” — he’s still beaming after enjoying a superb weekend at the Humana Rock ‘N’ Roll Las Vegas earlier this month where he posted a personal best 23:16 in the 5K and a “gentle” 53:01 a day later in the Sin City 10K.
The man with the megawatt smile has been a regular fixture in the TRY EVENTS road race series — “I always do them all” — and is no stranger to the age-class podium. But he still remembers Vegas in 2016 and that inaugural 5K crawl.
More than 700 runners took part in Sunday’s half marathon, 10K and 5K races, but not many of them were as excited as these bubbly women! (Gord Kurenoff)
“Hey, I thought it was a great idea since we were all there and got a few other friends to run. I could barely walk after that 5K! But I’ve never regretted it. I keep meeting great people at every race and that makes it all worthwhile. Running for some great causes, supporting the communities and friends where we live is also a bonus,” says Young.
Asked about his next local challenge, Young grins ear-to-ear and offers: “The Big Elf Run in Stanley Park (Saturday, Dec. 14), where I look forward to beating you again!”
Oh yeah, did we mention he likes to “trash talk” friendly and slower race rivals? A plumber with a “potty” mouth? Go figure! (Bet he still has a picture of actress Farrah ‘Faucet’ on his wall!)
Drew Nicholson of Surrey, with friend Dora Velazquez, right, brought the heat Sunday in the Vancouver Historic Half, finishing second and third overall in their respective categories. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
While Young “drained” a lot of energy Sunday, the event suffered a total power failure with its electronic timing device, which created a few headaches for race organizers who otherwise staged another great show for more than 700 runners. The annual event also helped raise funds and awareness for the West End-Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre, whose volunteer members do some incredible work — plus provide road closure assistance for running events like RUNVAN’s Granville Island Turkey Trot.
New York runner Ryan Thoreson didn’t suffer any power problems in winning the half marathon in 1:16:21 — 20 seconds ahead of Surrey’s Drew Nicholson, whose recovery from summer injuries appears nearly complete.
“That was my fastest half of the fall season,” said Nicholson, who will be competing in the California International Marathon on Dec. 8 in Sacramento. “And the best part today was that I helped get my good buddy Hans Zimmerling a personal best and third overall (1:17:27).”
Nicholson was also proud of his good friend Dora Velazquez who finished third overall in the women’s half in 1:31:09.
“The other ladies in the half were insanely good. I fought really hard today for third,” said Velazquez, who jokes that her short legs really have to motor to keep up to the taller runners. “I’m a very happy camper with my time and all the support along the course.”
Postmedia News reporter Derrick Penner at Sunday’s finish line in Stanley Park, where the completed his first half marathon attempt in a respectable time of 2:18:26.
Another happy camper was my colleague Derrick Penner, a quality reporter with Postmedia News, who thanks to a successful weight loss program and dedicated training has gone from newbie to zoomer in no time. Penner started to notice improvements in the 2019 St. Patrick’s Day 5K, then the Vancouver Sun Run and this fall clocked a 62-minute 10K in the Granville Island Turkey Trot.
He completed his first half Sunday in 2:18:26, finishing 314th in the 377-runner field. He said his “running journey” will likely include more halfs and fast times to take over the office bragging rights. Sounds like a challenge buddy!
TRY EVENTS will launch an expanded road race series in 2020, starting with the popular Vancouver Chilly Chase on Sunday, Jan. 26 with a half, 15K, 10K and 5K at Stanley Park.
The final leg of the 2019 TRY EVENTS road race series served up picture-perfect weather for more than 700 runners on Sunday (Gord Kurenoff photo)
FINISH LINES: I’ll have another blog this week highlighting popular and new December races, including the fifth annual Big Elf Run on Saturday, Dec. 14 and the 36th annual Gunner Shaw Memorial Cross Country Race on Saturday, Dec. 7. We’ll take a look at the 2020 PEN RUN Fraser Valley Trail Run Series that opens Wednesday, Jan. 1 at Crescent Park in Surrey, the popular Steveston Icebreaker 8K and New Balance 1K Kidsrun on Sunday, Jan. 19 and a few other surprises.
Gotta run …