Gord Kurenoff: Vancouver Hypo Half matches the hype, from fast bunch to tasty brunch
Credit to Author: Gord Kurenoff| Date: Sun, 02 Feb 2020 16:04:27 +0000
There are two things you never want to hear from race organizers after finishing a rare and fun 16K, on a windy and sometimes wet course: false start or we’ve run out of food!
Fortunately, the annual Vancouver Hypothermic Half Marathon and 16K, held Saturday morning — starting and finishing outside of Mahony & Sons at Stamps Landing — was fantabulous from go to whoa. Or, in this case, a long-distance bunch to delicious brunch!
And the Running Room crew, looking to make this winter exercise extra special a day before Super Bowl Sunday, aced the mission. Or, in football terms, touch down Steve Mattina!
Justin Bonzo of Vancouver was all smiles Saturday after receiving his medal for completing the 16K in 1:54:07. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
“We want to build something properly here and make sure each person has a great race-day experience,” said Mattina, the B.C. regional manager for Running Room Canada. “Having a great brunch at a finish line in a great place like Mahony’s makes this event special, for example.”
No argument there. In fact, it was the promise of post-race pancakes, bacon and coffee that convinced me to run about 11K more than I like to on any given day. The fun finisher’s medal, Hypo Half coffee thermos and tuque were nice touches, too.
But the best thing, in my opinion, was the race-day vibe. Simply put, that was a fun bunch to hang with for a morning. From gifted runner to sloth (hi Mom!), the Hypo gathering felt more like a family reunion than a group of strangers looking to crush all running rivals.
Jeanne MacDonald of Vancouver, right, and Louise Peters of New Westminster celebrate their 16K finishes in False Creek on Saturday. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Tyler Chapman of Vancouver was the top finisher in Saturday’s half, which attracted 207 upbeat runners. He completed the False Creek-Stanley Park course in 1:26:12, having to dodge big waves and big puddles along the seawall near Second Beach. Todd Mundle of Vancouver topped the 35-runner 16K race in 1:18:50.
• FOR STARTLINE TIMING RESULTS, click HERE
• FOR MY HYPO HALF PHOTOS, click HERE
The fastest woman in the half was Alicia Kelahear of Vancouver in 1:33:58, while Christy Baker of North Vancouver was the women’s winner in the 16K in a time of 1:19:23.
Here are a few other gems from the 2020 Hypo:
Paula Molina of Vancouver relaxes by the Mahony & Sons fireplace before crushing her first half marathon. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Paula Molina was one of the first runners to arrive at Mahony & Sons, and after getting her bib and swag bag, sat back and killed time.
“A bit nervous,” she smiled when asked how her morning was going. “I’m new to the city, it’s my first time running a half and I have no idea how it’s going to go. At least the weather got a bit better for today.”
For a “rookie” she did great, finishing in 2:22:50, or 146th out of 207 runners.
Mabel Fong of Vancouver, third from the right, gets her picture taken by Hypo Half social media official Margaret Buttner before completing her 194th half-marathon. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
The first time I met Mabel Fong, she was 8K into the 2018 Run For Women 10K at UBC and she dragged me to the finish line with smart pacing and many words of encouragement.
On Saturday our paths crossed again as the Vancouver woman, entered in the 60-68 division, finished her 194th half marathon in 2:28:36.
“Not my best race ever, but we got it done. Bit tricky and windy out there in places today,” Fong said, trying to downplay the number of half-marathons she’s completed.
Aaron Fenske of Port Moody poses for fun photos before taking part in Saturday’s Hypo Half. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Aaron Fenske of Port Moody is my kind of fun runner.
Moments before starting the Hypo Half he did a series of poses trying to look super fast, super cool, super fun. Either that or it was one bizarre warmup routine!
With the awesome False Creek backdrop, Fenske did some crouching, got low, flashed the No. 1 sign, smiled a lot and did some stretching/posing.
Then he noticed I was taking pictures, too, and most of that stuff stopped!
He finished the half in 1:59:31 — which means this scribe has to try all that stuff to break two hours in my next 21.1K trek!
Vancouver Sun run blogger Gord Kurenoff adds something extra to his water bottles before tackling Saturday’s Hypo 16K.
Finally, super excited to be taking part in all the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans action next weekend, running the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday.
The Hypo 16K was my final “training run” for The Big Easy, and thanks to Justin Bonzo for dragging me the final 3K on Saturday and Nanette Farrell‘s fun crew for dragging me the first 8K, I feel mostly ready for N’Awlins and all that jazz!
Last year I completed RUNVAN’s First Half Half with coach Sandra Jongs Sayer of Langley, ending a 35-year “slump” of anything over 15K runs!
So, when you consider I did 16K on Saturday and will do 26.5K next weekend, I’m either catching the longer-distance running bug or I need to go the concussion quiet room to re-evaluate my 2020 running choices!
Once again, thanks to Hypo race director Neil Wakelin, Steve Mattina, the great volunteers, Startline Timing and Margaret Buttner‘s weather dance for making Saturday extra special.
FINISH LINES: My next local race will be the Fort Langley Historic Half on Sunday, Feb. 16. The TRY EVENTS race will feature a 5K, 10K, 21.1K and kids’ run. For more information and to enter click HERE. … Good luck to everyone taking part in the sold-out 31st annual First Half Half in Vancouver on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Gotta run …