National 10k Championships

Denise Robson went to Toronto to compete as Nova Scotia’s female Timex champion – she came home as the third fastest female 10k runner in Canada. Not bad for a weekend trip to the zoo. In a road-searing time of 34:58, Denise not only bagged a personal best but also the bronze medal in Athletics Canada’s National 10k Championship, run this year as part of the 2009 Oasis Zoo Run.

But she wasn’t the only Nova Scotian to dazzle. While Denise was the top female Masters runner, Linda Macdonald, who the Sunday before the Zoo Run captured the Valley Harvest Marathon title, was the third-fastest female Masters runner in Canada with a time of 39:08.

On the men’s side, Rami Bardeesy may not have netted a PB on the very challenging course, but he was still fast enough to be the top Masters runner in the country with a time of 33:20. The top male Nova Scotian, Toby Hennigar, finished a respectable 26th overall in a race that featured the deepest field of world-class 10k runners and Olympians this country has seen in a long time. His 32:33 was good enough to place him third in his age category (20-24).

But the notable performances don’t stop there. Robert Jewer, who finished just behind Hennigar, placed 5th in his age category (30-34) with a 32:44. Dave Nevitt, who cruised across the line in 39:56, finished 2nd in his age category (50-54). And in the 55-59 age category, Robin Meister came a convincing 2nd overall with a very fast 39:34.

On the women’s side, Nova Scotians 50 and over owned the podium. Susan MacDonald’s 43:24 was fastest among 50-54 year olds while Connie Meister’s 51:06 was enough to hold onto first place for 55-59 year olds. Some younger women Bluenosers also did the province proud: Caroline McInnes finished 4th among 25-29 year olds with a 39:08, while Rayleen Hill burned up the course in 38:55 and earned a 3rd place finish in her age category (35-39).

Although not every Nova Scotian on the Timex team was forced to sneak new hardware through the airport metal detectors, they all represented the province well. Nick McBride just missed his goal for the race, but he still ran a strong 35:10 on a very technical and challenging course. Laura Kenney also competed well and crossed the line in 53:57.

All in all, each runner was worthy of all the Loonies RNS members spent on Timex tickets… and then some. Team Nova Scotia signalled to the rest of Canada (perhaps like a gloomy lighthouse on a rocky coast) that we are a province to be reckoned with on the national running scene.