Submitted by Martha Aitkin,
Bruce Peninsula Press
The trail and weather conditions for the 9th annual Tobermory Trail Race, held this year on September 13th and 14th, could not have been better. The runners gathered in the village of Tobermory in time for a sunrise take off. The warm September sun was with the runners all day.
The event offered trail runners a choice of four different races—those who entered the full marathon started first. They ran from the Tobermory Cenotaph all the way to Cyprus Lake Campground, then turned around and ran back to Tobermory. Buses provided by event sponsors shuttled other runners to the half-marathon starting place at Cyprus Lake. The runners who entered the 7 km event were shuttled to Little Cove for a run from there to Tobermory. The fourth race offering included a tour boat ride to Flowerpot Island on Sunday and a 5 km (2 loops of the main trail) race, followed by breakfast at the Tobermory Community Centre.
Although the scenery goes by in a blur for runners, many of them enter this race for the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Bruce Peninsula. One young runner from North Bay said, “I’ve just seen 4 days’ worth of tourist sites in about 5 hours!” They also shared that the trails around North Bay provide an excellent training ground for Bruce Trail runners. Although the trees and rocks are different there, the terrain in general is very similar.
Brenda Diiorio, a resident of Tobermory and second-place winner in the Women’s 7 km event, raved about the beauty of the local environment and agreed that living and training here on the Bruce Peninsula offers some advantage for runners. Despite this advantage, the winner of the Men’s Full Marathon race, Braedon Plein of Wiarton, reported that this was his first-ever trail race! He noted that he often fell behind on the rougher, rockier parts of the trail and then pulled ahead again on the flatter terrain. And speaking of firsts, Adam Kraeling of Guelph was inspired to enter his first-ever trail race (the half-marathon event) after reading about last year’s trail race in The Bruce Peninsula Press.
Most of the runners come from Ontario, but this year there were participants from Yukon Territory and New Brunswick. Switzerland and France were also represented by adventurous trail runners.
Winners of the Full Marathon Men’s Category are Braeden Plein of Wiarton in first place, John Bauer of Dundas in second place and Clement Soursou of Beduer, France in third. Emma Dodge of Strathroy took first place in the Women’s Full Marathon Category with Amanda Tomaszewski of North Bay in second place and Makaila Jones of Ottawa in third.
Jack Van Dorp of Colpoys Bay took first place in the Half Marathon (Men’s) with Jacob Skitsko of Waterloo in second place and Spencer Summerfield of Tobermory in third. Winners of the Women’s Half Marathon are Caroline McGrath of Toronto (1st place), Karley Harrington of Collingwood (2nd place) and Amy Locke of Toronto (3rd place).
The 7 Km race winners in the Men’s Category are Mitch Cauchi of Ottawa in first place, Joshua Graham of London in second place and Ryan Hanke, also of London, in third place. Kristen Hanke of London won first place in the Women’s 7 Km race. Kira Langford of Dundalk took second place, with Megan Koski of Coldwater coming in third.
Jack Van Dorp of Colpoys Bay won first place in the Men’s category on Flowerpot Island. Joshua Graham of London came in second. Adam Akerman of Wiarton took third place. The Women’s Flowerpot Island run winners are Charlotte Wilken (age 12) of Port Elgin in first place, Leanne Ginty of Mississauga in second place and Marina Linaves of Ancaster in third place.
Master’s class (runners age 45+) for the Men’s Full Marathon, Andrew Weinhart of Kitchener came in first. Andy Saito of Hamilton was second, and Orlando Martina of Barrie came in third. Master’s in the Women’s Full Marathon were Lisa Campbell of Markham in first place and Melanie Thompson of Newmarket in second place. Half Marathon Master’s Men include Robert Ross of Port Elgin (1st place), Filip Kotynia of Pickering (2nd) and Chris Hodgkinson of Georgian Bluffs (3rd). The Master’s in the women’s Half Marathon are Alyson Schell of Oro-Medonte in first place, Catherine Manwell of Owen Sound in second place and Joanna Pauls of Kitchener in third. The 7 km Master’s (Men) are Ryan Hanke of London (1st), Andrew Cosby of Meaford (2nd) and Eric Ransome of Brantford (3rd). In the women’s 7 km event, the winners in the Master class are Jennifer Kelly of Toronto (1st), Brenda Diiorio of Tobermory (2nd) and Kim Scott of Owen Sound. Flowerpot Island Master’s (Men) are Jamie Wilken of Port Elgin (1st), Andy Saito of Hamilton (2nd) and John Harrington of Mississauga (3rd). Masters in the women’s island race are Leanne Ginty of Mississauga (1st), Lucrishua Grant of Pickering (2nd) and Nelvia Van Dorp of Georgian Bluffs (3rd).
Congratulations! Well done! And thank you for your participation in this challenging event that raises important funds for the ongoing work of Tobermory’s Primary Place as well as the Peninsula Adventure Sports Association (PASA). And thank you as well to all of the other generous donors and sponsors of the Tobermory Trail Race.
