(VICTORIA, BC) January 11, 2009 -- Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club staged the first Pioneer 8K and the first Royal Victoria Marathon, both in 1980. On Sunday, January 11, 2009, the Pioneer 8K celebrated its thirtieth anniversary and spectators and runners were not disappointed with a demonstration of brilliance in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

The open men’s race featured Canada’s best marathoner, Victorian Jon Brown, who last month ran 2:12:26 in Fukuoka, Japan. Richard Mosley, from Coquitlam, rose to the challenge and ran shoulder to shoulder with Brown for the entire race. In the last fifty metres Mosley put on a ferocious kick to take the win by three seconds, 23:35 to 23:38. Three-time RVM Champion and four-time Pioneer winner Steve Osaduik, placed third in 24:17. All three are members of the host Prairie Inn Harriers Racing Team. There were 101 PIH finishers and seventy PIH volunteers involved with the event.

The open women’s race was equally exciting with local favourite and three-time winner Lucy Smith taking the crown in 28:01, four seconds ahead of BC Athletics Senior Road Runner of the Year, Cheryl Murphy. Both are Harriers. Third place went to 2008 TC10K Champion, Calgary’s Lisa Harvey in 28:32.

The master men’s division was loaded with world-class athletes led by Mark Bomba, from Coquitlam, running his first race as a master since turning forty on January 3. Bomba has represented Team Canada at several cross country and road running world championships and has notched top-five finishes at both the TC10K and the Sun Run, and has a second place finish at the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in 2007. He won the over-forty division in 25:42, good for eleventh place overall of the 630 finishers. Neil Holm, from Courtenay, was second master in 26:07 and Maple Ridge’s Norm Tinkham took third in 26:16. Paul McCloy was second to Tinkham in the M45 division in 26:33, while Gord Christie placed third in 27:47.

The master women's race provided strong challenges from outstanding local and lower mainland runners Lucy Smith, Cheryl Murphy, Nancy Tinari, and Joan McGrath, and all delivered first, second, third, and fourth placings. Smith was first master runner and first open runner, and collected $1,300 in prize money of the $7,000 offered.

In the Pioneer "Legends" Team of Champions division, comprised of all sixty past winners, organizers were thrilled to welcome back Gary Barber, Todd Howard, Jim Finlayson, Steve Osaduik, Jon Brown, Keith Butler, Craig Odermatt, Paul McCloy, Richard Lee, Steve Bachop, Debbie Bowker, Carolyn Murray, Lucy Smith, Susan Butler, Liz Jones, and eight-time winner Ulla Marquette.

There were 720 registrations and 630 finishers at Pioneer, up one hundred from last year’s total of 530 finishers. It was the BC Athletics provincial 8K road racing championships and produced exceptional performances in every five-year age category from under-fifteen to over-eighty-five. Junior winners were Kirill Solovyen and Kaylee Beales. Richard Mosley and Lucy Smith were crowned BCA Senior champions while Lucy Smith and Mark Bomba captured the Masters over-forty title.

At the Pioneer awards ceremony, a cheque for $10,000 was presented from donations by PIH members to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon in memory of Harrier Dave Reed who died unexpectedly of a stroke two months ago. Reed won the M50 division of Pioneer last year and was a popular Harrier when he raced on Vancouver Island.