Running Port Alberni Paper Chase 15k Tomorrow? Read This!

The Port Alberni Paper Chase 15K takes place on Sunday, March 10 at 11:00am. It’s the fifth race of the VIRA Island Race Series and is hosted by the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce.

I don’t get to come to Port Alberni often (in fact, this weekend will be my 2nd time ever being there), so I look forward to an up Island adventure (when the weather forecast looks great).

I ran the Port Alberni Paper Chase for the first time last year and I knew that I would be coming back again this year.

Just like all other VIRA Island Race Series, runners of all levels are welcome and encouraged to participate.

You can opt for the early start at 10:30am if you plan to take longer than 1.5 hours to complete this race.

The course itself

Originally, the Port Alberni Paper Chase route was going to be the same as last year.

However, according to the race organizers, “this year’s race has a bit of a bump to it due to the lingering effects of the February snow and persistent cold nights.”

The race organizers also stated that:

“After several attempts, we’ve determined that the loop through the McLean Mill National Historic Site is unsafe for our runners due to the build up of ice and snow. As such, the run will be diverted slightly to ensure that it remains at 15k.”

Essentially, the majority of the race will be on the same route as last year, but we will not be going into the mill. Therefore, approximately 1km needs to be made up in order to keep the distance at 15k.

In order to make up the distance, we will be going down Kitsuksis a little more, turning around and heading up onto Batty Rd.

Then, just like last year, we will be running on Debeaux Rd. After that, we will be on Smith Rd, which is where the turnaround will be.

I believe that the best way to run this race is to start slower and pick up the pace on the way back, after the turnaround, once we get to Batty Rd. There are fewer turns on the way back so you should be able to cruise towards the finish line and have a strong finish.

To be honest, I welcome the change, especially since safety was the reason for this change. Therefore, to avoid confusing everyone, I’ve decided not to post the course map for this year’s event.

There will be a few small hills on the course, but nothing too difficult. This course will still be more challenging than the Merville 15k that used to be part of the series but it won’t be anywhere near as hard as some of the other races we’ve run.

I suspect that since we are not running on the trails through the McLean Mill, that we should be able to produce slightly faster times than last year. Again though, that will depend on a variety of other factors.

Based on last year’s experience, there are not very many cars on these roads.

However, we are told to stay on our LEFT facing traffic unless otherwise instructed by the course marshalls.

Here’s a race photo from last year! Photo by Ken and Lois DeEll. Leggings are JP Activewear, from www.dreamstrides.com.

Once again, I don’t plan to wear my watch, so I won’t know if I’m going faster than last year until I finish. This is the 3rd week in a row that we are racing, so I don’t have any unrealistic expecatations of myself.