If you feel like you missed out on some fun because you didn’t run the Harriers Pioneer 8k, then you should come to the Cobble Hill 10k. This year’s Cobble Hill 10k is on January 27th (TOMORROW!!) and it’s definitely going to be a fun time.
For those who don’t know, Cobble Hill is about a 50-minute drive North of Victoria.
Regardless of your pace or fitness level, you are welcome to come out and enjoy the run. Walkers are also encouraged to attend and, once again, early start is allowed!
If you are planning to take more than 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete the 10k, you should do the early start. If you are planning on starting early, then you need to be at the start line by 10:30am.
The Cobble Hill 10K is a great way to see where your fitness is at because it’s still fairly early in the season.
Just like all the other VIRA-Island Race Series, the course is very beginner-friendly. I love that about these races.
While online registration is closed, there is still time to register on race day. However, the price will be a little bit higher and registration cutoff is at 10:15am sharp. I also believe it’s cash or cheque only for race day registrations.
As we can see from the map below, there are a quite a few turns. Starting near George Bonner Elementary School, the course is scenic and is run on country roads around Cobble Hill. It has produced some fast times for many runners in the past.
With the exception of a few small hills, the course is relatively flat. In fact, I’ve run my second best 10k time ever on this course before, which was 41:05 in 2016. I hope to one day get back to being able to run those times.
Some race insights:
The first 2km make it very tempting to start too fast, as I often do.
There is a sharp turnaround just before km 2.
I also recall there being a small incline just before the 3k mark where I often regretted running the first km too fast.
Then, after the 4th km, it was a fairly smooth sailing for me, so I hope that will be the case for you too.
There was another very small incline in the later part of the race. If I remember correctly, it was somewhere between 6-8k. However, it was a very short uphill and if you didn’t bust out of the gate in the first 2k, you should hardly notice it.
Since there are quite a few turns in the race, you should strive to run the tangents. Here is a great article in Competitor Magazine about running the tangents.
Essentially, running the tangents means following the line that’s closest to each corner. Therefore, you will end up running the shortest possible distance. If you don’t run the shortest possible distance, then you will end up running a little bit longer than 10k.
We’ve also been told that there are a few potholes along the sides of the roads that we must be mindful of. I’d rather run slower and not step in any potholes because I have a long year of running still ahead of me.
The last 1.5km of the Cobble Hill 10k is super fun and fast. Even last year, when I was just getting back into running again (after a break from serious running between 2016 and 2017), I ran the last km in 3:58.
Above: Photo by Lois DeEll. I’m wearing JP Activewear from Dream Strides, www.dreamstrides.com
My plan for the race:
For the first time since I started running again back in 2011, I plan to run this race tomorrow without a watch. My Garmin has been on my wrist for every race that I’ve done for nearly a decade and tomorrow I will not have it with me.
In my upcoming recap, I will not be able to give a breakdown of how fast I did each km, but I will let you know if I get any other insights from it.
Ever stare at your wrist so much that your neck gets sore? I sure have. That will not be the case tomorrow.
Final thoughts:
The forecast looks pretty good for tomorrow so far. The post-race food will be delicious too. I hope to see you there.
If you see me, please stop by to say “hi”.