Click HERE for the 2008 results

CHCM Road Race

Looking Back – The First 25 Years 

The first CHCM 10 Kilometre Road Race was held in Marystown in 1981.  The race started and finished at the Marystown Summer Games Track, with an out and back course on the main street through the town.  It marked the first time that a major road race was held on the Burin Peninsula, with runners visiting from Central Newfoundland and the Avalon Peninsula.  Paul McCloy and Colleen Martin from St. John’s were the respective male and female winners in a field of over 30 runners.  In the second year, a smaller field of runners took to the road.  Colleen Martin returned as the female winner.  Joe Ryan, from St. John’s, took the senior male honors.  Bill Hiller from Grand Falls won the masters category. The race was not run in 1983 and 1984 but was revived in 1985 using a new route and run in conjunction with the Marystown Kinsmen Summer Festival. 

By 1986, members of Mariners Athletics Club (MAC) who organize the race were looking for a faster course.  The club  moved the race to Garnish where it was established as a permanent site.  This course is an out and back route which starts at the Garnish Recreation Centre, passes through Frenchman's Cove, with a turn around point at the outskirts of the town. 

The Garnish-Frenchman’s Cove course is flat making it conducive to fast times.  In that first year in Garnish-Frenchman’s Cove, Nicola Will from St. John’s set a female course record in a time of 36:20.  In 1989, Olympian Paul McCloy, Newfoundland’s most successful distance runner, competing in his second CHCM Road Race, set a male course record in a time of 29:53.  Fortune native, Brian Collier running under the MAC banner set a junior record in 32:33.  The race has become popular in the road racing community with experienced and novice participants running for personal best times.

With a growing tradition of being one of several quality races organized outside St. John’s, the CHCM Road race was included in the 1990 Provincial TIMEX Road Race Series.  The race continues to be part of the TIMEX road race series and the newly established Toyota Plaza series as organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Athletics Association (NLAA).  Mariners Athletics Club remains the host club and CHCM Radio continues to sponsor and promote the event on an annual basis.  The Southern Gazette, the local Burin Peninsula newspaper, carries pre and post coverage of the race.  The Garnish Town Council and the Garnish Fire Department provides support in making the race a community event. 

In the 1990’s as the provincial road race scene experienced a participation growth, so did the CHCM Road Race.  Participation doubled in 1993 with 77 participants – walkers, joggers and serious road racers.  Over the years the race has taken on an interprovincial - international flavor.  A large contingent of runners from St. Pierre and Miquelon have joined the ever increasing number of runners from the St. John's - Mount Pearl Region, other track and field regions and other provinces. 

Participation from most towns on the Burin Peninsula continues to increase each year with the largest number in 2007.  A number of participants are now making the race a family affair.  Some participants are competitive, racing against other competitors in their age categories, while others jog or walk the course for the challenge of covering the 10 Km distance, and other family members just come out to watch the race. 

In the 25 year history of the race, the race have had several multiple winners.  Claudio Arthur of St. Pierre has accumulated the most wins with six first place finishes – 1993, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005.  Paul McCloy has won three times – 1981, 1989, and 1991; Scott Young of St. John’s also has won three times – 1995, 1996 and 1998.  Marie Decker of St. John’s has won the female division four times recording victories in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004.  Tracey Pope from Grand Bank has won three times – 1996, 1997, and 1998.  Art Meaney of St. John’s, has the distinction of holding two course records – the male 40-49 age division record of 33.19 and the male 50-59 age division record of 34.46. 

During the past 25 years, a number of male and female runners from the Burin Peninsula have taken top honours – Gordon Brockerville and Shelly Farrell (1985), Brian Collier (1987),  Brenda Foley (1991), Lionel Foote (1992), Tracey Pope (1996, 1997, and 1998), Grant Handrigan (2006) and Ryan Brockerville (2007). 

In 2007 during the 25^th anniversary run a record number of 78 participants completed the race.  This year the course is re-certified and will have road race markers showing kilometers completed and a large clock at the finish line so participants can see their times as they cross the finish line.   MAC organizers, CHCM and Garnish Town Council representatives are hoping to top 100 particpants.

To make it convenient for local participants, there is an early registration at CHCM Radio Station from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, May 29.  Participants may also register on site between 10:30 A.M. and 11:45 A.M. just before race start at 12:00 Noon on May 31. 

The registration fee is $15.00 ($10.00 for NLAA members).  This fee includes a $5.00 One Day Race Permit for non-NLAA  members.  A reception and medal presentation will follow the race at approximately 1:30 PM.  A number of prize draws, which includes TIMEX watches, Toyota prizes and CHCM prizes, will be made during the reception. 

For more information, interested participants may call Lyman Keeping 826-2787 or Gordon Brockerville at 279-0380.  More information about this race and other NLAA events you may wish to visit the NLAA website http://www.nlaa.ca/  

COURSE RECORDS

Overall Winners of the CHCM Road Race