Way to go, Victors! About 50 club members gathered on a beautiful Sunday in November to celebrate another great year of running with the Guelph Victors. 

We kicked off the fun with a social 5 km run along the Eramosa River, stopping at various bridges to highlight the outstanding achievements of some of our runners. Thanks to our members who nominated their peers for these awards! 

The Award Winners

• Race with Grace award: Cara Kasdorf 

For enduring the cancellation of the Twin Cities Marathon + pivoting to run Hamilton instead! Cara trained all season for the Twin Cities Marathon. She drove to Minneapolis with family, eager to run with her sister. But at 5:30 am on race day, the race was cancelled due to an October heat wave. Instead of giving up in frustration, Cara redirected her focus, signing up for the Hamilton marathon, showing incredible mental resilience. Way to go, Cara! 

• Magnificent Marathon Award: Ben Beardsall 

For an amazing personal best performance at the Wineglass Marathon! Ben conquered the race with a time of 2:47:55, which placed him 27th overall in a field of 1,647 runners.
Notably, this achievement marks an amazing TEN-minute improvement in his personal best marathon time. Congrats Ben!

Honourable mention: Brandon Guild for an incredible performance at the same marathon!

• Record Breaker Award: Elizabeth Waywell 

For smashing MANY Canadian masters records in Chicago including: W65 marathon + half marathon! This year at the Chicago Marathon, Elizabeth claimed TWO Canadian Masters records. She set a new national W65 marathon record with an incredible time of 3:14:18 (7 minutes faster than the previous record), while also setting the national W65 women’s half-marathon record by finishing the front end in 1:35:01. Elizabeth now holds 9 Canadian Masters records, including those just mentioned plus W60 records in the 8K, 5-mile, 10K, 10-mile, half-marathon, and marathon, and the W55 record in the 30K. Incredible work, Elizabeth! 

• Vic Matthews Award (trophy): Robert Winckler 

For generous volunteer service to Guelph Victors club. Thanks for supporting our leaders and members! A long-time member of the Victors, Robert has previously distinguished himself by setting half marathon Guinness World Records. This year, Robert took a step back from running and contributed to our club by cheering on his fellow Victors at track and on social media as well as helping out with workouts. Thank you for your contributions, Robert!

• Trailblazer Award: Kelly Rupoli

For blazing fast performances at 5 Peaks trail races + being a welcoming club member! For the second year in a row, Kelly ran 4 of the 5 peaks trail races, coming in first or second in her division for every one of them. She faithfully comes out to track every Tuesday and challenges herself in our time trials. Kelly makes a point of talking with anyone who comes out new for the first time to make them feel welcome. Congrats on your trail races and thanks for being a great teammate, Kelly!

• Iron Will Award (Multisport trophy): Angela Hofstra

For stellar dedication and performance in multisport events + community leadership! Angela excels in both triathlons and duathlons, with a passion for the bike/run challenge. This year, despite being a newer swimmer, she completed her first half ironman, overcoming her discomfort of swimming in open water with many other swimmers. Angela started racing multisport events in her 50s and has demonstrated that athletic performance can be achieved at any age. She also does so much to further the sport in our community through her leadership position with the Guelph Triathlon Club. Well done, Angela!

Honourable mention: Elizabeth Stewart for her first place in the sprint triathlon at the Toronto Tri festival this summer, and for qualifying to represent Canada in Malaga Spain at the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Finals!

• Roger Bannister Award (trophy): Tanya Porcellato

For exemplary service to our broader community, raising over $5,000 for brain tumour research! Tanya is a very dedicated and hard-working athlete. She is also very grounded, mentally very tough and a fierce competitor. This was certainly demonstrated at the Sunburn Solstice Trail Race, where Tanya ran 78 km in 8 hours. She was 1st female across the finish and 2nd overall at this event, all with the goal of raising funds for brain tumour research. Amazing work for a great cause, Tanya!

• Consistency and Dedication Award: Ed Ross

For enthusiastic dedication + exceptionally consistent training and racing this year! At the Sulphur Springs trail race this spring, after months of steady training, Ed ran the farthest distance he has ever run: 120 km – a distance unfathomable for most of us. He continues to work toward earning that 100-mile goal with a growth mindset and great commitment. A true example of perseverance! One of the nominations for Ed said “It is so great to be around someone who exhibits such a positive vibe and is a great representation of the Victors in our community.” Congrats Ed!

• Consistency and Dedication Award: Trish Osuch

For super consistent training and racing this year, while encouraging others… with a smile! Trish has very consistently participated in Victors workouts throughout the year, while working on her personal running goals. The nomination for Trish said it best: “Day in and day out, Trish is out completing every workout (and with a smile on her face to boot!). Always so kind and encouraging to other runners, Trish’s dedication to running and reaching her goals has been inspiring! […] That dedication has led her to a sub-25 5km at parkrun” as well as a sub-2 hour half-marathon finish this year. Awesome work, Trish!

• Grit and Determination Award (trophy): Simon de Boer

For conquering TWO ultramarathons this year: 100 miles at Sulphur Springs + Grindstone! Simon earned his 100-mile belt buckle at Sulphur Springs on his third attempt this spring, showing such grit and determination to achieve this goal. Then in the fall, Simon tackled another 100 miles at Grindstone in Virginia, which involved 21000 feet of vertical gain, including monster climbs and the solitude of single-track ridge running. Huge congrats on these major accomplishments, Simon!

Honourable mention: John Pedlar for pacing Simon for 8 hours at Grindstone – WOW!

• Rookie of the Year Award: Katherine Savoie

For enthusiastically joining the club this year + consistent effort during workouts and time trials! Katherine started running with the Victors this year at the indoor track and has consistently shown up for workouts and time trials. Her determination and commitment have paid off as she improved her 3k trial finish time by over 90 seconds! So glad you joined us this year, Katherine!

• Magnificent Masters Award: Kim Walterhouse-Nelson

For amazing Masters running in 2023, including back-to-back Berlin and Chicago! A new addition to the Victors this year, Kim is an accomplished runner who continues to turn out impressive marathon performances. Most notably, this fall, she ran both Berlin and Chicago marathons within two weeks of each other, clocking in under four hours at both. Way to go, Kim!

• Going the Distance Award: Mary Catherine Stewart

For conquering longer distances this year: ATB 30 KM + Toronto Waterfront Marathon! In 2023, Mary Catherine completed her first Around the Bay 30K in an impressive 2 hours and 13 minutes, followed by a debut marathon in Toronto where she achieved a remarkable time of 3:06 with nearly even splits. Despite facing personal adversity, Mary Catherine exhibited strength, determination, and consistency this year, attending training sessions with a positive attitude. She also began coaching young athletes in the Xtreme Team club, where she is lovingly known as “Coach MC”. Congrats to Mary Catherine on these inspiring achievements, and thanks for your support for the running community. 

• Usher Posluszny Award (trophy): Stephen Kilburn

For outstanding race performances at his 25th consecutive Boston Marathon (+ Berlin)! Stephen continued his impressive 25-year Boston running streak in 2023 – quite a remarkable achievement! Stephen even got a mention announced at the start of the race over the PA system! Stephen conquered Boston this year with an amazing time of 3:19.  He also travelled to race the Berlin Marathon, finishing with an awesome time of 3:23. Congrats to Stephen on your outstanding performances and incredible dedication to the Boston streak! 

• Dude’s Got Heart Award: David Sharratt

For putting his heart into all that he does, while helping others along the way. David was nominated by his peers for working hard not only for his own running goals, but also for his family, pushing himself to become more. David completed a 3K time trial in under 10 minutes this year! He’s not just a runner, but also active in the running community, coaching the Conestoga Varsity Cross Country Team. He’s been known to lend out his bike to fellow athletes to allow them to train and race their triathlons. Love that community heart, David!  

• Beat the Pros Award: Jesse Sayles

For an impressive debut half marathon (3rd place AG finish at Cape Cod) + PB at Hamilton half! Having never run a half marathon distance before, Jesse debuted with a 1:27:35 finish time at the Cape Cod Half Marathon, coming 4th in his age group. However, he was in for a bit of a surprise when the race organizers contacted him and told him that he was actually in 3rd for his age group due to a technicality since a runner who finished ahead of him was a former elite athlete! So Jesse got to step onto the metaphorical podium, taking the place of a pro. Congrats Jesse! 

• Stride of Progress Award: Chi Bach

For persevering to overcome injury, then setting PBs in every distance for the comeback! After a setback at the end of last year where he twisted his ankle during our Sparkle in the Park run, Chi took some time off and then attacked his goals. He has PB’d this year at every race distance that he has competed in, improving his 5k time to a point where he is regularly running sub-20 minute 5k’s at parkrun, bringing his 10k time down from 49:41 to 40:25, and rocking the Toronto Waterfront Half marathon with a sub 1:30 time. Way to go, Chi! 

AWARD Run Highlights

POST-RUN SOCIAL

After the awards run, we reconvened at The Wooly for some post-run refreshments and an annual general meeting. Thanks to each of our members for supporting the Guelph Victors and participating in another great year of training together. Kudos to the leadership committee members, coaches, and volunteers who kept our workouts, time trials, and events running smoothly all year. Welcome to the new leadership committee members joining us in the new year. Looking forward to great things to come in 2024!