Written by Chris Kelsall – Langford’s Ryan McKenzie won the 25th annual Chemanius Twilight Shuffle five kilometre race on Tuesday.

McKenzie, Cam Levins (who runs varsity for the University of Southern Utah) and Richard Mosley (Coquitlam) ran through the first kilometer together when Mosley fell off the pace. Levins held on until the two km mark before he held back, and McKenzie ran all alone for the remainder of the race, building his lead to 30 seconds by the time the dust settled.

McKenzie set a new course record with a time of 14 minutes, 23 seconds.

Forty-one-year-old Lucy Smith of Victoria was the fastest women in 16:49. Fellow Victoria runner Cheryl Murphy (17:22) came in second.

Performance of the day may go to 79-year-old running legend Maurice Tarrant of Victoria, who ran a time of 24:36. “I am going to start track training soon and with this race, I can start training for the 80-plus age group,” said Tarrant.

Five hundred and fifty-three runners participated.

Top men’s masters finisher went to Shawnigan Lake’s Kevin Searle who finished in 16:49 followed by former Irish Olympian, Paul O’Callaghan (17:07) and one-time Commonwealth Games competitor Gordon Christie (17:17), both from Victoria.

The Twilight Shuffle is sponsored and organized by Island Runner Footwear, the Chemainus Legion and co-hosted by Island Runner and the Prairie Inn Harriers running club. The provincial five KM championship race was sanctioned by B.C. Athletics and certified accurate by official course measurer Gary Duncan.