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Trail run on Father's Day a family affair

Treger, Dimma post top times on 10K course

Family mattered at the 23rd annual Whistler Valley Trail Run on Sunday, June 15, as a few dozen runners braved stormy skies and celebrated Father's Day by taking on the event's 5K or 10K course.

Several participants either ran the race with other family members, or had family awaiting them at the Spruce Grove Park finish line, as the clouds parted for just long enough on Sunday morning to splash some sun on the trails.

That included Marek Ujejski, who had two of his sons out to support him as he ran to the top local time on the short course.

"They were up and at 'em this morning nice and early to come out here," grinned Ujejski, who finished the 5K as the runner-up in 23 minutes, 38 seconds.

The top women's 5K finisher, Nicki Murdoch, crossed the line alongside dad, Brent, in 32:57. And the overall winner, Seattle's Matthew Jackson, also had his father there cheering at the finish, and his mother out running the event herself, as they visited the resort on a family vacation.

"We came up here yesterday and were looking through the newspaper and said, 'Wow, there's a run tomorrow - we better go do that,'" said Jackson, 14. "It was a challenging course but it was fun to do."

Whistler's Marian Treger was the fastest runner in the 10K, finishing in 42:44, while fellow local Johnny Adams (44:57) was second across the line.

The women's 10K ended up being a close finish, as winner Valeinna Dimma (53:15) was just four seconds ahead of runner-up Leni Reichos.

Race director Wanda Chalk said the event raised several hundred dollars for the Whistler Youth Foundation. See www.webscorer.com for full results, or see Pique on Thursday, June 19 for more details.