A group from the Coyote Running Club entered the Around the Bay 30-km road race in Hamilton on March 31 and were rewarded with fine weather for the race.

The Bay race was first held in 1894, pre-dating the Boston Marathon by two years, although it does not have the continuous record that Boston has. There was a record registration of over 5,500 for the race plus 500 relay teams of two or three runners.

Kevin Knight led the Coyote runners in a time of 2:20:55 to place 446th of 4482 finishers and 33rd of 373 in the Men 50-54. Jim Bromley clocked a time of 2:43:08 to finish 1632nd followed closely by Lucy Hilts, who finished 1,711th in a time of 2:44:31. Bromley was 169th in the Men 50-54 and Hilts was 100th of 417 in the Women 40-45.

Gale Spencer had a great race with a time of 3:11:24 to finish 3,310th overall and 229th of 363 in the Women 45-49. Heather Snyder ran a respectable time of 3:43:50 in spite of virtually no training since coming off a running injury last fall. She started out with the plan to run a bit with the group but toughed out the whole 30 km.

Also running was Karen Harvey, daughter of Doug and Marion Harvey. She finished in a great time of 2:44:02 to place 1,584th overall and 28th of 278 in the Women 30-34.

Hilts and Knight entered the race as a warm up to the Boston Marathon, which takes place April 21.

Also going to Boston this year are Curtis Coyne and Mike Kulakowsky.

Spencer and Bromley are in the middle of training for the Mississauga Marathon on May 11.

The Coyote Running Club meets every Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. outside the Earth Harvest Café across from the Big Apple for a group run. Runners and walkers from beginners on up are always welcome. Come out and start your Saturday off with good physical activity and some great friendship.

Also, starting soon, the club will host a Learn to Run/Walk clinic led by Lorene Taylor on Thursday evenings at the Harbour. This clinic will prepare you for the Meaford Harbour 5 km held on July 19.

Please call Lorene Taylor at 519-538-3635, Andy Harrington at 519-538-0855 or Kevin Knight at 519-538-1435 for more information.