Halfmoon Bay athletes Larry and Teresa Nightingale both had very strong races at last week’s provincial cross country championships in Aldergrove.
They competed in the eight-km masters (40-plus) event, over a tough two-km loop course with three significant hills, at Aldergrove Lake Park.
In the highly contested men’s division, where the winner was decided by seven-tenths of a second, Larry was sixth overall and first in the 45 to 49 age division, ahead of several younger rivals he hasn’t beaten in years. He was the only male over 45 in the top 12. “I’m training for a marathon right now, so I wasn’t sure how my fitness would translate to the eight km distance,” he said. “For several years I’ve been content with my placing, but recently I’ve gotten a little tired of finishing behind my old rivals. This race was a big step forward.”
In the women’s division, Teresa led from start to finish, gradually increasing her advantage to 23 seconds.
“I was surprised to find myself out in front right away,” she said. “I was expecting more competition — several of the women there have been much faster than me in the past few years. I didn’t start too fast or anything. I just tried to keep a solid pace, push a little harder in each loop, and race against the men around me.”
Teresa’s win gained her automatic selection to the B.C. Team for the national championships in Guelph, Ont., on Nov. 27. That’s the same weekend that Larry will be running the Seattle Marathon.
The Nightingales credit a portion of their recent success to a new type of anti-aging supplement they’ve been using since Oct. 20, which resets the genes responsible for aging to more youthful patterns of behaviour.
“This is definitely taking our training and racing to a whole new level,” added Teresa. “We feel like we did 20 years ago — mentally as well as physically — and it’s derived from natural food sources so it’s not a concern for doping tests or anything. We’re excited to see what this will do for our racing times during the next six to 12 months and beyond.”
For more information, contact Teresa at 604-885-8849.
— Submitted
