With thousands of runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes ready to line up for the 30th annual Times Colonist 10K Sunday, the City of Victoria is working with organizers to help participants and others manoeuvre through city streets.
Road closures along the 10-kilometre course will start at 7:45 a.m., with the wheelchair group heading off at 7:55 a.m. and the rest of the 10K crowd at 8 a.m.
Among the longer-term closures will be Belleville Street, between Menzies and Government streets, which is being shut from noon today until 2 p.m. Sunday. The start/finish area at Belleville and Government will be closed Sunday from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Intersections on the TC 10K course will be closed during the event, while roads inside the perimeter will stay open — although motorists needing to cross the route will have to do so at intervals, with police direction.
Vehicles are not allowed to park on the route from 4 to 11 a.m. Sunday. Signs will be posted, and vehicles parked between those hours will be towed at the owners’ expense.
It takes as many as 400 volunteers to make the event happen, said race director Trish Fougner, with the earliest starting about 3:30 a.m. on event day to deal with fencing and other details.
The city started planning last fall, said Philip Bellefontaine, Victoria’s assistant director of transportation. “So it’s a well-rehearsed process.”
Here are the approximate road openings as the field progresses along the route:
• Government at Humboldt — 8:37 a.m.
• Government at Yates — 8:50 a.m.
• Yates at Vancouver — 9 a.m.
• Vancouver at Richardson — 9:15 a.m.
• Minto at Moss — 9:25 a.m.
• Dallas at Memorial — 11:30 a.m.
• Dallas at Cook — 11:40 a.m.
• Dallas at Douglas — 11:50 a.m.
• Belleville at Oswego — noon
There will be water stations at Moss and Fairfield (3.5-km mark), Dallas and Moss (5.3-km mark) and Dallas and Pilot (8-km mark). Finishing times will be calculated by transponder systems fixed to the back of all participants’ race numbers.
Peak finishing time will be about 9 a.m.; the finish line closes at noon.
The Thrifty Foods Family Fun Run starts at 11 a.m. on a separate 1.5-km route.
