A run with Mike Suminski is equivalent to three doses of a high-energy drink. His arms stretch wide. He lifts his nose to inhale the fresh forest air atop Mount Finlayson as a small group of runners ascend the 419-metre mountain at Goldstream Provincial Park.

With the enthusiasm of a young boy, Suminski asks the runners, how their day is going. HeB次元官网网址檚 intently interested in the response, and as he leaves the mountain top, he jokingly reminds them to be B次元官网网址渃areful with the bears.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 clear Suminski loves trail running. ItB次元官网网址檚 obvious in the way he runs the trail with bounds of endless energy and always ready with a laugh or quick-witted remark. Ask him of question about running form or where the trail goes, heB次元官网网址檚 only too happy to offer assistance.

Suminski, 62, has become somewhat of a legend on local trails.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nobody in town who runs who hasnB次元官网网址檛 heard of SuminskiB次元官网网址檚 group or run with it,B次元官网网址� said Moe Beaulieu, a longtime running mate of Suminski.

The group B次元官网网址� loosely called Suminski Runners B次元官网网址� has been around for more than 10 years. It started out as  a clinic where runners would pay Suminski upwards of $100 to learn how to run the many wooded trails in Greater Victoria.

When the Capital Regional District wanted to start charging Suminski a fee for using the park because he was running a business, he decided to drop the clinic but keep the runs going.

These days, Suminski notifies the runners every week by email where the Sunday where the run will take place. The massive list, Suminski estimates, has more than 200 names. Every run is free.

B次元官网网址淭he social aspect, at least for me, is a big part of it,B次元官网网址� Suminski said in an interview last week. B次元官网网址淚 love my running, but I really love the social aspect of it.B次元官网网址�

Most Sundays between 20 to 30 runner comes out, and run anywhere from two to six hours on the trails. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter if you are a beginner or seasoned vet, youB次元官网网址檙e always welcomed.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people fear coming out because they feel intimidated, but I always tell them we have five or six different pace groups, so nobody is left out,B次元官网网址� Suminski said.

The Suminski Runners have certainly gone through their trials and tribulations.

Three members of the group have fought back throat cancer, and a fourth battled the disease before he joined in on the runs. Another was recent diagnosed with lymphoma.

But still they run.

The group has at least a dozen people who have completed a 50-kilometre ultramarathon, which as Beaulieu points out is B次元官网网址減retty phenomenalB次元官网网址� considering the number of runners.

Larry Taylor, 66, is one of those runners.

Last year at the age of 65, he completed his first-ever 50-mile ultramarathon. He backed it up this spring by running a 25-kilometre race one day and a 50-kilometre the next.

B次元官网网址淚 was hooked the first day (with trail running). ItB次元官网网址檚 like church for me,B次元官网网址� Taylor said.

He added though that the one thing that keeps people motivated is Suminski.

For Suminski it is all the positive people around him.

B次元官网网址淚 found trail running such a positive environment when I discovered it,B次元官网网址漢e said. B次元官网网址淚t was so much better than running on the streets.B次元官网网址�

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A trail of success

So just how successful are the Suminski Runners?

Moe Beaulieu has run 130 ultramarathons and Rob Grant is credited with 81 ultras and 84 marathons.

Larry Taylor who joined the group in 2006 has run a 50-mile ultramarathon, four 50 kilometre races and has climbed both the Golden Hinde and Kusam Mountain.

This year two runners B次元官网网址� Dave Small and Gary Anderton B次元官网网址� completed the 120-mile Fat Dog in Manning Park.

Others have done just as well including Lori Heron, Torben Lind, Linda Tyrrell and Matt Cecil.

Earlier this year at the Sun Mountain race in Washington State, 52 runners from Victoria competed, most from the Suminski group.

Suminski believes it all comes from the love of trail running and the social aspect.

B次元官网网址淭he reason we race isnB次元官网网址檛 so much to beat each other than to be with each other,B次元官网网址� he said.

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B次元官网网址�&苍产蝉辫;WANT TO LEARN MORE? Go online to trailsofthewestcoast.com or contact Mike Suminski at 250-920-0406