Is the Prairie Inn Harriers Thetis Relays the best running event of the year on Vancouver Island? Honestly… it just might be. This event is held each November just outside of Victoria, BC and there’s something uniquely charming about this race—an old-school, grassroots event that’s been part of the Island running scene for more than 40 years. It doesn’t try to be flashy or overly polished; instead, it leans into what makes running great in the first place: simplicity, community, and pushing yourself for the sheer fun of it.
What I love most is how pure the event feels. The distance is random in that wonderfully quirky, Thetis Lake way, and nobody is obsessing over perfect splits or textbook race strategy. You show up, pin a number on (sort of), run hard, cheer loud, and soak in the energy of the relay exchange zone. It reminds you that running doesn’t always need to be about PRs or big goals—sometimes it’s just about effort, grit, and joy.
This year we had two Island Endurance teams out there, which made the whole thing even better. Running on a team as an adult feels rare and special—something many of us haven’t really experienced since high school or college. There’s this shared pressure that’s actually really fun: that feeling of “I’m going to close that gap” or “I can pass that runner to give my team a boost.” It makes you run a little harder, but in the best possible way, because it’s not just about you anymore. It becomes about contributing to something bigger, even if it’s just a scrappy relay team trying to out-kick another squad in the final stretch.
So, yeah—when you put all that together, the history, the atmosphere, the team vibes, the gritty fun of racing around Thetis—it’s hard not to call it the best running event on Vancouver Island. And if it’s not the best, it’s absolutely the most heart-and-soul running event we’ve got.
