A large crowd gathered at Ballenas Secondary in Parksville on Friday, Sept. 12 to officially open the community's new track, a night-and-day upgrade over the former dirt and weed surface. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

Community celebration

New high-end Parksville running track officially unveiled

Sep 12, 2025 | 3:37 PM

PARKSVILLE — Years of campaigning, fundraising and community effort have finally led to completion of a new outdoor running track.

The ribbon was officially cut on the Oceanside Community Track at École Ballenas Secondary School on Friday, Sept. 12 with local dignitaries joined by school children excited to take a lap on the six-lane, 400 metre long track.

Eve Flynn, board chair of the Qualicum School District, said the $1.6 million project marks a substantial step forward for local athletes, as well as recreation and exercise for the broader community.

“This track will serve not only our students, but residents of all ages and becoming a lasting asset for active living and community wellbeing for many, many years to come and I hope we all take advantage of it.

An official ribbon cutting occurred Friday, roughly three months after the facility wrapped construction. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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In addition to the six lanes around the entire track, the facility also includes an attached eight-lane 100 metre straight away for shorter sprint racing.

The track replaces a wholly inadequate dirt-based facility in place since the 1970s.

Also upgraded is the football field inside the track, which was subject to a $300,000 renovation to level the surface, while new goal posts are set to arrive before the end of the month.

Phil Munroe, SD69’s director of operations told the crowd gathered on Friday they’ve taken steps to ensure continued growth for the facility.

“We moved the track about 20 meters in a northwest direction from the existing track, which has allowed us to do an eight lane straight and six lanes around the track. But also allow future generations to add two lanes if they want to create a full eight lane track.”

A concrete pad has also been added with bleachers envisioned for the future.

The project was only made possible through considerable partnerships from local business to local and regional government. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

He said a considerable win during the project was a conversation they had with Marathon Surfaces, who worked on the rubber top layer of the track.

“We were going to get the second best rubber surface that there was, that’s what the budget allowed for. They said that they would donate that time, as a community project and we could get the premium product for the same or similar price.”

A community effort to house and feed the workers from multiple area businesses ensured those spearheading the project lived up to their end of the bargain.

He added some have already taken to the new track, using it regularly, however others have brought their motorbikes, e-bikes or other items not suitable for the facility.

Munroe hopes an element of “community policing” will help ensure the long-term future for the track.

A resurfacing and regrading of the centre football field was also done during the track upgrade, seeing a noticable slope all-but removed. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Canadian steeplechase athlete Alycia Butterworth, who was born in Prince Rupert but spent many years living and training in Parksville, attended Friday’s grand opening.

A Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Butterworth ran the old dirt and weed-filled track, a place she called “a pretty unruly facility”.

“When I started here, the track was actually around 406 metres long, so they would have to wheel it before every practice to know where the start and finish line was. As the season would go on, every year, grass would grow in from the inside and in from the outside, so…we’d have more grass patches and we’d be avoiding more and more grass as it went on.”

Suffice to say, the upgrade is more than welcomed by Butterworth.

“I am so excited for future generations. I hope this also just keeps the spirit of track and field alive in the club really strong in the Parksville-Qualicum area, and I hope it helps make enthusiastic future generations of athletes.”

The soft rubber surface is comparable to some of the best tracks anywhere. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

She also praised the wider community impacts for health and wellbeing, adding to the soft-safe surface infrastructure across the mid-Island, joining Nanaimo’s Rotary Bowl as the only comparable facility in the region.

Tom Osborne, general manager of recreation and parks for the Regional District of Nanaimo, said the Oceanside Community Track will have wide-reaching positive impacts.

“The conversation is around track athletes, but it actually also comes down to the average person that can come out and lead a healthier lifestyle just walking around the track. This type of a track is a bonding component in the community. You will see going forward more and more people here socializing, training and just living a better lifestyle,” Osborne said.

Establishing a new six-lane, rubberized Olympic quality running track for the Oceanside region has been a long time coming.

Oceanside Track and Field worked for the past 20 years to establish a suitable running track to serve the Parksville-Qualicum Beach region.

The local track and field club raised $1.7 million dollars, with fundraising formally launched in 2018.

Numerous contributions were also made from local municipal governments, including School District 69, senior government funding and private donors to make the project a reality.

The modernized new track replaces an inadequate weed-filled red cinder-based track that had served the community since the late 1970’s. (Bill Dean)

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