FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Royal Victoria Marathon Breaks Registration and Finisher Records
Course Record set in the Half Marathon
(Victoria, BC - Sunday October 11, 2009) Brilliant sunny skies greeted
12,492 participants in today's 30th Annual Royal Victoria Marathon - a
record for the event in its anniversary year. With the Half Marathon and
the 8K Road Race sold out prior to race day, registration numbers for all
the races showed a dramatic increase over previous years. The Marathon had
3,887 registrants, the Half Marathon 5,571, the 8K Road Race 2,609, and the
Thrifty Foods Kids Marathon - Kids Run 1,025. A new course record was set
in the Women's Half Marathon by Marilyn Arsenault.
The event featured a strong elite field in all the races, and also saw
three-time Marathon winner Steve Osaduik taking second place. Langley-based
Osaduik - the course record holder - had strong competition from three
Kenyans, Hillary Cheruiyot, Lameth Mosoti and Philip Samoei, and trailed in
the first half of the marathon. However, he ran a negative split in the
second half but wasn't able to catch the eventual winner Cheruiyot, who won
in 2:19:26. Osaduik's time was 2:22:42, and Mosoti was third in 2:24:43.
Cheruiyot - who trains in Calgary - was delighted with his result. He told
the large finish-line crowd that he liked the course and thought the
conditions were ideal. "I will be back next year to break the course
record," he said.
The much anticipated women's marathon race was won by the 2008 winner
Victoria's Cheryl Murphy in 2:44:01. She put in a strong performance but
couldn't catch the 20-year course record of 2:42:32. Katherine Moore of
Vancouver came second, bettering her third place finish last year, in
2:47:29. Three-time marathon winner Suzanne Evans from New Westminster came
third in 2:48:20. The women's field was one of the fastest ever with the
top nine women all finishing in under three hours. Murphy also captured the
Masters title, while Danny Gonzalez from Lake Oswego, Oregon, won the men's
Masters title in 2:33:45.
The Half Marathon saw Lucy Smith's 2007 women's course record broken by
Victoria's Marilyn Arsenault in a time of 1:15:39. The 41-year-old opera
singer, who also won the Masters title, dominated the race coming in six
minutes ahead of last year's winner Lindsay McLaren from Calgary. McLaren
finished in 2:21:59, and Vancouver's Stephanie Hamilton came third in
2:22:06. For being the top Canadian and breaking the course record
Arsenault was awarded a $1,000 bonus in addition to her first place award
of $1,000.
It was a one-two-three win for Victoria's athletes in the men's race which
was won by course record holder Jon Brown in 1:04:57. Although he didn't
beat his 2002 time of 1:02:32, he was one minute faster than his time in
the Great North Run in England last month. "This is a great time for Jon
considering he ran on his own for most of the race," said Bob Reid, Elite
Athlete Director. Second was Jim Finlayson in 1:07:57, and third was
Kristopher Swanson in 1:09:11. Master men's winner was Norm Tinkham in
1:11:53.
In the 8K Road Race, Matt Clout from Victoria came first in 24:52. Coached
by Jon Brown, this was an excellent result for Clout who came third in the
Chemainus Twilight Shuffle this year. University of Victoria varsity
athlete Logan Burke came second in 25:28, and Michael MacDiarmada from
Dublin came third in 25:58. The top Masters winner was Kevin McGinnis from
Ravensdale, WA who finished in 27:04. Rachel Ruus from Richmond won the
women's race in 28:32, Amy Schneeberg from Vancouver was second in 28:55
and Meghan McCollum, also from Vancouver was third in 29:24. The women's
Masters was won by Nancy Tinari from Coquitlam, BC in 31:23.
The event saw the highest number of finishers in the Half Marathon and the
8K Road Race - 4,602 and 2,150 respectively. The Marathon saw 2,568
finishers - a 25% increase over last year - and with the Thrifty Foods Kids
Marathon - Kids Run the total number of finishers was 10,352 - another
record for the event.
The 31st Annual Royal Victoria Marathon will take place on October 10th,
2010.
###
|
