Ideal weather and running conditions were very much to David Eikelboom and Claire Young乌鸦传媒檚 liking for the 23rd running edition of the BMO Okanagan Marathon.
Eikleboom, from Whitehorse, and Young, from Kelowna, captured their respective marathon titles Sunday in Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 City Park.
Eikelboom fell just short of the course record, winning his first Okanagan Marathon in a time of two hours 34 minutes 27 seconds.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a beautiful course. Normally I do well on hilly courses so I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 totally sure how a flat one would go,乌鸦传媒� Eikelboom said.
乌鸦传媒淚 spent a lot of time studying the course map and the elevation profile. Plus being from Whitehorse helped me be able to run in today乌鸦传媒檚 the slightly cooler temperatures.乌鸦传媒�
Edmonton乌鸦传媒檚 Brian York placed second in the men乌鸦传媒檚 marathon at 2:39:03, while Darryl Vanderwoude, also of Edmonton, placed third in a time of 2:39:52.
In the women乌鸦传媒檚 marathon, an ecstatic Young crossed the finish line with a time of 3:06:12
乌鸦传媒淭his is my first and only race this year,乌鸦传媒� Young said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 over the moon, I didn乌鸦传媒檛 expect to win that乌鸦传媒檚 for sure.乌鸦传媒�
Following in second place was Vancouver乌鸦传媒檚 Genevieve Cauffope coming in at 3:06:49 and Megan Brown, running a time of 3:07:43.
The men乌鸦传媒檚 Half Marathon saw a new champion as Jordan Van Besouw of West Kelowna finished first at 1:20:03. The win caught Van Besouw by surprise.
乌鸦传媒淭his was supposed to be a [final pre-race] training run 乌鸦传媒� I乌鸦传媒檓 running the New York Marathon in 3 weeks. So this is great.乌鸦传媒�
Spectators and cheer stations lined the course to cheer on the racers who experienced great conditions all morning. Placing second was Artur Wojtas of Calgary with a time of 1:23:55, followed by Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Jacob Harris in at 1:25:01.
Taking the women乌鸦传媒檚 Half Marathon was Calgary乌鸦传媒檚 Deb Russell, with a time of 1:20:57. Russell was delighted to run a personal best time.
乌鸦传媒淚 took just more than a minute off my previous best so I乌鸦传媒檓 really happy with my time.乌鸦传媒�
Sarah MacArthur of Calgary finished second with a time of 1:23:03, and Winnipeg乌鸦传媒檚 Gina Tranquada finished third at 1:29:05.
Brock Hoel from West Kelowna won the 10km men乌鸦传媒檚 run in a time of 34:41. It was Hoel乌鸦传媒檚 second time running the race, 乌鸦传媒淚t was perfect running conditions this year and I was about a minute faster than last year 乌鸦传媒� so I feel really good.乌鸦传媒� First place in the women乌鸦传媒檚 event went to Coldstream乌鸦传媒檚 Erica Casey who ran a time of 40:14.
Nearly 3,000 people from six different countries took part in the event, which drew crowds and runners of all ages, from 7 to 81, including one family who had a grandfather, mother and granddaughter running in the 10 km.
Olympic race walker Mat Bilodeau participated in the half marathon this year, as did double lung transplant recipient Andrew Brownell, who was pushed in his wheelchair by his twin sister Anna the 21 km to the finish line.
乌鸦传媒淲e are so grateful to the residents of Kelowna who have supported this event and really allowed it to grow,乌鸦传媒� says race director Tom Keogh. 乌鸦传媒淲e are so pleased to see such a diverse range of age and abilities in our runners 乌鸦传媒� it truly has become a weekend the whole family can enjoy.乌鸦传媒�
Over the years, the BMO Okanagan Marathon has raised more than $386,000 for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada, including ongoing and significant contributions through fundraising activities organized by the regional BMO employees. The national charity has fulfilled 8,000 dreams across Canada, in their 29-year history.
For complete results from the BMO Okanagan Marathon, visit or
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