Organizers of the Royal Victoria Marathon (RVM) say the rain did not deter the 15,466 runners who participated in this past weekend’s event.
The RVM involved a marathon, half-marathon, eight kilometre (8K) race, five kilometre (5K) race and a kids’ run, all of which were sold out, setting a new participation record for the long-standing Victoria event.
“This year’s RVM was definitely one to be remembered,” said Cathy Noel, RVM General Manager and Race Director.
“It was truly incredible to see everything come together after a year of planning. So many highlights for our 45th including selling out the race distances, new sponsors, probably the most volunteers we’ve ever had, and, of course, seeing thousands of racers coming across that finish line. What a year,” she exclaimed.
Of the 15,466 racers registered, 12,720 finished their races, with a handful of runners setting new course records.
The RVM men’s marathon winner was Vancouver-based Louis Maruk, who finished with a time of 2:24:29.
“It was cool but the weather was good as well,” said Maruk who placed 12th last year.
The runner in second was Kip Kangogo from Lethbridge, Alta, who finished in 2:25:04. This set a new record for runners aged 45 to 49, according to RVM.
For the RVM women’s marathon, the winner was Cassandra de Winter, also from Lethbridge, Alta, who finished the race in 2:39:52.
“It was so good, it was so fun, the energy out here was amazing and the weather was perfect,” said de Winter.
The RVM says that de Winter wanted to give a shout out to her three kids, one who will be 9-months-old next week.
“Being a mom definitely makes you a little stronger,” she exclaimed.
The men’s half-marathon winner was Kelowna-based Russell Pennock, who finished in 1:05:15, with Vancouverite Chris Taylor coming in second with a time of 1:06:05.
“First half I worked with Chris [Taylor] and we agreed to switch off leads every threeish minutes,” Pennock explained.
“We did that until about the 9 or 10k point and then there was a bit of an uphill and I made a bit of a gap and then held it from there.”
In the women’s half marathon, Calgary-based Claire Sumner won the race with a time of 1:15:13.
RVM says that in the half-marathon, only one record was set, with Robert Dunbrack from Sechelt, BC, breaking the course record for men aged 75 to 79 in a time of 1:41:35.
Only one Victoria local won a race, local man Liam Donnelly winning the 8K in a time of 23:59.
The final two course records set this year were in the 8K and 5K races.
The first of these being on the 8K for the female U13 division, with Courtenay-based Avery Schmidt finishing in 31:43. Lastly, Burnaby-based runner Claire Dannatt finished the race in just 14:37.
The RVM is set to return next year for its 46th edition, and hope to break their newly set participation record then.
