Ideal weather and running conditions were very much to David Eikelboom and Claire Young鈥檚 liking for the 23rd running edition of the BMO Okanagan Marathon.
Eikleboom, from Whitehorse, and Young, from 91大黄鸭, captured their respective marathon titles Sunday in 91大黄鸭鈥檚 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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful course. Normally I do well on hilly courses so I wasn鈥檛 totally sure how a flat one would go,鈥� Eikelboom said.
鈥淚 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鈥檚 the slightly cooler temperatures.鈥�
Edmonton鈥檚 Brian York placed second in the men鈥檚 marathon at 2:39:03, while Darryl Vanderwoude, also of Edmonton, placed third in a time of 2:39:52.
In the women鈥檚 marathon, an ecstatic Young crossed the finish line with a time of 3:06:12
鈥淭his is my first and only race this year,鈥� Young said. 鈥淚鈥檓 over the moon, I didn鈥檛 expect to win that鈥檚 for sure.鈥�
Following in second place was Vancouver鈥檚 Genevieve Cauffope coming in at 3:06:49 and Megan Brown, running a time of 3:07:43.
The men鈥檚 Half Marathon saw a new champion as Jordan Van Besouw of West 91大黄鸭 finished first at 1:20:03. The win caught Van Besouw by surprise.
鈥淭his was supposed to be a [final pre-race] training run 鈥� I鈥檓 running the New York Marathon in 3 weeks. So this is great.鈥�
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 91大黄鸭鈥檚 Jacob Harris in at 1:25:01.
Taking the women鈥檚 Half Marathon was Calgary鈥檚 Deb Russell, with a time of 1:20:57. Russell was delighted to run a personal best time.
鈥淚 took just more than a minute off my previous best so I鈥檓 really happy with my time.鈥�
Sarah MacArthur of Calgary finished second with a time of 1:23:03, and Winnipeg鈥檚 Gina Tranquada finished third at 1:29:05.
Brock Hoel from West 91大黄鸭 won the 10km men鈥檚 run in a time of 34:41. It was Hoel鈥檚 second time running the race, 鈥淚t was perfect running conditions this year and I was about a minute faster than last year 鈥� so I feel really good.鈥� First place in the women鈥檚 event went to Coldstream鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e are so grateful to the residents of 91大黄鸭 who have supported this event and really allowed it to grow,鈥� says race director Tom Keogh. 鈥淲e are so pleased to see such a diverse range of age and abilities in our runners 鈥� it truly has become a weekend the whole family can enjoy.鈥�
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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