More than 12,000 runners, from elite record holders to weekend warriors, departed in timed waves from the Inner Harbour on Sunday morning as part of the 44th Royal Victoria Marathon.
Runners in the eight-kilometre race, 21.1-km half marathon and 42.2-km full marathon distances crossed the start line under an inflatable arch in all manner of approaches, from explosive leaps to paced jogs to walking starts. The more exuberant danced across the start line and at least one tripped.
Crowds lining Menzies Street beside the B.C. legislature waved and applauded, held up encouraging signs and cheered on the participants — the third largest registration in the event’s 44 years — as the announcer counted the seconds for each new wave of runners.
Royal Victoria Marathon general manager and race director Cathy Noel called it a truly amazing weekend.
“From package pickup and the expo, to the five races taking place, the buzz around the city was palpable,” she said.
“It truly was a 42.2-kilometre cheering station as people lined the course and showed our community spirit, helping the thousands of racers get to the finish line.”
The 8K race started at 7:15 a.m. while the half and full marathon departed in timed intervals starting at 8:15 a.m.
The event’s eldest participant Elsie Garrison, 88, a resident at Ross Place Seniors Community in Victoria, had her own pace bunnies for the 8K race in the form of her daughter Andrea Chalifoux and daughter-in-law Annah Simard.
The retired registered nurse, who started participating in walk-run events at about age 70 as part of a fundraiser for Mount St. Mary Hospital, finished in about two hours Sunday, delighted by the experience and ready for a well-deserved coffee and the start of Thanksgiving celebrations.
“I feel pretty good,” Garrison said. “I thought the crowd was huge — all the people I saw coming back on the 8K, I couldn’t believe how many people there were.”
Chalifoux said the enthusiastic encouragement from the volunteers and crowd was “fantastic.” Garrison said it seemed the crowd was equally supportive support of the elite runners and “the stragglers” like herself.
The many hours that the volunteers put in over the weekend to ensure the events went smoothly for the participants is what makes this event so special, said Noel. “We are so thankful to them all.”
As runners made their starts, many set their watches, others fiddled with the music on their phones, some took selfies and at least one man blessed himself. If there were more prayers being said it was likely in the final quarter of the races, when well-meaning onlookers shout “you’re almost there” and runners aren’t always so sure.
Friends and family running together seemed to share their joy at starting the epic challenge together. Some racers peered straight ahead as if contemplating the hours before them, while still others searched — some successfully, others not — for a special supporter on the sidelines.
Runners on this sunny Sunday morning were in all types of dress, from shirtless-with-shorts to bundled in layers with down jackets, though most wore moisture-wicking tops and had some sort of vest or waist belt for their personal belongings, energy gels and liquids. One man wore a stuffed turkey headdress, an apparent nod to the Thanksgiving weekend.
Fences keeping the runners corralled on Menzies Street were covered with hoodies, extra layers of fleece, and puffer jackets left behind with faith they’d still be there when they returned.
As the runners made their way through the various courses they were also entertained with music from ukuleles to drum and percussions to rhythm and blues and rock bands.
Police and volunteers maintained the road closures throughout Victoria and Oak Bay. Several volunteers stood with large “ask me” signs for anyone with questions about the race.
At the finish line on Belleville Street, many runners were announced by Steve King before being photographed and receiving their medals and passing through a line of post-race drinks and snacks.
Craig McMillan was the first over the finish line for the marathon with a time of 2:28:53, followed in another two minutes by Lance Risseeuw and close to five minutes after him by David Morrissey.
In the women’s category, Zoe Hamel was first with a time of 2:47:48 followed about two minutes later by Rozlyn Boutin, and just over a minute later by Catrin Jones.
Winners in the half marathon for men were Andrew Davies in first place at 1:03:19, followed about two minutes later by Brian Masterson, and thirty seconds later by Andrew Oslin in third.
Makenna Fitzgerald came in in first place in the women’s category with a time of 1:14:20, followed in under a minute by Kiana Gibson in second place, and Ally Ginther in third.
In the 8K race, first over the line in the men’s category was Aaron Ahl, Christian Gravel and John Perrier, all within seconds of each other in a 23-minute finish. In the women’s category, it was Julia Hawkins, followed by Jouen Chang and Sarah Price in third place, all within seconds of one another in the 28-minute range.
The weekend of racing began Saturday in Oak Bay with Russell Pearson of Calgary heading the field of 875 runners to win the Royal Victoria 5K in 15 minutes, 30 seconds with Islanders Jack Screen and Michael Barber second and third across in 15:38 and 16:03, respectively.
Chantal Abbott of Collingwood, Ont., was the women’s 5K champion in 18:37 with Hilkka Kontro of Calgary second in 18:46 and Isabel Chant of Toronto third in 19:30.
Race results can be found at runvictoriamarathon.com/results.
— With a file from Cleve Dheensaw
