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Runners dash through streets in Canmore Half Marathon

Thousands run for a CAUSE on Sunday (Sept. 8) in Canmore.

CANMORE - An avalanche of runners covered the streets this morning (Sept. 8) for the 24th annual Canmore Rocky Mountain Half Marathon, 10K & 5K races.

Canmore’s Joël Desgreniers finished first overall in the 5-km race at a time of 17:46.5. Siksika Nation’s Zane Grant finished second and Canmore’s Weller Callahan was third.

As sweat dripped from his brow, Desgreniers said it was his first time competing in the quick-paced 5-km race in about a decade.

“I’m training more for long distance like 50-K, 80-K on the trail, so doing the 5-K is always a painful and different effort, but it’s always good to do a little bit of speed so I was kind of more about a training run slash test,” he said.

“I think it’s fun to support local races … and coming to a road race that’s right downtown, you know, there’s a bunch of people from Calgary coming, so people from Canmore should show up and race, too, so we thought we’d enter and be part of the event.”

Canmore’s Maya Fish finished first overall in women’s category at a time of 21:04.9. Calgary’s London Harris was second and Canmore’s Dana Lemieux was third.

In the 10-km race, Canmore’s Duncan Marsden cruised to victory at a time of 33:52.9. Adrian Smith of Calgary finished second and Canmore’s Ryan Washburn crossed the line in third.

It was a clean sweep on the podium for Calgary runners in the women’s 10-km category as Ashley Runnalls finished first overall at a time of 42:32.1; Annie Hird finished second and Rosario Pawelczak was third.

In the half marathon, Calgary’s Madison Theriault was the overall winner at 1:19:32. In second place was Calgary’s Josh Inhaber and Revelstoke’s Brett McPhedran took third.

Theriault used the Canmore half marathon as a training run while preparing himself for the upcoming New York City Marathon in November, but said the local road race was a bit more challenging than anticiapted.

“This is my first time running this one, so the hills at the end, you see the elevation profile on the internet but it doesn’t do it justice,” he said.

“I was hoping to go a little faster, but it was also to get a feel for the pace, so the first eight to 10-K were at a good, but obviously I had to slow down a bit at the hills, but beautiful course - love Canmore.”

Calgary’s Allison Blackmore was first overall among women at 1:31:53; Calgary’s Claudia Blandford finished in second and Linsday Byers in third.

The annual run raises funds for CAUSE Canada’s overseas programming, which this year will go towards maternal, newborn and child health in Guatemala and Honduras.

For full results, visit www.zone4.ca.


Jordan Small

About the Author: Jordan Small

An award-winning reporter, Jordan Small has covered sports, the arts, and news in the Bow Valley since 2014. Originally from Barrie, Ont., Jordan has lived in Alberta since 2013.
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