A revamped course designed for speed wasn’t quite as fast as organizers had hoped at the Canadian Derby Edmonton Marathon today at Northlands.
That didn’t spoil the day for the winners in the half and full marathons, however.
Camrose runner Brendan Lunty surprised in the men’s full marathon, upending Winnipeg’s Mike Booth, winning in a time of 2:33.21. Booth led the majority of the race, only to have Lunty pull ahead in the last 10 kilometres of the race.
On the women’s side, Banff’s Ellie Greenwood controlled the tempo of the women’s full marathon, finishing the 42-kilometre affair in 2:49.57.
Like the full-marathon, the 21-kilometre half-marathon underwent a revision in its layout. The river valley hills that posed a challenge to runners in previous years weren’t a factor in today’s event, as the races stayed on relatively even ground, running from Northlands through downtown via Jasper Ave./102 Ave. and back to the site of Saturday’s Canadian Derby.
While the aim for the half marathon was record times, the 1:02.50 mark set last year remained intact, despite the efforts of men’s winner Ezkyas Sisay. The Ethiopian-born runner who trains out of Flagstaff, Ariz. edged out Lethbridge’s Kip Kangogo with a time of 1:03.53. Kangogo was on his heels with a 1:03.55 finish.
Alemtsehay Misganaw narrowly defended her women’s half-marathon title with a 1:18.13 effort. The New Yorker topped Kingston, Ont. runner Emily Tallen, who came in at 1:18.19.
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