FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laurie Davison
Marketing and Communications
(613) 277-2980
NEW CHAMPIONS IN ING OTTAWA MARATHON
Lioudmilla Kortchaguina captures Canadian women's title
two days after obtaining citizenship
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The excitement was palpable at the 31st ING Ottawa
Marathon today as David Cheruiyot, a 35-year old from Kenya, took first
place with a time of 2:14:20.3, beating John Itati (2:14:46.6) also from
Kenya and Danny Kassap (2:15:12.6) of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last year’s winner and course record holder Elly Rono finished fifth with a
time of 2:16:47.3. Victoria native, Jim Finlayson, 32, captured his first
Canadian title (seventh overall) with a time of 2:18:20.7. He was followed
by Kitimat's Ryan Day, 22, (2:19:55.0) and Toronto's Matthew McInnes, 30,
(2:21:45.2).
Russian Lidia Vasilevskaia recorded the third fastest time ever in the
women's field since 1984 with a time of 2:31:52.7. The course record was
established in 1984 by Canadian runner Sylvia Rueggar at 2:30:37. Last
year's winner Lioudmila Kortchaguina, who was sworn in as Canadian citizen
two days ago, followed with a time of 2:32:18.5, snatching the Canadian
title at the same time. Nicole Stevenson of Toronto finished third with a
time of 2:38:49.6.
"The Ottawa Race Weekend keeps growing at an incredible rate and we
couldn't be happier with the results," says Susan Longbottom, president of
the organizing committee. "It was the women's year: We broke a 16-year
record in the women's 10K and almost had a new record in the women’s
marathon."
NEW GUINESS WORLD RECORD FOR SKIPPING THE MARATHON
Chris Baron, a 30-year old from Oakville, Ontario, managed to eclipse the
Guiness World Record for skipping a marathon with a time of 4:49:39. The
previous record was 5 hours and 19minutes. It was Baron’s first attempt at
the record.
TORONTO CAPTURES FASTEST CITY TITLE
Toronto was crowned as Canada's fastest city as part of the ING Run for
Something Better, a race within the race, which began as a project to
introduce less-fortunate youth to the sport of distance running. Running
clubs from seven Canadian cities each sent two athletes, their best male
and female marathoners, to compete for a share of the $55,000 in prize
money donated by ING Canada. Toronto was the city with the lowest combined
times of the two runners with a total of 4:59. Victoria (5:22) and Montreal
(5:23) were second and third respectively. Beyond bragging rights for the
'fastest Canadian city', the Toronto running club received $10,000 for
athletic programs that involve less-fortunate youth.
RECORD PARTICIPATION AT OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND
Throughout the weekend, another record participation was recorded as 26,224
runners took part in one of the nine races on the schedule. Here are the
numbers of participants for each racing event:
ING Ottawa Marathon: 3,826
ING Ottawa Half Marathon: 7,742
ING Family 2K: 1,623
ING Inline Skate Marathon: 370
ING Inline Skate Half Marathon: 451
ING Wheelchair marathon: 12
MDS Nordion 5K: 5,499
MDS Nordion 10K: 6,522
GRAND TOTAL: 26,224
Here are the top ten males and females in the ING Ottawa Marathon:
MEN'S CATEGORY
1. 2:14:20.3 David Cheruiyot, Kenya
2. 2:14:46.6 John Itati, Kenya
3. 2:15:12.6 Danny Kassap, Democratic Republic of Congo
4. 2:16:21.0 Joseph Nderitu, Kenya
5. 2:16:47.3 Elly Rono, Kenya
6. 2:17:51.0 Noah Kipsang Talam, Kenya
7. 2:18:20.7 Jim Finlayson, Victoria, Canada
8. 2:19:55.0 Ryan Day, Kelowna, Canada
9. 2:21:45.2 Matthew McInnes, Toronto, Canada
10. 2:22:37.6 Joseph Nsengiyumva, Rwanda
WOMEN'S CATEGORY
1. 2:31:52.7 Lidia Vasilevskaia, Russia
2. 2:32:18.5 Lioudmila Kortchaguina, Toronto, Canada
3. 2:38:49.6 Nicole Stevenson, Toronto, Canada
4. 2:43:24.9 Natalia Volgina, Russia
5. 2:55:07.2 Tina Kader, Montreal, Canada
6. 2:56:13.9 Michelle Schuler, Ottawa, Canada
7. 2:57:18.9 Emily Bryans, United States
8. 2:57:41.2 Heather Goodfellow, Halifax, Canada
9. 2:57:43.7 Kim House, ThunderBay, Canada
10. 2:58:04.1 Stephanie Hodge, St. Antony, Canada
HALF-MARATHON RESULTS
With 7,742 runners, the ING Ottawa Half Marathon was by far the most
popular race of the weekend.
Here are the top three males and females in the ING Ottawa Half Marathon:
MEN:
3rd place: 1:12:58.0 Paul Leduc, Ajax, Canada
2nd place: 1:11:51.9 Richard Tessier, Quebec, Canada
1st place: 1:10:46.1 Matt Sheffield, Portland, Canada
WOMEN:
3rd place: 1:28:45.9 Amy Schnegberg, Kingston, Canada
2nd place: 1:28:00.9 Susan Durrell, Ottawa, Canada
1st place: 1:27:46.5 Sharlene Cobain, Toronto, Canada
ABOUT THE OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND
The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada's premier running festival, combines
competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive
contribution to the health of the community. The Race Weekend has over
26,200 participants in 9 races, including the ING Ottawa Marathon and the
MDS Nordion 10K. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. This year,
the Race Weekend is scheduled for the May 27-29 weekend.
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