Record day on the racetrack for Nova Scotia's 32nd annual Valley Harvest Marathon
It was a record-breaking year at the 32nd annual Valley Harvest Marathon in Wolfville, N.S., on Saturday and Sunday.
Sherri Robbins is the executive director of the Valley Harvest Marathon. She said the event was a sold-out success that drew record numbers of racers and attendees.
"This is a record year for us this year,” Robbins said. “Starting yesterday with our youth run, right through to today we have record numbers in all of our distances.” Organizers confirmed that approximately 3,800 people participated in this year's event.
Participants chose different race lengths. In addition to the traditional marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2 km) runners could opt for several distances from 5 km to the 50 km ultra-marathon length.
Marc LeClaire ran 10 km. He said the marathon has become a Thanksgiving tradition.
"I usually try to do one fall run, whether that's the PEI marathon or other marathons in the region or around the world,” LeClaire said. “This is always a fun one to do though and a good thing to do before Thanksgiving dinner.”
Madalyn Higgins won first-place in the women’s half marathon. She said it was a special race for her since she used to run for Acadia University. She said she used the Valley Harvest Marathon to prepare for her big race in the spring.
“I am going to run my second marathon, the Boston marathon in the spring, and that is going to be a big one,” Higgins said.
Not everyone did the marathon to compete, but for those who did, there were plenty of winner categories.
“We have first, second and third for all our races, male, female and our nonbinary participants. Then top place finishers and then we also have age category awards,” said Robbins
Aaron and Kelly Campbell were among the 200 volunteers helping with the marathon.
"It's important to show our children how to support the community and help build communities,” said Kelly.
Tanya Surette ran the 10 km race last year. This time she brought her daughter Alice, who joined her for the 5 km run.
“She did so well. I’m so proud of her. She actually pushed my pace, and I was faster with her,” said Tanya.
Steve Hayson said he ran the half marathon in memory of Johnny Gaudreau, the professional hockey player who died with his brother in a collision with a motor vehicle while they were riding bicycles in New Jersey in August.
"I decided to wear Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey that he gave me while I was in Calgary and signed the back of it and dedicate this race to him and his brother,” said Hayson.
Everyone who crossed the finish line at the Valley Harvest Marathon received a medal to take home.
1, 2 & 3 place finishers (distance, place, gender, name, hometown, province, time):
- 5 km, 1, F, Elise Brennan, Halifax, N.S., 17:54
- 5 km, 2, F, Sarah Waugh, Halifax, N.S., 18:57
- 5 km, 3, F, Leighton Rafuse, Caanaan, N.S., 21:41
- 5 km, 1, M, Luka Chiasson, Halifax, N.S., 17:20
- 5 km, 2, M, Milo Stettler, Forest Hill, N.S., 17:46
- 5 km, 3, M, Jacob Durber, Centreville, N.S., 17:47
- 5 km, 1, NB, Jillian Morris, Halifax, N.S., 28:52
- 5 km, 2, NB, Ace Lane, Halifax, N.S., 28:22
- 5 km, 3, NB, Jen Hatfield, Kentville, N.S., 44:14
- 10 km, 1, F, Lindsay Carson, Whitehorse, Yukon, 36:45
- 10 km, 2, F, Katie Jerrett, Fall River, N.S., 38:15
- 10 km, 3, F, Mellissa Shakespeare, Halifax, N.S., 43:36
- 10 km, 1, M, Ryan Power, Komoka, Ont., 33:53
- 10 km, 2, M, Dante Manchester, Dartmouth, N.S., 33:54
- 10 km, 3, M, Jeff Gorman, Dartmouth, N.S., 34:28
- 10 km, 1, NB, Tomas Lang, Halifax, N.S., 48:10
- 10 km, 2, NB, Karlie Maki, Halifax, N.S., 56:23
- 10 KM, 3, NB, Matthew Gerrita, Kentville, N.S., 56:43
- HALF, 1, F, Madalyn Higgins, Mount Unicacke, N.S., 1:21:44
- HALF, 2, F, Ailsa MacDonald, Cochrane, N.S., 1:25:27
- HALF, 3, F, Maya Venkataraman, Halifax, N.S., 1:28:53
- HALF, 1, M, Tyler Germani, Baddeck, N.S., 1:17:59
- HALF, 2, M, Luc Doucette, Charlottetown, P.E.I., 1:18:01
- HALF, 3, M, Lucas Paniak, Halifax, N.S., 1:18:24
- HALF, 1, NB, Mc Pace, Aylesford, N.S., 3:19:45
- FULL, 1, F, Klara Andersson, Dartmouth, N.S., 3:11:13
- FULL, 2, F, Lisa MacLean, Beaverbank, N.S., 3:17:10
- FULL, 3, F, Marzahn Theart, Brookside, N.S., 3:27:28
- FULL, 1, M, Joe Stewart, Halifax, N.S., 2:40:16
- FULL, 2, M, Kevin Leblanc, Brookside, N.S., 2:51:31
- FULL, 3, M, Ryan Hearn, Halifax, N.S., 2:55:38
- FULL, 1, NB, Peter Stanford, Halifax, N.S., 3:58:15
- ULTRA, 1, F, Madeline Dorion, Montreal, Que., 5:02:20
- ULTRA, 2, F, Brynne Thompson, London, Ont., 5:02:20
- ULTRA, 3, F, Kayla Upson, Flin Flon, Man., 5:20:48
- ULTRA, 1, M, Ryan Keeping, Upper Tantallon, N.S., 3:46:55
- ULTRA, 2, M, Kyle Hurse, Halifax, N.S., 3:58:14
- ULTRA, 3, M, Ondrej Tomek, Wolfville, N.S., 4:02:57
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Get away from your inner circle': Liberal MP 'shocked' PM didn't take more time to reflect on calls to resign
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death sentenced to over 50 years in prison
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
An abrupt goodbye to a guerilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant
A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbors who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.
Canadian warship missile test aborted mid-flight after communication failure
A Canadian navy missile test was aborted mid-flight this week after controllers lost communication with the projectile off the coast of southern California.
'The power of nostalgia': N.B. archivist creates highway time machine
The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.
'Violence is not good': UW stabber apologizes at end of sentencing hearing
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, the man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, says he ‘acted dumb’.
'I'm still not giving up': Third stage of landfill search begins in Manitoba
It's been a long and emotional journey for Manitoba residential school survivor Susan Caribou. Her niece, Tanya Nepinak, has been missing since September 2011 and has never been found.
B.C. nurse suspended 1 week for stealing narcotics for personal use, working while impaired
A B.C. nurse has been suspended for one week for diverting narcotics from their workplace and using them personally, according to the regulatory body for the profession.
Former Alberta teacher sentenced to 4 years for sexually assaulting student
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.