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
Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
LIVE UPDATES Rogers Centre opens its doors to thousands of Taylor Swift fans for the first sold-out show
Taylor Swift is in Toronto to perform her first of six sold-out shows at the Rogers Centre tonight.
Purolator workers won't handle Canada Post packages if strike occurs, union says
Teamsters Canada says if Canada Post workers go on strike or are locked out, its members at Purolator won't handle any packages postmarked or identified as originating from the carrier.
Canada urged to cut government-funded research collaborations with China: report
A newly released report is urging Canada to immediately end all government-funded research collaborations with China in a variety of different areas.
Measles cases in New Brunswick continues to climb
The number of measles cases in New Brunswick continues to climb. Officials with New Brunswick’s Department of Health said as of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases since October has reached 43.
B.C.'s chief vet tells clinics to set up bird flu protocols amid human exposure risk
British Columbia's chief veterinarian has told clinics that treat wild birds that they must establish protocols to prevent the spread of avian flu, warning of the risk of human exposure to the illness.
Police release bodycam video of officer-involved incident at Hindu temple protest in Brampton, Ont.
Police say an officer who forcefully removed a 'weapon' from a protester outside of a Hindu temple in Brampton was acting 'within the lawful execution of his duties' after bystander video of the incident circulated widely online.
Here's how a potential Canada Post strike may affect Canadians
A disruption in Canada Post services would hit some Canadians harder than others. As the deadline approaches for a potential strike at midnight Friday, CTVNews.ca asked readers how it would affect them and how they are preparing.
Police foil attempted $13,000 cheese theft in North Vancouver
Police in North Vancouver say they prevented the theft of nearly $13,000 worth of cheese from a grocery store earlier this year. Now, they're asking the public for help finding the alleged thief.