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
Vancouver quietly proclaimed Chip Wilson Day as billionaire installed sign calling B.C. NDP 'communist'
On the same day Chip Wilson erected a controversial sign at his Vancouver mansion, the city was quietly honouring the billionaire and his wife.
Danielle Smith facing leadership review Saturday to close out UCP convention
Some 6,000 United Conservative Party members are in Red Deer for the party's annual convention and will cast their votes today on what they think of Premier Danielle Smith's leadership so far.
Local sheriff asks FBI to investigate death of Black man found hanging in Alabama
The FBI is investigating the death of a Black man in Alabama, who was found hanging in an abandoned house, following a request from a local sheriff amid fears among community members who accuse local law enforcement of longstanding, unchecked misconduct.
India trashes Canada for linking home minister to Sikh activist plot
India officially protested on Saturday the Canadian government's allegation that the country's powerful home minister Amit Shah had ordered the targeting of Sikh activists inside Canada, calling it 'absurd and baseless.'
The impact of Trump's lies in Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio was once a manufacturing hub. Now, people know it for Trump's comments at September's presidential debate, when he famously - and falsely - told an audience of 67 million people that Haitians eat their pets, echoing claims that had circulated on social media.
Florida's convicted killer clown released from prison for the murder of her husband's then-wife
A woman who pleaded guilty to dressing as a clown and in 1990 murdering the wife of a man she later married was released from prison on Saturday.
Man says it's 'surreal' that officials euthanized pet squirrel Peanut
A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state's decision to seize and euthanize the animal 'won't go unheard.'
Israeli forces capture senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, Israeli military official says
Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, an Israeli military official said Saturday.
Americans in Canada cast ballot ahead of U.S. election
Stephen Winters says watching the U.S. election campaign from Canada as a dual citizen is like a parent watching their kid play sports.