On Sunday, greater than 4,500 runners took to the streets of the Vancouver neighborhood of Kitsilano for the sold-out 2024 Vancouver Half Marathon. The elite discipline boasted just a few of the highest marathoners within the nation, but an American sub-elite, who paid for a bib, completed second general with a time of 1:11:30.
Matthew Walker of Westerly, R.I., was visiting Vancouver on trip and determined to enroll in the town’s half marathon. His resolution ended up incomes him a cool $200 money for his second-place end (for first amongst non-elites). Justin Kent of Burnaby, B.C., took residence the win by a considerable six-minute margin, ending in 65:09.
Since Walker was not from Canada, he was ineligible for Canadian elite prizing, which might have awarded him $600 for second place. The 24-year-old edged out Sam Wensink of Langley, B.C., by solely eight seconds for the second spot on the rostrum.
Regardless of not being within the elite discipline, Walker is an skilled sub-elite runner who competed for a number of seasons within the NCAA with the College of New Hampshire observe and discipline workforce. In line with his social media, he’s a fan of vacation spot races; final December, he positioned 14th on the 2023 Honolulu Marathon in 2:39:15.
It’s not usually that you just see a sub-elite crack the rostrum at a significant Canada Working Sequence race just like the Vancouver Half Marathon, but the same scenario occurred two years in the past on the similar race when Samantha Jory received the ladies’s race outright.
Wodak wins in her hometown
Coming off a Canadian half marathon title final weekend, two-time Canadian Olympian Natasha Wodak discovered herself on prime of the rostrum as soon as once more within the girls’s half. Wodak received the race by 90 seconds forward of her Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon teammate Dayna Pidhoresky, ending in 1:13:52. Pidhoresky caught with Wodak till across the 15-kilometre mark, then held on for second place with a time of 1:15:22. Jamie Hennessy of Burnaby, B.C., completed third in 1:18:47.
For full outcomes from the 2024 Vancouver Half Marathon, click on right here.
