News & Releases >> 2003 >> Aug 25 2003
NEWS Aug 25 2003
August 25, 2003
NB Demi Marathon des Deux Rives makes sparkling debut in Canada Running Series
It was a magnificent setting for the Canada Running Series debut in Quebec City on Sunday 24th. Over 4,000 runners came together from 29 different countries to participate in the 5 different distances [marathon, half, 10K, 5K Run for Charity, and kids' Mini Marathon] on offer. There were over 500 Americans, 400+ Ontarians, and 119 runners from "old" France.
Temperatures were decidedly cool, but perfect for running, despite some blustery winds. It was a chilly 6 Celsius at the 8:30am starts, that rose to 13 in the morning, and 22 in bright sunshine as the final stragglers made their way to the finish below the historic Plains of Abraham in the early afternoon. And along the "Two Shores" of the St. Lawrence, the "Great River of Canada", the scenery was truly magnificent. The scenery and history were all around—Place Royale and "Vieux Quebec", the Plains, topped by the Chateau Frontenac and the statue of Samuel de Champlain who founded New France and Canada at that site in 1608—all combined to offer a special, imposing sense of magnificence and occasion to the proceedings.
The sun shone, the cool breezes blew off the great river, and the runners ran. And how they ran! What a fine debut for the Canada Running Series in Quebec City. Without detracting from the other events, it was clearly the Series event—the New Balance Demi [Half] Marathon—that stole the show. With 1,600+ runners, it was the largest event of the morning, and the times were in a different class than the marathon.
Mustapha Bennacer of Montreal showed why he is the class of the Series this year [and current leader], leading from wire to wire for the victory in 63:29. From the start, Bennacer was in control, see-sawing forward and back with a group that included Kenyans Michael Musili and Kennedy Ondimu, and Series-rivals Danny Tschindid of Toronto and clubmate Djamel Boukhari of Montreal. At 5K, in the stronger winds over the bridge across the St. Lawrence, Bennacer slowed right down, inviting the others to take a lead. Despite Tshindid's joking that they were at walking pace, no one obliged, and they continued to run as a pack until 12K. At that point, as they hit the flat boulevard of the north shore for the run into old Quebec, Bennacer made his decisive move. No one could respond, and by the finish, he'd put a minute between him and the others—Musili second in 64:27; Tshindid 3rd in 64:31 [a PR for the promising 20-year-old], and Boukhari 4th in 64:50, despite his ongoing intestinal troubles.
Bennacer's 63:29 demonstrated his consistency this year, and enjoyment of the distance, after earlier Series' half marathons in Montreal 64:01 [adidas Demi marathon de Montreal, 13 April, 2nd place], and Vancouver 63:14 [Scotiabank Vancouver Half, 22 June, 1st place]. We look forward with anticipation to his next outing at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half on 28 September.
Underscoring the international flavour of the day, Japanese Atsuko Sugawara took 1st in the women's Demi in 1:19:36, followed by Josiane Aboungono [1:19:53], Liz Maguire [1:23:43], and Toronto's April Boutlbee [1:25:41] who took advantage of the road trip with a strong PR for 4th place and valuable Series points. It was good to see Etobicoke's Aboungono on the roads again—we've not seen anything of her for over a year, after the young runner from The Gabon settled in Canada and had some promising runs in 2001.
In comparison, the marathon was positively pedestrian, won by Shingie Badza of Burlington in 2:33:05, from an unfit Jean-Paul Niyonsaba of Ottawa in 2:39:57. In a thrilling women's finish, Barbara McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts passed Helen Cawthorne from England in the final kilometre, after the Brit had led all the way—to finish 1-2 in 2:51:51 to 2:52:12.
Great credit is due to Denis Therrien, Joanne Caron and their organizational team. Not only do they have what is one of Canada's most-international marathons and half-marathons [almost 20% of all participants were from overseas; almost 30% of the marathon runners], but arguably Canada's best organized event. Bravo!
Felicitations! And for those of you who missed it, put it on your calendar for 2004—this really is a gem!
Full results and photos at www.marathonquebec.com
See also www.canadarunningseries.com.