B10

Daryl Steeves

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With Halloween nearly upon us, could there be a better theme for a run than the Creepy Crawl 5 km? This family-oriented run is set to go Saturday in Saint John and sounds like it will be a fun time for all. You can more information at www.anb.ca. On Sunday, for those who survive the ghosts and goblins of Halloween, there is an even scarier event, the Marathon Luc Gallant in Kouchibouguac National Park. This is the first running of the Luc Gallant but it looks like a very interesting proposition. It boasts a beautiful park setting, distances to suit every runner from 5-km to the full marathon, and of course a shot at being the course record holder for at least a year if you win your event. You can get more information at http://www.events.runningroom.com

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TRIPLE PLAY: Last weekend saw the provincial marathon championships decided in Moncton under some very challenging weather conditions. Apparently just running a marathon, half-marathon or 10-km race isn't quite enough of a challenge. Participants had to deal with a deluge of rain and pounding winds for the first portion of the race. Then, as they moved on to the trails, they got to run in the puddles and mud left over from the storm. But undaunted, these brave souls carried on and we had some amazing results. King Chris made it a triple crown of marathons for the fall marathon season as he added the Legs for Literacy Marathon to his fall winnings. First the Marathon By the Sea, then a dramatic win at the KV Challenge, now with only a week's rest, the Legs for Literacy and provincial championships goes to Chris Brake in a time of 2:42. What an amazing season for this Saint John runner. Second place went to the legendary Alex Coffin in a time of 2:55:31, capping a great season on the podium. Taking third spot was Shaun Deleu of Halifax in 2:56:36. The women's event had a very fast finish with Halifax runner Leah Jabbour taking top spot in 3:04:23. Second place went to Joanne Bellevance from Fredericton, in a time of 3:14:28, followed by Truro's Manda Wade in 3:17:24.

The half marathon was equally impressive as the Halifax crew continued to show great results. Rami Bardeesy won in a time of 1:13:13, obviously no superstition there. Fredericton runners then stepped up to the plate to take second and third spot. Shawn Millar was second in 1:18:08 followed closely by Chris Gairns in 1:19:32. The women's half was an all-Nova Scotia affair as Micheline McWhirter of Halifax took the top spot in 1:38:21. Sydney's Erin Pike took second in 1:39:37 and Kendra Van Vulpen of Amherst was third in 1:39:56. The 10-km winners were: Jeremie Pellerin of Cocagne in 34:59 and Hayley Haining of Kilbirnie in 35:03.

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TIP OF THE HAT: For the Person on the Run we have been to the front of the pack and to the back of the pack but this week we are digging smack into the middle. That doesn't at all mean average. This week we have a quiet but dedicated runner to highlight. In fact, I'm sure she will be shocked to be here. She is just that humble. But Aisha Khedheri trained like a woman obsessed after her Fredericton Marathon early in the season. This past weekend she pushed past that imaginary barrier of four hours and finished Legs for Literacy in 3:59:38. That's more than nine minutes faster than the Fredericton Marathon and an amazing 24-minutes faster than last year's Legs for Literacy. Only one runner can win the race, but every runner has the opportunity to achieve great things. Thanks for reminding us of that Aisha, great job.

Gotta run....

Daryl Steeves is the department head of Allied Health at the NBCC Saint John campus. He writes a weekly column throughout the running season. Visit his website at www.ontherun411.com.