The searing heat didn鈥檛 dissuade the 126 runners who participated in the annual 麻豆社国产Days 10 kilometre run on Sunday (Aug. 3) 鈥� but it may have slowed them down.
Vancouver鈥檚 Nicholas Browne crossed the finish line first with a time of 34:29 but admitted the heat made it a more difficult run and he was looking for a quicker time.
鈥淚t was tough,鈥� he said at the finish line. 鈥淚 thought I might have had a little bit more in me to get a better time but it鈥檚 always nice to get the win.鈥�
Browne edged out Vancouver鈥檚 Anthony Bourdel by 30 seconds and Richmond鈥檚 Marcus Ribi to pick up the win. He said he started fast out of the gates but struggled to maintain the quick pace.
鈥淚 was pretty ambitious off the start,鈥� he joked. 鈥淎fter one kilometre I was by myself but then I slowed down quite a bit and the guys behind me had a more consistent pace and got closer.鈥�
He explained he鈥檚 training for the New York City marathon later this year and was trying to maintain a certain pace but after three kilometers he realized it was going to be tough to do so.聽
This year marked the debut for Browne in 麻豆社国产and he鈥檚 now first place in his 30 to 34 age group in the Lower Mainland Road Race Series (LMRRS), which concludes at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Aug. 17.聽
Kristin Smart from North Vancouver was the top female competitor with a time of 38:33. Smart also won the 麻豆社国产Days race in 2012.
鈥淚 was two minutes slower than I wanted,鈥� she said after the race. 鈥淏ut it was a little bit due to the weather and also I鈥檝e been doing marathon training so this was a harder pace. It was a really high tempo pace out there today.鈥�
Like Browne, Smart said she was aiming to keep up with all of her splits but at the four km mark she decided to play it by ear. Smart is in training to eventually compete in the Chicago marathon in October.聽
This year鈥檚 winners of the Slavo Lehockey Memorial Trophy, given to the local runners with the fastest times, were Eric Goodwin for the men and Margreet Dietz for the women. Goodwin was just off the podium in fourth place overall with a time of 37:15. Dietz placed fourth amongst all women with a time of 41:05.
Other 麻豆社国产residents in the top 20 included Andrew Clegg (8th), Marko Toijanen (12th) and Tim Moore (20th).
Victoria鈥檚 Peter Winters beat out Squamish鈥檚 Kris Duncan and Wendy Vandersteen in the stroller division and Tristan Smyth placed first in the wheelchair division.聽
The Flashback Mile saw North Vancouver鈥檚 Sven Jensen beat out Squamish鈥檚 Linnea Uunila by 13 seconds to post the top time of 5:55.
