Squamish's Jason Loutitt is well known for his endurance running but he proved he has what it takes in shorter races by finishing second at the Whistler Half Marathon on Saturday (June 2).
Loutitt finished 100 seconds behind winner David Palermo of Vancouver, who set a new course record of one hour, nine minutes, 17 seconds in the 21.1-kilometre event.
"That's a personal best for me by a long shot, so I'm ecstatic with that time," said Palermo, who raised his arms in triumph while breaking the tape at the finish line. "I'm glad how it all turned out. It's funny, you never know what's going to happen on race day. You toe the line, do your first few K and whatever happens, happens."
Last year's winner Edward McCarthy placed third with a time of 1:11:32. Loutitt wasn't the only local male to fare well as James Newby of Garibaldi Highlands placed 39th with a time of 1:30:33. Squamish's Mike Heiliger also had a good race, placing second in his 55 to 59 age category and 42nd overall with a time of 1:31:22. Other local men in the top 100 included: Chili Thom (51st), Wes McVey (72nd) and Devin Steif (99th).
Chief editor David Burke placed 118th of the approximately 730 finishers with a time of 1:39:42 and was edged out by MP John Weston by 17 seconds for the bronze medal in the men's 50 to 54 age group.
Vancouver's Karen Tulloch was the women's winner with a time of 1:17:30, edging Victoria's Catrin Jones by 15 seconds to earn the victory.
"It was great," said Tulloch, who had been recovering from injury coming into Saturday's race. "I just caught (Jones) in the last kilometre-and-a-half, I guess. I definitely didn't (expect to win) but I used to run track once upon a time and it's ingrained. It's still a competition when you're in there but it was fun. I'm very happy, and I'm still in one piece, so that's great."
The top local female was Judy Riddle from the Garibaldi Highlands. Riddle placed second in her 45 to 49 age group, good for 58th overall with a time of 1:34:19. Other local women in the top 100 included Alexandra Swift (61st), Ciara McLoughlin (75th) and Wendy Jewett (78th).
For more information and full results from the race, visit www.whistlerhalfmarathon.com.
- With files from Eric MacKenzie, Whistler Question
