SASKATOON — The Saskatoon Marathon returned on Sunday after a three-year hiatus with more than 3,000 participating in the various events offered including virtual runs for those who are still not comfortable joining large gatherings.
The live race was held from May 27 to 29 with participants in the 42-kilometre full marathon and 21K half-marathon events beginning to take on the challenge at 7 a.m. The other racing events are a half marathon walk, 10K run and 10K walk, 5K run and 5K walk and the MaraFun race for school kids and families.
University of Saskatchewan middle and long-distance runner Treyton Pernitsky, who is a member of the 2018 relay team that holds the Saskatchewan Youth Sprint Medley and 4X800 relay records, welcomed the return of the Saskatchewan Marathon and all running events in general.
“I'm excited to be back racing after COVID. It was a tough time for all runners. Trying to get together with people is a little bit difficult given the restrictions and everything. So I'm glad to be back racing and training with all my teammates. It has been great so far this year and I’m excited to see what the summer holds ahead,” said Pernitsky, who just completed his bachelor degree in biochemistry at USask.
Pernitsky competes in the 1500-metre and 3K running events indoors and cross-country and 8K races outdoors aside from joining 5K runs.
Saskatchewan Marathon race director Kim Ali said this was their first time holding the running event after a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was held annually since it was introduced on May 12, 1979, with the marathon distance offered and the other events added through the years.
“It’s been three years since we had the marathon. We’re so excited to be here today and to have a live race. We’ve got 2,000 adult runners and 1,500 kids [participating]. So, we’re excited to make this a special experience for everyone,” Ali told SASKTODAY.ca.
She added that they began planning the return of the Saskatchewan Marathon in October 2021 where they also decided that a virtual event will be an option for the participants aside from the live race.
“Because some people are still not comfortable getting together and some people need more time to get ready. If you had COVID, it’s hard to run afterward and it’s hard on your lungs. The registration opened in November and we continued to meet after that before the actual day of the race,” said Ali.
She said that everyone from the organizing committee, about 20 staff, the more than 300 volunteers, their supporters, suppliers and sponsors were excited for the return of the marathon this year.
“And we’re also excited to have everyone back together again. We have a lot of great sponsors and supporters that have stuck with us through the last three years when we could not do the race. So we’re excited to have the in-person race.”
Ali said they will keep the virtual option for next year’s race especially for runners in other provinces and countries who want to join.
“We encourage people to come here and race in the Saskatchewan Marathon but [virtual race] is another option for them to join. So, runners in other provinces like Ontario or those from countries like the United States, the Caribbean, France, the United Kingdom can do it virtually and in their community,” she added.
Results
Tyler Gough of Edmonton conquered the 42K full marathon in 2:47:18, more than three minutes ahead of the 2:51:09 logged by Humboldt’s Tanner Schatz in the men’s division. Connor Renouf of Regina was third with a time of 2:52:03.
Edmonton’s Karissa Lepage topped the women’s race while also placing seventh overall after crossing the finish line at 3:14:09 while Saskatoon’s Mandy Currie settled for second (3:22:57) and Tammy Pregizer Legge of Rosetown came in third (3:36:25).
Quebec’s Nicolas Paradis (1:14:17), hometown bet Sam Seshadri (1:19:13) and Meadow Lake’s Stephen Loden (1:20:10) were the top three finishers in the men’s 21K race with Elizabeth Tomczak of Regina (1:28:36) and Saskatoon’ Marcia Grauman (1:33:03) and Lindsay Balezantis (1:37:28) duplicating the feat in the women’s division.
The men’s 10K finishers are all from Saskatchewan led by Saskatoon’s Daniel Block (34:05), Nelson Peters of Hepburn (37:57) and Bryan Neufeld of Regina (39:22). Sheridan Lillyman of Beechy (39:30), Natalie Bidulka of Vonda (39:50) and Hailey Thompson of Battleford (40:30) made it a double sweep for the province in the women’s division.
The Huskies had a 1-2 finish in the men’s 5K event with Anthony Antaya topping the race at the time of 15:31 while Pernitsky was second (15:35) and Mokar Saeed third (15:41). Antaya, Pernitsky and Saeed were also the top three finishers in the men’s 20-29 age division.
Brooke MacDonald of La Ronge (18:10) and Saskatoon’s Jaira Cross Child (18:29) and Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski (18:46) were the top three overall in the women’s 5-k running event and were also the podium finishers in the 20-29 age division.’
Bredenbury’s Cam Metzler (3:26:46) and Saskatoon’s Brent Regier (3:32:29) and Steven McLellan (3:32:30) were the top three in the men’s 21K walk with Yorkton’s Dana Soke (2:54:7), Saskatoon’s Sandy Welsh (3:02:54) and Bred’s Suzette Finnson (3:18:17) matching their efforts in the women’s side.
The 10K walk's top three winners were Richard Funk (1:26:41), Samuel Derksen (1:36:03) and Gary MacKary (1:04:44) while it was Sonja Pellerin (1:18:11), K Dyck (1:29:56) and Jessica Campbell (1:31:01) in the women’s division.
The 5K walk was topped by Brian Gibson (43:40) and Shauna Mikuliak (40:36) each in the men’s and women’s divisions. Ayo Fasooto (43:44) and Juston McRae (49:17) finished second and third behind Gibson while Emma Berg (41:39) and Rebecca Clark (43:05) settled for silver and bronze behind Mikuliak.
