Marathon season underway with Okanagan College event

KELOWNA – A mix of elite and amateur runners took part in the 12th annual Okanagan College Half Marathon on Sunday.

Just 12 seconds separated the winner and second place finisher on the men’s side.

Cache Creek’s Ryan Day placed first, running the 21.1 km course in a time of 1:11:16. Day edged Hans Aabye who came in second. Kelowna’s Jeff Vogt placed third with a time of 1:18:35.

Salmon Arm’s Sandra Kilmartin came in first on the women’s side with a time of 1:28:56. West Kelowna’s Michelle Blackburn had a time of 1:29:45 good for second place, while Heather Johnson out of Fruitvale placed third at 1:31:26.

Kelowna runners swept the men’s 10 km race: Jonathan Menzies in first (37:52), Paul Willinsky second (38:18) and Ken Byl third(40:18).

The top female finishers in the 10 km half marathon were: Carrie McGillivray of Kelowna first (43:50:05), Chantal Jeffrey of Blind Bay in second place (43:50:40) and Vera Geschiere of Kelowna in third place (45:42).

The Half Marathon Relay was won by the Results-4-Life 2 team with a time of 1:24:07.

“I continue to be amazed by the wide range of participants in this event,” race director Christine Ulmer said.

“Some of our most competitive racers are under the age of 15 and then we also have some really great seasoned runners who come out to enjoy the nice course and supportive environment.”

Complete race results are available online.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

– This story was updated at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 2014 to correct the women's 10 km results.