Posted: May 16, 2005

Athletics: Tara Quinn-Smith and Mark Bomba crowned National Half Marathon Champions in Edmonton

May 16, 2005 EDMONTON - Mark Bomba of Vancouver and Tara Quinn-Smith of Waterdown, Ont., won the men’s and women’s races respectively on Sunday at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships held in warm conditions at Hawrelak Park in Edmonton.

In the women’s race, Quinn-Smith clocked one hour and 14:32 minutes over 21 kilometres in only her second career half marathon. Her time was a personal best by more than 20 seconds. Lisa Harvey of Calgary was second in 1:15.38 and Leah Pells of Coquitlam, B.C., was third in 1:17.02.

“I was confident I could finish up there,” said Quinn-Smith, 25, a 5,000 and 10,000 metre specialist who also raced for Canada at the cross country running worlds this past March. “My strategy was to run a controlled race and make sure I felt good at the half way mark. With five kilometres to go I still I had enough left to put in a little surge of speed.”

Quinn-Smith and Harvey were the only runners, male or female, to meet the qualifying standard for the half marathon world championships slated for October 1, also in Edmonton.

“Tara is a runner who is progressing very well,” said Martin Goulet, director of endurance programs for Athletics Canada. “It’s great news for us to see her make such a strong impression.”

In the men’s race, Bomba, also a 5,000 and 10,000 metre specialist, capitalized on his experience to sneak in a win in 1:06:47. Ryan Day of Kelowna, B.C., who led up until the final kilometre settled for second in a 1:06:54, a personal best by a whopping three minutes. Andrew Smith of Waterdown, Tara Quinn-Smith’s husband, was third in 1:07:06.

“I wasn’t sure how I would fare so I was pleased that I had the ability to be competitive,” said Bomba, 36, who is back in Canada after living for 10 months in New Zealand. “But I felt pretty relaxed the whole way and my track speed started to take over in the final four kilometres.”

The top six finishers for both men and women will be included in a pool of athletes eligible for selection to the half marathon worlds. The final selections will be made over the next few weeks.

“The men’s race was very tactical and the field was deep,” said Goulet. “That’s the way a national championship should be raced. Ryan had an incredible performance and Mark really went in as an underdog.”