Posted: September 30, 2007

Athletics: Toronto Wins the Fastest Marathon Ever On Canadian Soil at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Runners and Fundraisers set more new records at today's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon TORONTO, Sept. 30 /CNW/ - More than 25,000 pairs of running shoes hit the pavement on Toronto's Lakeshore this morning in participation of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, helping make Toronto's premier running event the most successful to date. Running the fastest marathon ever on Canadian soil, John Kelai of Kenya won a see-saw battle over fellow Kenyan compatriot Daniel Rono, to cross the finish line at 2:09:30. Rono, last year's champion and Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon course record holder was a close second, also inside the previous all-Comers record with a personal best of 2:09:36. Ethiopia's Asha Gigi led from start to finish, bringing the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon a new course record time of 2:33:16. Second was last year's winner and former course record holder Malgorzata Sobanska of Poland with a time of 2:34:20. Alevtina Biktimirova rounded out a truly international field coming in third with 2:34:53. "Scotiabank is proud to be a part of this great event again this year," said Scotiabank President and CEO, Rick Waugh. "The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon brings the world to our Waterfront and is a wonderful opportunity for runners, spectators and communities to come together in celebration of sport and in support of community charities." Other highlights of today's competitive event include the Scotiabank International Team Challenge. Team Great Britain prevailed with a triumph over last year's Team champions, Mexico. Team Canada finished a strong third lead by marathon debutant, Jerry Ziak of Vancouver, placing 11th in overall men's category. Coming in fourth place of the Scotiabank International Team Challenge was Team America. "We're absolutely thrilled with the 2:09:30 from John Kelai and with a brilliant run by Daniel Rono - their performances put the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in an international club of elite marathons," said Alan Brooks, Race Director. "There are so many exciting components that helped make this year's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon the best ever and topping this is breaking a 31-year old record of the fastest marathon ever on Canadian soil." A crowd favourite and Toronto's own, Michal "The Joggler" Kapral broke the Guinness World Record for marathon running while juggling three objects. Kapral finished with a time of 2:50:13, out-joggling Philadelphia's Zach Warren's 2006 time. Among the athletes were 1,000 students in grades 4 - 8 participating in the Scotiabank MarathonKIDS program. Scotiabank MarathonKIDS is a two-year-old initiative which promotes active and healthy lifestyles at a young age. Running in daily intervals since the start of the school year, students completed the last five kilometers of a full marathon in this morning's event. The program provides students with the opportunity to increase their level of physical activity while focusing on reaching a goal. The Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge exceeded its $750,000 goal from last year, contributing proceeds to more than 50 charities. In addition to the funds raised at this morning's event, Scotiabank will award $5,000 each to the charity with the most runners participating, the charity with the largest amount of pledges per runner and the charity that raises the most money in pledges. Listed below are the top finishers in each race: Marathon Male 1. John Kelai 2:09:30 Kenya 2. Daniel Rono 2:09:35 Kenya 3. Kasime Adilo 2:10:20 Ethiopia Marathon Female 1. Asha Gigi 2:33:16 Ethiopia 2. Malgorzata Sobanska 2:34:20 Poland 3. Alevtina Biktimirova 2:34:53 Russia Half-marathon Male 1. Pius Korir 1:05:09 Toronto 2. Giitah Macharia 1:05:14 Toronto 3. Joseph Nsengiyumva 1:05:19 Ottawa Half-marathon Female 1. Pauline Githuka 1:18:09 Hamilton 2. Sarah Dillabaugh 1:19:20 Gloucester 3. Paula Wiltse 1:20:02 Kingston 5km Male 1. Matthew Leduc 15:48 Ajax 2. Jeff Manley 16:29 Petawawa 3. Nick Croker 16:35 Toronto 5km Female 1. Annie Bunting 19:01 Toronto 2. Kirsten Vergara 19:41 Toronto 3. Maile Mangusson 19:58 No City listed The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a registered AIMS Marathon, certified by Athletics Canada. For a complete list of race results, please visit: www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2006 the Bank provided more than $42 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services and arts and culture. Scotiabank is on the World Wide Web at www.scotiabank.com Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest