Posted: May 31, 2004

Athletics: New Course, New Champion, New Records in Ottawa

National Capital Race Weekend welcomes over 23,000 participants

Ottawa, ONTARIO – The ING Ottawa Marathon welcomed over 4,300 participants, a 40% increase over last year’s participation, and established a new course record when Elly Rono of Kenya crossed the finish line in a spectacular 2:11:47. Rono took home a total of $15,000. Mustapha Bennacer of Algeria (but training in Montreal) followed less than 20 seconds later with a time of 2:12:03. The champion for the past three years, Joseph Nderitu, finished fourth with a time of 2:16:03.4. The first Canadian to cross the line and win the Canadian Marathon championship in the male category was first timer Matthew McInnes of Toronto.

In the women’s category, Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Russia (but training in Toronto) missed the course record by 16 seconds but reclaimed her title first won in 2002 with a time of 2:30:53. She received $14,500 in cash prizes. She was followed by fellow Russian Alevtina Bitktimirova (2:32:32) and first Canadian Nicole Stevenson of Toronto who finished third with a time of 2:34:44.

The ING Ottawa Marathon is one of eight races in the National Capital Race Weekend. The weekend attracted a record 23,121 participants, a 14% increase in participation over last year and a new record.

Here are the numbers of participants for each racing event:

ING Ottawa Marathon: 4,334
ING Ottawa Half Marathon: 6,776
Ottawa Citizen 5K: 4,067
ING Family 2K: 1,298
ING WheelChair Half Marathon: 6
ING Inline Skate Marathon: 376
ING Inline Skate Half Marathon: 421
MDS Nordion 10K: 5,843
GRAND TOTAL: 23,121
 

Here are the top ten males and females in the ING Ottawa Marathon:

MEN’S CATEGORY

10th place: Isaiah Sanga, Kenya, 2:20:55
9th place: Bruce Deacon, Victoria (BC), 2:20:14
8th place: Oscar Cortinez, Argentina, 2:19:40
7th place: Matthew McInnes, Toronto (ON), 2:18:51
6th place: Gino Van Geyte, Belgium, 2:18:42
5th place: Paul Bor, Kenya, 2:17:39
4th place: Joseph Nderitu, Kenya, 2;16 :03
3rd place: Alfredo Arevalo Reyes, Guatemala, 2:12:52
2nd place: Mustapha Bennacer, Algeria, 2:12:03
1st place: Elly Rono, Kenya, 2:11:47

WOMEN’S CATEGORY
10th place: Nicole MacInnis, North York (ON), 2:57:48
9th place: Allison McKenzie, Toronto (ON), 2:57:30
8th place: Elizabeth Seely, Philadelphia (USA), 2:56:43
7th place: Stephanie Hodge, Canada, 2:56:16
6th place: Veena Reddy, Philadelphia (USA), 2:49:12
5th place: Kristina Rody, Whistler (BC), 2:48:08
4th place: Carol Howe, Summit (BC), 2:37:33
3rd place: Nicole Stevenson, Toronto (ON), 2:34:44
2nd place: Alevtina Biktimirova, Russia, 2:32:32
1st place: Lioudmila Kortchaguina, Russia, 2:30:53

Half-Marathon Results
With almost 6,800 runners, the ING Ottawa Half Marathon was the most popular race of the weekend. Danny Tshidind of Kenya took first place with a time of 1:05:49, beating fellow Kenyan Moses Cheserek by 14 seconds (1:06:03). In the women’s category, Jennifer Faraone of Toronto took home the top place on the podium with a time of 1:22:31. Josiane Abougono of Toronto followed with 1:22:41.

Here are the top three males and females in the ING Ottawa Half Marathon:

MEN:
3rd Deng Marial, Kingston (ON), 1:10:14
2nd Moses Cheserek, Kenya, 1:06:03
1st Danny Tshidind, Kenya, 1:05:49

WOMEN: 
3rd Liz Maguire, Osgoode (ON), 1:24:03
2nd Josiane Abougono, Toronto (ON), 1:22:41
1st Jennifer Faraone, Toronto (ON), 1:22:31  
About the National Capital Race Weekend
The National Capital Race Weekend, Canada's premier running festival, combines competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive contribution to the health of the community.  The Race Weekend has over 20,000 participants in 9 races, including the ING Ottawa Marathon. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. This year, the Race Weekend is scheduled for the May 28-30 weekend and the ING Ottawa Marathon will feature a one-loop course for the first time in over 10 years. 

The race website is at: www.ncm.ca.