Posted: May 20, 2005

Athletics: Fabulous elite field and new route ready to set new Half-Marathon records in Vancouver

Vancouver - A fast international field, led by defending champion and British Olympian marathoner Jon Brown, is already confirmed for the 7th Annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon, Sunday June 26th, 2005. A redesigned course and the strong elite field are expected to bring new course records and the fastest half-marathon in Canada this year. The event also doubles as the British Columbia Half-Marathon Championships with a total prize purse of almost $10,000.

Jon Brown was a convincing victor at last year's Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon in 63:53 - a race he used as one of his final "tests of fitness" before the Athens Games. There, in the sweltering heat and over some brutal hills, he ran a magnificent tactical race to place 4th in the marathon. It was a bittersweet run for the 34-year-old from Sheffield, as he placed 4th best in the world for his second Games in a row, after also finishing one place out of the medals in Sydney.

Undaunted, Jon put in another outstanding performance at this April's Flora London Marathon - often dubbed "the world's greatest race" - where he set a new PR of 2:09:31, good enough for 6th place and first Brit home. That run earned him automatic selection to the GB Team for this August's World Championships in Helsinki. Once again, the rugged Englishman will use the Scotiabank Vancouver Half as a final test of fitness before his battle on the world stage.

Pushing Jon this year in Vancouver will be the #2 GB marathoner, also selected for Helsinki, Huw Lobb. As well as his regular running performances, that included a 2:14:33 and 13th place at Flora London 2005, Huw last year became the first-ever 'Man to beat a Horse" over a 22 Mile Cross Country Race. This was the 25th Anniversary of the event held in Mid Wales and provided a US$40,000 first prize. Over 50 horses and 500 runners took part. Huw's best half-marathon time is 64:51.

The Brits will be strongly challenged by some of Canada's best on June 26th including Canadian Olympian Bruce Deacon (PR 64:45), plus other Canadians Jim Finlayson (65:43), Danny Kassap (64:14), and Giitah Macharia (64:00), all regular Canada Running Series competitors.

Deacon and Finlayson both train in Victoria with the Prairie Inn Harriers. Finlayson recently won the Oak Bay Half-Marathon in Victoria and the Vancouver International Half-Marathon. Danny Kassap, a Congolese refugee who has been living in Toronto for the past three years, won his Marathon debut in September 2004 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront and has been running strong this spring with a third-place finish behind two Kenyans at 21Kmtl, the Montreal Half-Marathon. Giitah Macharia of St.Catharine's was the 2004 Canada Running Series Champion, edging out Danny for the first place honours and prize money. Macharia won last year's Scotiabank Toronto Half in 65:39, and recently placed third at the Sporting life 10K on May 1st in Toronto in 29:19. Macharia placed second to Brown in last year's Scotiabank Vancouver Half, with Kassap a close 3rd.

In the women's field a group of top local runners will be battling it out for first place and BC Championship honours - a group that includes Leah Pells (75:46), Nancy Tinari (79:21) and Cindy O'Krane (80:34).

Leah Pells recently placed 3rd in the Vancouver Sun Run (33:35) and edged out Nancy Tinari at the Times Colonist 10k to win 1st place in a time of 33:38.

At this moment, race organizers are negotiating with Canada's fastest female marathoner, Toronto's Lioudmila Kortchaguina, the existing women's course record holder at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half, with a sizzling 1:10:46, that Lioudmila ran in 2003. She will be contesting the Ottawa Marathon on May 29th and will confirm her Vancouver presence after that outing.

This year over 4500 people are expected to participate in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k, and together raise over $100,000 for the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation.

For more information and online registration please visit www.canadarunningseries.com.