Posted: June 25 2007

Athletics: Nthiwa spots field a thirty-second start, then storms to new course record at Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

VANCOUVER, British Columbia. June 24th. On a remarkable, wet Vancouver summer morning, Kenyan Patrick Nthiwa missed the start of the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon, then stormed his way past a record field of over 4,000 to set a new course record of 63:10, eclipsing Moroccan Mustapha Bennacer's 2003 mark by a mere four seconds. Fellow Kenyan Magdalene Mukunzi had a less-dramatic come-from-behind win as she made it three-for-three in head-to-head competition over Toronto's Lioudmila Kortchaguina this year, blowing past Canada's #1 ranked women's marathoner and Calgary's Lisa Harvey around 12k, then cruising to a comfortable victory in 1:14:02. Harvey was delighted with her second place finish [1:15:45], almost a minute and a half ahead of Kortchguina who had a miserable day in the rain [1:17:11], after the Calgarian had been an ignominious 17 minutes behind Kortchaguina at the Ottawa Marathon just 4 weeks ago. The men started out with a fast, downhill 2:42 first kilometre on the University of British Columbia campus roads, before a group of 5 -- Kenyan Joshua Kemei, Toronto's Danny Kassap and Giitah Macharia, Ottawa's Joseph Nsengiyumva and Nanaimo's Steve Osaduik-- settled in to a steady pace around 3 minutes per kilometre. They passed 5km in 14:50, by which time Osaduik had slipped off the back. Nsengiyumva was next to drop, by 6km, as Kemei and Kassap maintained the pace. A 2:55 ninth kilometre put paid to Macharia; Kassap continued to push things along nicely passing 10k in 29:24 after a 2:38 on the big downhill to Spanish Banks, with Kemei tucked in behind. Nthiwa then emerged on the radar screen, running hard along the long flat stretch of Spanish Banks, right alongside the Pacific Ocean with the snowcapped North Shore Mountains in the background, from 10k to 13k. Dramatically, he caught the two leaders at the end of this stretch on the stiff uphill slope to West 4th Avenue, just before 14k. Continuing his relentless pursuit-pace, he ran 2:59 and 2:58 for the next 2 kilometres as Kemei dropped fast; Kassap held on only until 16k. By this time, the drizzle had turned to light rain, and then to a deluge. Alone, in a pouring rain that only those familiar with the Pacific Northwest can appreciate, Nthiwa battled the elements and the clock, chasing the extra $1,000 course record bonus. Coming down off the majestic Burrard Bridge, he had to hammer out 2:56 and 2:54 kilometres from 19k to 21k, in order to cross the line in world-famous Stanley park with the barest of margins -- four seconds-- to spare. Kassap continued strong to record a new PR of 64:03 on his birthday, signalling a welcome return to form. A tired, rain-sodden Kemei jogged in a distant third. Despite the quintessential British Columbia day with the rain, the mist and new snow on the peaks of the coastal mountains, there were lots of smiles: a record sized field, the new course record, and a new fundraising record in excess of a quarter of a million dollars for 6 local charities. The sun even appeared as astonishingly as the downpour, to brighten up the awards proceedings and the bedraggled volunteer crews. Full results available at CanadaRunningSeries.com. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest