Jeff Symonds captured his third BMO Okanagan Marathon on Sunday. The Penticton resident completed the 21.1 kilometre run in one hour, 13 minutes, 56 seconds..
“I love this course, there were tons of people cheering us on and I really wanted to run at a good pace in preparation for an event in South Carolina next weekend,” said Symonds in a press release. “It was a great day for a run.”
The 18th BMO Okanagan Marathon was held under sunny skies in Kelowna. Calgary runners dominated the podium for the male field as Ireland’s James Curran, who is the marathon champion crossing the finish line in 2:51:10, followed by Adam Kahtava at 2:53:28 and Donovan Thorkelson at 2:56:45. On the women’s marathon side, Alberta runner Rhonda Loo of Lake Newell won in her first appearance with a personal best time of 3:00:40. She beat out two Kelowna runners in Stacie Carrigan, who last year finished in 3:20:53 and this year posted a 3:13:47. Liza Burgess finished third at 3:16:59.
Skeets Morel of Vernon placed third in the 21.1-km at 1:20:27. For the women in the 10-km event, Summerland’s Amy Buzikievich placed third at 39:32.
A total of 3,150 participants took part in the family festival and Boston qualifying event.