Manitoba laces up for marathon's long-awaited return

After months of staying — and running — apart, thousands of Manitobans got in step Sunday for the return of the province's beloved marathon.

It was a sight the runners participating in the Manitoba Marathon on Sunday hadn't encountered since the pandemic began.

"Even though we were spread apart, you still had the camaraderie and the spectators on the street cheering you on. It was so nice to see," said Cheryl Stuart, who competed in the half-marathon.

The 43rd running of the Manitoba Marathon was a smaller and more spaced out affair from the annual races that became a Father's Day tradition in the province. 

Under 3,000 people were registered across all events, a far cry from the usual 10,000 to 12,000 runners pounding the pavement. 

Pandemic restrictions in place

Runners were required to wear masks until they set off on foot. 

To avoid congestion, five runners took off at a time. Each group was five seconds apart from each other. 

The forced separation didn't dampen the enthusiasm of runners taking part in an in-person full marathon, the first in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic kept people apart. Some runners enjoyed virtual races, but it's not the same as an in-person race, they said.

"This is amazing. You look around, there's people here," said Evan Vermette, who participated in the full marathon. "We're all excited and it feels like we're getting back to normal now."

When the pandemic closed gyms, Vermette made running his athletic outlet. He has run half marathons every year, but hasn't attempted the full marathon in a decade.

"It was a grind and I never thought I'd do it again," he said, but the pandemic changed that. 

It wiped out the usual running calendar and got people like marathon runner Steffan Reimer thinking creatively. He didn't know when he'd have his next chance to run in an elite race. 

"Your mind goes crazy when you're stuck at home so you come up with crazy ideas."

He decided to beat the Guinness World Record for the fastest time in a full marathon while dribbling a basketball. On Sunday, he says he smashed the record by about 10 minutes when he passed the finish line in 2:50:33.

Reimer said the experience was worth it, even if he garnered "a lot of funny looks" from his neighbours in Blumenort, Man., as he was dribbling down the street. 

Some of the top finishers at this year's marathon are in the same family. 

Brian Walker won the men's full marathon with a time of two hours, 29 minutes and 24 seconds.

His sister-in-law, Nicole Walker, crossed the finish line of the women's full marathon first at 2:52:55. She said it was her new personal best time in the marathon.

A family with runners means there's always somebody to train with at the cottage, Nicole Walker said.

"It seems like every year, somebody else is super fit and we kind of take turns. It's nice."

She was training for the Ironman World Championship, but when that event was postponed she diverted her immediate energies to the Manitoba Marathon instead. 

"It's one of my favourites. I just didn't think it would work time-wise this year and it ended up working."

Her brother-in-law, Brian, hasn't run the Manitoba Marathon since 2015, and hasn't won the race since 2014. He said it was challenging to make the race work in his schedule as his three children are growing up.

He said he was eager to try a road race again.

"It's sometimes hard to train when there's nothing to train for," Walker said. "It's fun to get in the race and have a few guys to run with and have people cheering and have family on the course."

Daniel Heschuk won the men's half marathon with a time of 1:06:16 and Melissa Raven was the fastest in the women's half marathon by crossing the finish line at 1:27:37.