This article was published on May 27th, 2013
It was a record breaking day at the 6th annual Run For Water road running event in Abbotsford, BC, as over 4,800 signed up and participated in the 2013 event, exceeding the previous years record of 4,294.
Not only was participation records broken for the 5k, 10k, half and full marathon events combined, but five new course records were set. Vancouver’s David Palermo was first to cross the full marathon finish line at 2:35:05, and Yu Tsuchida from Greensboro, N.C. was the first female to cross the full marathon finish line at 3:02:17.
David Jackson of Abbotsford took home first place in the half marathon, finishing in 1:10:49, and Vancouver’s Jennifer Moroz was the first place female half marathon finisher at 1:22:11. In the 10km event, Yue-Ching Cheng from Port Coquitlam finished in 35:33, and Anita Campbell took home the top female 10k finisher at 37:55.
While it’s called the Run For Water, but it was more like Run In The Water, during Sunday’s 6th annual road running race. Many non-runners believe sunny skies and warm temperatures are ideal running conditions, but in fact, long distance runners, prefer cool, damp weather. For the most part, the Run For Water half and full marathon participants were quite happy and comfortable in the inclement weather.
Notable improvements for 2013 included a new, beautifully designed finishers medal, redesigned technical shirt for marathon participants, and improved finisher area corals.
In addition to Sunday’s race events, 17 runners geared up on Saturday to participate in the 56km ultra-marathon event. This year’s ultra took a new route from Chiliwack to Abbotsford.
The 2013 Run For Water event raised over $358,000, bringing the six year fundraising total to over $1,000,000. Run For Water helps bring clean, drinkable water to under-privileged communities.
Personal Race Results:
The 2013 Run For Water marathon was an all-time personal worst, however, I’m extremely pleased with my finish time and would do this race again in a heart-beat and recommend it to any other long distance runner. It is a fast, flat course, incredibly scenic, and is extremely well organized. Don’t let my cramping from the cold rain at the 32km mark change your opinion; if I hadn’t stopped I was on target to set a personal best! My last 10km were spent walking and gingerly running with cramps in my calves and quads. It’s also worth pointing out this was my second full marathon run in three weeks. Lessons are learned on every run, and this run was no different. Can’t wait to run the Run For Water again!
- Gun Time: 3:59:06
- Chip Time: 3:59:01
- Overall Place: 103/226
- Gender Place: 73/136
- Male 30-39 Place: 25/38
- Average Pace: 5:40m/km
