South Peace Marathon
Sunday September 5, 1999
Results
Summary
Two things immediately come to mind when looking over the results of this year's marathon. One, the race starts and finishes in Beaverlodge; and two, both the top male and female finishers were the only entrants from that town. John O'Donovan, a resident since May, won the men's title with a 2:57:08. Jill Jewitt kept a family tradition going as she succeeded her mother Audrey, the winner in 1998. Jill's time of 3:42:54 was just over 2 minutes faster than she had run last year when she ran her first marathon.
A total of 15 runners attempted the full distance, five of them running a marathon for the first time. They were Joel Kish and Ken Hawrylenko in the men's division, and Collette Simpson, Terri-Lynn Sandboe and Debra-Leah Listhaeghe in the women's category. Jim Smith was competing in his 16th local race.
Mitch Cunningham of Grande Cache covered the distance in 5:02:35, only two weeks after having run the Edmonton Marathon in 5:02:45. Darrell Feschuk of Peace River ran most of the way pushing his children in a stroller, but was unable to complete the run when his arms gave out on him. He had also run in Edmonton two weeks before but had run the 50 kilometre Ultra Marathon, covering the distance in 3:48.
The first runner to cross the finish line was Fred Setterington as he anchored one of two college relay teams to a time of 2:49:57. He was supported by Mike Hartson, Tara Lee Stillwell and Colin McArthur. In second place with a time of 2:54:38 was the team of Andy Beal, Brady Turner, John Breemer and Leonard Scharbach. The Sub Zero Running Club of Fort St. John was third in 3:02:51.
The team of Catherine Mullaney, Rosemary Rawski, Shirley Olson and Marlene Corcoran beat out three other teams of women to complete the course in 3:22:42. In second was the team of Jeannette Brooks, Blanche Currie, Ann Marie Sargent, and Viviane Clough. All sisters, they finished in a time of 3:40:06. Third place went to the team of Isobel Beal, Heather Martin, Kendra Grover, and Nancy Rosendale in a time of 4:05:37.
Todd Wilson and Joe Radench, both preparing for the Kelowna Marathon in October, won the two person men's open title in 2:59:04, easily outdistancing second place finishers Drake Houssian and Doug Tordoff who were timed in 3:18:05. Third place went to the T.O.U.G.H. duo of Harvey Syrota and Craig Sharun in a time of 3:37:58.
Patrick Coppens and Rhonda Howard teamed up to take the Mixed two person title in a time of 3:24:00. Both are getting ready for other marathons, Patrick to do Canmore and Rhonda going to Kelowna. Janet Smith arrived back from Calgary just in time to meet husband Jim at the half way point, then ran with him to claim second place in 4:14:37. The team of Dave and Diana Sloan of Fort St. John was third in 4:!8:35.
Although the number of marathon runners was down slightly from the 18 who ran last year, the total number of runners participating in all events was up. The number of female competitors was the highest ever with a total of 30 taking part, 6 of them in the full marathon. In earlier years, there were often none taking part in the marathon.
The weather was very favourable to the runners in 1999. Last year, runners were forced to run into a stiff east wind as they made their way to Wembley. This year, there was no wind, the temperature during the race never exceeded 11°C, and there were some welcome light rain showers.
A special thank you to all the sponsors who helped make the race a success. Action Sportswear, Traders Sports Excellence and Playfair Athletics provided draw prizes, the Beaverlodge IGA supplied the post-race refreshments, Littleton's Massage Therapy provided massages to all finishers, and Delaine from ReMAX provided bottled water.
Overall Marathon - Men
1. John O'Donovan -- Beaverlodge, AB -- 2:57:08
2. Bill Corcoran -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:06:48
3. Doug Arcus -- Fort St. John, BC -- 3:33:05
4. Joel Kish -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:45:39 **
5. Ken Hawrylenko -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:05:41 **
6. Jim Smith -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:14:38
7. Clint Carrell -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:17:37
8. Mitch Cunningham -- Grande Cache, AB -- 5:02:35
Overall Marathon - Women
1. Jill Jewitt -- Beaverlodge, AB -- 3:42:47
2. Jeannette Brooks -- Valleyview, AB -- 3:46:54
3. Liske de Waal -- Valleyview, AB -- 3:56:14
4. Collette Simpson -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:23:20 **
5. Terri-Lynn Sandboe -- LaGlace, AB -- 4:44:46 **
6. Debra-Leah Listhaeghe -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:58:08 **
** first marathon
Two Person Relay - Men
1. Todd Wilson & Joe Radench -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 2:59:04
2. Drake Houssian & Doug Tordoff -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:18:05
3. Harvey Syrota & Craig Sharun -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:37:58
4. Pat Ferris & Chris Maundrell -- Fort St. John, BC -- 3:43:24
5. Patrick Bonertz & Ken Bonertz -- Valleyview/Peace River -- 3:44:43
6. Bob MacNeill & Paul Antonsen -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:59:35
Two Person Relay - Mixed
1. Rhonda Howard & Patrick Coppens -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:24:00
2. Jim Smith & Janet Smith -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 4:14:37
3. Dave Sloan & Diana Sloan -- Fort St. John, BC -- 4:18:35
Four Person Relay - Mixed
1. Leeann & Ted Nessman, Liz & Larry Richard -- Grande Prairie, AB -- 3:40:51
Four Person Relay - Women
1. Catherine Mullaney, Shirley Olson, Rosemary Rawski, Marlene Corcoran -- GP -- 3:22:42
2. Anne Marie Sargent, Blanche Currie, Viviane Clough, Jeannette Brooks -- Valleyview, AB -- 3:40:06
3. Isobel Beal, Nancy Rosendale, Heather Martin, Kendra Grover -- GP -- 4:05:37
4. Melanie Matheson, Karen Jackson, Ann Vanden Born, Kathleen Szafranski -- GP -- 4:23:30
Four Person Relay - Open Men
1. Mike Hartson, Tara Lee Stillwell, Colin McArthur, Fred Setterington -- GP -- 2:49:57
2. Andy Beal, Brady Turner, John Breemer, Leonard Scharbach -- GP -- 2:54:38
3. Rudy Heistad, Grant Spelsberg, Randy Soderquist, Jim Peltier -- Fort St. John, BC -- 3:02:51
4. Leigh Goldie, Rick Scott, Seb Fullerton, Brett Hillier -- GP -- 3:14:02
5. Drake Houssian, Will Schroerer, Dave Bowes, Hywell Williams -- GP -- 3:21:54
6. Peter Shields, Sherri Kyle, Justin Hamer, Scott Kloberdanz -- GP -- 3:32:02
7. Ellen Marcotte, Dave Graham, Colin Hanson, Brian Hillaby -- GP -- 3:32:16
8. Cal White, Kati White, Kier White, Kyle White -- Grimshaw -- 3:37:24