The male and female victors in the 2011 BMO Nesbitt Burns Prince Edward Island Island Marathon are old hands at this winning thing.
Sunday, Mike MacKinnon of Miscouche won his fourth Island Marathon, while Kathy Wilson-Armitage of New Maryland, N.B., won her first full-marathon on P.E.I. but had nabbed first place in the Island half-marathon in 2004.
Both battled a sunny and warm but blustery fall day.
MacKinnon finished in two hours, 43 minutes 19 seconds, while Wilson-Armitage crossed the finish line in Charlottetown in 3:18:45.
Temperatures hovered around 16 C and winds were a steady 30 kilometres or more per hour.
“It was tough. I thought ‘Oh my God, this wind is stronger that I thought’ and I knew it would cost me,” said MacKinnon, 38, adding the heat wasn’t a problem thanks to the breezy day. “Not with the way the wind was. The heat wasn’t a big deal.”
Second place overall went to Steven Baglole of Charlottetown in 2:44:51, while Chuck Dixon of Sackville, N.B., finished third overall in 2:52:14.
It’s the fifth straight year an Island runner has won the hometown marathon.
The last non-Islander to win was David MacLennan of Scotsburn, N.S.
MacKinnon’s last Island Marathon win came in 2008.
“They’re all challenging. I’ve had to battle it out,” said MacKinnon, a automotive teacher at Three Oaks High School in Summerside. “If I can outpace them (the field) I have a chance. If it gets to a kick I don’t have a chance and they know that.”
MacKinnon said he plans a quiet family celebration with wife Janice and children Hailey, 10, and Ryan, 7.
For Wilson-Armitage, her first 42-kilometre run in over a decade had similar challenges, notwithstanding her long break from the pavement.
“It was brutal. Strong headwinds and a battle (with the hills) on the finish. It was my first (Island) Marathon in 11 years. It was like my first, but it will be my last,” said Wilson-Armitage, 46, smiling and wrapped in a silver, wind-resistant heat blanket after the race. “In this weather I was really pleased. I’m just pleased to be finished.”
Former Olympian Kara Grant of Mermaid finished second among the women in 3:24:22; third place went to Brenda Benson of Summerside in 3:26:03.
Despite the win, Wilson-Armitage doesn’t think she's prone to winning. It's just a matter of numbers, she said.
“In the smaller marathons (and half-marathons), the field of women is so small,” she said.
Wilson-Armitage also credits her husband Michael Armitage for support, and her friend Allison MacDonald, who ran the half-marathon as a warmup to next month’s New York Marathon.
“She’s my inspiration,” said Wilson-Armitage.
So with the race behind her, what will Wilson-Armitage do to celebrate her second overall marathon victory (she won a marathon in Fredericton, N.B., years ago)?
“I think I’ll drink white wine, if I can walk,” she said. “Right now I’m starting to seize up. I’ve got to keep moving.”
In the men’s half-marathon, Jonathan Gendron of Shearwater, N.S., finished first in 1:16:49, followed by Stanley Chaisson of Stratford, who won the full marathon in 2009, in 1:17:35.
Ian James Doyle of Sydney, N.S., was third (1:19:19).
Stacy Juckett of Dartmouth, N.S., was top female half-marathoner, finishing in 1:29:52.
Gabrielle Gallagher of Halifax, N.S., crossed in 1:33:17, while Jennifer Pizio-Perr of Tignish was third (1:34:19).
SEE GUARDIAN PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN MCINNIS' PHOTO SLIDESHOW ON THIS WEBSITE. (Scroll down, centre of website on main page)
creid@theguardian.pe.ca
oh yes what a joke (