Vancouver Runner Wins Toronto Marathon
Posted October 15, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Anthony Skuce may not be from Toronto, but he can still claim to run the city.
The Vancouver man did just that Sunday, winning the Toronto Marathon on Sunday with a time of two hours 34 minutes 10.1 seconds.
“You never know in a marathon, you can feel great and then absolutely collapse in the last couple of miles,” Skuce said.
“It’s just nice to be able to finish strong and feel good.”
Joseph Nderitu was second in 2:34:33.0 while Matthew Leduc of Ajax, Ont., finished third in 2:35:53.4.
On the female side, Torontonian Nicole Stephenson was the top female finisher, coming in 13 th overall with a mark of 2:47:09.1.
In shorter distances, Predrag Mladenovic captured the half-marathon crown in 1:09:27.8 while Toronto’s Antony Mwangi won the five-kilometre race in 16:18.0.
Almost 10,000 people took place in the annual event, which starts at Mel Lastman’s Square and winds its way downtown to Queen’s Park. The course is popular among marathon runners, particularly because it’s downhill most of the way.
The Toronto Marathon is also a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and any person under the age of 35 that finishes the race in less than three hours and 10 minutes gets to participate.
But just because most of the people taking part Sunday didn’t make the cut, doesn’t mean they didn’t get something out of it.
“It just pulls you forward, everybody’s at the same level (at the start),” said participant Debbie Spurgeon.
“When the horn goes off we’re all one … it’s a rush.”
