Records fall at Ottawa Marathon

Although the Canadians in the field didn’t post any outstanding times, two records still fell at the Ottawa Marathon on Sunday.

Stephen Drew of Kitchener, Ont., and Krista Duchene of Brantford, Ont., claimed the men’s and women’s national titles, earning $5,000 each for the Canadian championship.

Drew finished in 2:21:47, while Duchesne was clocked in 2:39:07.

But the men’s overall winner, Arata Fujiwara of Japan broke the course record. His time of 2:09:33 was the first time anybody has run under the 2:10 barrier on the Ottawa course.

Rick Ball of Orillia, Ont. broke his own world record for fastest marathon by an amputee, running 2:57:48. His previous mark was 3:01:50, set in 2009.

Although Drew was a few minutes off his personal best of 2:18:10, winning the national title was a special achievement. His coach Terry Goodenough passed away suddenly last month.

“I wish he was here to see this today because I think he would have been very proud of it,” said the emotional 32-year-old. “There were times when I drew upon his inspiration.”

Ottawa race weekend organizers say 38,788 runners took part in the 2K, 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon events over the two days.

The marathon and the 10K are the marquee events of the weekend, attracting elite runners from across the country and around the world.

Lelisa Desisa of Ethopia beat former Boston Marathon champion Deriba Merga in the 10K. Desisa won in 28:09. Mohammed El Hachimi was second in 28:12, while Merga was third in 28:42.

Eric Gillis of Antigonish, NS, was the top Canadian male, finishing fourth in 29:12.

Ethiopia’s Dire Tune claimed the top prize in the women’s 10K in 32:12. Emily Tallen of Kingston was the top Canadian in 35:24.

Here’s our post-race interview with Canadian Women’s Marathon Champion Krista DuChene of Brantford, Ont.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au9wMMyNc3A[/youtube]