Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race celebrates 111 years since first event
Halifax Road Hammers sweep the men's and women's titles for the rather-unique six-mile distance
Two weeks ago, Matt McNeil and Cal DeWolfe tied at the Nova Scotia Half-Marathon and planned on deciding the deadlock at the Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race.
The event, which celebrated 111 years on Monday from when the event first started, featured more than 1,000 runners, one of the largest turnouts in the event’s lengthy history. The Dartmouth, N.S.-based run, an intriguing distance of six miles (9.65K), is one of the oldest footraces in North America.
For the third year in a row, McNeil won the men’s race, winning over DeWolfe by 18 seconds in 30:24. Greg Wieczorek was third in 32:47. McNeil’s time, if the same pace was maintained for another 350m, would have been around 31:28 to put the lesser-run six-mile time in perspective.
RELATED: Halifax Road Hammers teammates tie for the win at Nova Scotia Half.
Colleen Wilson won the women’s race in 37:02, adding to her win at the Nova Scotia Half-Marathon. Shari Boyle was second in 37:26 followed by Rayleen Hill. It was a sweep for the Halifax Road Hammers, which had a size-able crew out on Monday. The August Civic Holiday in Nova Scotia is known as Natal Day.
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According to the event website, “although there there were a few years during the wars when no race was held, there has been a Natal Day race in Dartmouth since 1907.” According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, the event has been held 99 times throughout the years.
In addition to the six-mile, the even also offered a two-mile.
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