Couple gets engaged at finish line following wins at Canadian Death Race
Matthew Leduc of Ajax, Ont. won the solo category at the Canadian Death Race on Saturday in Alberta and proposed to his girlfriend at the finish line.
Congratulations to our #SKECHERSPerformance athlete Matt Leduc and his fiancée!!???#canadiandeathrace pic.twitter.com/qvkx8emvLR
— Skechers Performance (@skechersperfcan) July 31, 2016
Matthew Leduc had a pair of wins at the Canadian Death Race on Saturday. Not only did the Ajax, Ont. native win the 125K trail race in Grande Cache, Alta., he also proposed to his now-fiancee Mindy Fleming. Fleming, who said yes to Leduc’s proposal, was the winner of the women’s marathon in 5:41:00.
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The Canadian Death Race is one of the country’s toughest ultramarathons and is run in the Rocky Mountains. Grande Cache is located approximately 400 kilometres west of Edmonton. The event featured a marathon, known as the Near Death Marathon, for the first time. Brody Sveinson won the men’s marathon in 5:07:12.
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Conditions were good for running on Saturday morning as the race got underway. By evening, however, race organizers described conditions as “four seasons in a day,” as participants faced severe weather at the northern border of the Rockies.
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The aptly named Canadian Death Race’s slogan is “it’s a killer,” in reference to the tough and technical terrain on course. The race includes more than 17,000 fee of elevation change, crossing a river and three mountain summits.
Leduc has a rich running background and finished as the top Canadian at the 2012 Boston marathon. He completed the 125K route in 13:04:48 and finished on Saturday night. Edmonton’s Amber Poliquin was the women’s solo winner in 17:17:20. Runners can either run solo or as part of a relay at the Canadian Death Race.
Alissa St Laurent became the first woman to win the event outright when she completed the race in 13:53:35 in 2015. The Grande Cache race is typically held on the August long weekend each summer.
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