Runner completes Beneva Quebec City Marathon twice, back to back

Simon-Pierre LeBlanc began last week’s Beneva Quebec City Marathon hours ahead of the rest of the pack. He was planning to run the race twice, just for the fun of it. The Quebec native, 35, has been an ambassador for Je Cours QC (the organization that hosts the marathon and other races) since 2017, and shared that he decided to come up with a little something extra for this year’s race.

“While running the 34K Trail du Coureur des Bois race, I realized that I felt fit enough to run the marathon twice! The idea was to keep it simple and have a blast,” the runner says.

LeBlanc wasn’t always an athlete. His story is one many can relate to–he fell in love with running after a challenging period in his life. “I’m an ex-smoker that had a more-than-sedentary lifestyle,” he explains. In 2011, LeBlanc received a DUI after driving just over the legal blood-alcohol limit. Thankful no one was injured, it was a wake-up call for him.

“I was just wobbling in life,” LeBlanc says. Finding himself without transportation to get to work, he used the opportunity to make some changes. “I used this incident to give myself a lesson and thought I’d walk 45 minutes to and back to work for about a year. Then walking turned into jogging and jogging turned into running,” he says.

In 2014, LeBlanc stumbled on some Youtube videos of trail runners, a moment he says changed his life. “I discovered trails and ultrarunning and that jump-started what would become my ultimate calling card. I ran my first 25K trail race in 2014: I got lost, I felt horrible, and I had never in my life done anything so hard.”

Despite how hard the race felt, LeBlanc was hooked. “I decided that I was to make my whole life about running apart from work. I put in the hours, the sweat, the tears, the blood–everything I had to in order to become the absolute best runner that I could be.” LeBlanc has accomplished some podium finishes and competed with renowned Canadians Mathieu Blanchard and Rob Krar.

For this year’s Quebec City Marathon, LeBlanc and course organizers determined he would run his first marathon distance before the 8:15 A.M. mass start. “I started at 4:15 that morning wanting to run easy and enjoy my 84.4 km run. I arrived [at the race start] exactly on time, put my bib on, and had a three-minute rest in between the two marathons.”

Like many at the event, LeBlanc felt the day was perfect, despite (or because) he ran twice as far as most marathoners. “What an awesome day,” LeBlanc says. “The thrill and fun I had running while everyone was asleep and in my city, combined with the excitement of toeing the real start line with 8,000 other runners and pounding in the last 42K with everyone cheering–nothing in the world beats that!”

The 2022 Beneva Quebec City Marathon, held on Oct. 2 after a two-year hiatus, was a resounding success, with multiple events taking place over the weekend. Runners loved the new start and finish-line party at Place Jean Béliveau. Blue skies and ideal running weather set the stage for a beautiful race through the heart of Quebec City, with local mayor Bruno Marchand joining the festivities as a pace bunny in the half-marathon distance.

Etobicoke, Ont.’s David Mutai won in 2:24:21, followed by two Quebec-based runners, Alexis Lavoie-Gilbert in 2:27:08. Anthony Larouche rounded out the trio in 2:30:57.

In the women’s race, a Quebec-based trio championed the event, with Nadia Bolduc breaking the ribbon in 2:57:57, followed by Joanie Charland in 2:59:20 and Catherine Papillon in 3:03:03.

For more information on the Beneva Quebec Marathon and to see complete event results, head here.