Toronto Marathon honours van attack victims
Race director encourages positive outlook for runners and Torontonians alike
On April 23, 2018 a man drove a rented van through the North Toronto City Centre. The attack killed ten people and injured 16. May 6, 2018 was the Toronto Marathon which started meters from where the attack took place. The marathon began with a moment of silence for the victims and their families. Jay Glassman, the meet director, says his overall message is that life must go on. Glassman told CBC News that, “I think we all need to get on with life while remembering the past and what happened. You can’t let events like this deter you from going about your daily life and that’s part of the message we will try and convey race morning.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bib3bVVlmSB/?utm_source=twitter
After the moment of silence the race began and ran smoothly. David Freake of St. Johns, Nfld. won the men’s marathon. The Brooks athlete travelled with a large contingent of east coast runners to compete in Toronto. Freake finished in a time of 2:33:57 just off his personal best of 2:33:45 from the Toronto Marathon in 2017. Second place went to Nelson Jose Da Costa Neto of Toronto who finished in 2:42:31, and third place to Alberto Manzanares of San Sebastian, Spain who finished in 2:47:11.
On the women’s side Julie Hamulecki of Toronto won in 2:52:10. Hamulecki was also the winner of the event back in 2016. Second place went to Anne Johnston, another St. Johns resident in 2:58:50. Brianna Cavan of Annan, Scotland took third in 3:00:54.
Another notable entry was Katherine Switzer, coined “Marathon Woman”. In 1967 Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered athlete. Switzer ran the Toronto 10K Sunday morning and gave a talk at the expo the day before.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiSQgRrlGnE/?taken-by=torontomarathon
The event organizers did a great job of covering the races on social media so that friends, family and fans could watch across the country.
Nancy Beaton cheered on friend and second place finisher Anne Johnson:
Friend & neighbour Anne Johnson leading the women at the #TorontoMarathon. Way to go Anne! & your kids are in our yard in case you're wondering where they ran to.. 😉 https://t.co/xJoP3XqWne
— Nancy Beaton (@ncbeets) May 6, 2018
Men’s half-marathon second and third place twinning:
Men’s half marathon 2nd and 3rd place pic.twitter.com/ghJXnD75cj
— Toronto Marathon (@torontomarathon) May 6, 2018
David Freake’s dominant win:
— Toronto Marathon (@torontomarathon) May 6, 2018
A complete list of results can be found here.
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