Victoria Coates and Kevin Coffey win Around the Bay Road Race
Two runners win their first Around the Bay 30K, as oldest road race in North America returns
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Around the Bay
It’s been three years since Ontario’s historic Around the Bay Road Race took place on the streets of Hamilton. On March 27, 3,500 runners were greeted with cold, blustery and snowy conditions on Hamilton’s bayfront. Kingston, Ont. native Kevin Coffey came out on top to win the 30K in 1:40:10. Victoria Coates was the first woman to cross the finish line, 1:50:01, three minutes ahead of the field.
?? 30k Female Winner Victoria Coates from Hamilton pic.twitter.com/KA1ghrfOg1
— Bay Race 30k (@bayracerun) March 27, 2022
Mother nature was not kind to the thousands of runners who lined up for the 128th running of North America’s oldest road race. Below zero temperatures and high winds, up to 40 km/hr, made the course difficult for many along Hamilton’s bayfront. Coffey and hometown-favourite Reid Coolsaet took to the front early on, but Coffey made his move on Coolaset around the eight-kilometre marker and didn’t look back. Coolsaet was second, three and half minutes behind Coffey in 1:43:52. Lloyd Mackinnon of Hamilton, Ont. was third in 1:45:20.
“The course was challenging but the footing was great,” says Coffey. “It was incredible to have energy at in-person road races back.”
Coates controlled the women’s race from the get-go, holding a one-minute lead on Rachel Hannah of Guelph, Ont. around 10K. Coates held her own while battling the north-western winds on the second half of the course, earning her first Around the Bay title. “It was tough out there,” says Coates. “The mix of the high winds and hills made things difficult.” Hannah was second behind Coates in 1:53:17, holding off Toronto’s Brittany Moran, who rounded out the ATB podium in 1:53:50.
Both Coates and Coffey have their sights set on the Canadian 10K Championships in Ottawa at the end of May.
Many runners choose to run Around the Bay as a test race in the lead-up to the Boston Marathon, scheduled to take place three weeks from now on April 18.
You can view all results from the 126th running of the Around the Bay Road Race here.
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