Vancouver Half Marathon ends in dramatic sprint finish

For most of the race, nothing could quite separate Eliyah Brawdy of Smithers, B.C., and Katelyn Ayers of Victoria. But in the final 100 metres, Brawdy outsprinted Ayers to the line to break the tape at Sunday’s Vancouver Half Marathon with a time of 1:13:22. 

Ayers finished just one second behind in 1:13:23, with two-time Olympian and 2024 champion Natasha Wodak rounding out the podium in 1:14:06.

The win marks Brawdy’s second Canada Running Series half-marathon victory. Last fall, she won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon in a personal best of 1:13:37—a mark she lowered by 15 seconds in Vancouver.

Race director Alan Brookes called the race “the most exciting women’s finish” he’s seen at this event in his 27 years. 

Eyes on the “Preis”

On the men’s side, Canadian marathoner Ben Preisner continued his preparations for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, winning the race handily in 64:35. This was the third time the 29-year-old has won this event in his career (2019 and 2022). Preisner’s personal best is 1:02:24 from the Houston Half Marathon in January 2025.

Vancouver’s Brendan Wong finished two minutes behind Preisner to secure second place in 66:33. North Vancouver’s Craig McMillan finished third in a new men’s 45+ Canadian masters record of 67:57. The men’s 45-49 record he broke was held by Victoria’s Jim Finlayson since 2018. The record is subject to ratification.

For the second consecutive year, the Vancouver Half Marathon had a record number of participants. There were 5,000 participants in the half marathon and just over 1,400 in the 5K. The participants represented eight Canadian provinces and 35 countries.

For full results, see here. 

(Editor’s note: The Vancouver Half Marathon course was found to be 200 metres short, meaning all times will not be eligible for record purposes.)