Mother of twins wins Fredericton Marathon on Mother’s Day

Maura Wieczorek and Ryan O'Shea won the Fredericton Marathon on Sunday morning in an event that doubled as the New Brunswick championships.

Fredericton Marathon

One of Atlantic Canada’s fastest Boston qualifying races took place on Sunday morning and doubled as the New Brunswick marathon championships. Maura Wieczorek, a mother of one-year-old twins, won the 38th Fredericton Marathon in 3:07:49. Ryan O’Shea was the overall winner of the event in 2:39:23. This is the second year in a row where we got to celebrate a win by a Canadian woman on Mother’s Day. 

The Fredericton Marathon had a youth run on May 7 and the marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K took place the morning of May 8. Weather was 12 C and overcast for the marathon, ideal conditions for a 42.2K race.

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Wieczorek, a Halifax resident, had not run a marathon in over four years. Her husband, Greg, and two children, Clara and Elle, greeted her at the finish line as she crossed the line 15 minutes ahead of her next closest competitor.

Greg also had a great day in Fredericton and finished fifth overall on Sunday in 2:42:08.

According to Global News, Wieczorek runs approximately 120 kilometres per week while balancing life as a parent.

Meanwhile, O’Shea, 32, ran a one-minute personal best to win the event by just under 60 seconds. O’Shea was also crowned as the New Brunswick marathon champion for his efforts on Sunday. The race is popular among Atlantic Canada residents, runners in Quebec, and those in the northeastern United States.

O’Shea, who lives in New Maryland, N.B., is seen below crossing the finish line on Sunday morning:

The course is known as a fast qualifier for Boston as 27 per cent of finishers in 2015 qualified for the prestigious annual event, considered one of the world’s most popular road races.

RELATED: Watch: Canada’s marathon mom, Krista DuChene, on the road to the Olympics.

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