The Rupert Runners hosted their annual half marathon and eight kilometre run on April 15, attracting over 100 people from across the northwest.
In the 8k run for men under 40, Sam Brunelle of Prince Rupert finished first with a time of 34:28, followed by Rob Christenson less than a minute behind at 35:13 and Mark Taylor with a time of 38:47. For men aged 40 to 59, Gary Pettipas placed first, finishing with a time of 38:33, just 20 seconds ahead of Martin Grifith-Zahner of Prince Rupert, while Finn Conradsen placed third at 40:29. There were three men over the age of 60 running, and Ray Leonard finished first with a time of 38:23, almost 20 minutes ahead of second place finisher Dale White with a time of 52:19, with Kurt Schlegel finishing third at 58:29
For women under 40, it was Emma Christison of Prince Rupert who finished first with a time of 39:18, just nine seconds ahead of Lia Thiesmann and 45 seconds ahead of Hannah Coons. For women 40 to 59, Gail Bennett too first with a time of 43:30, followed by Erica Pienaar at 44:37 and Karen Sankey with a time of 46:36.
There were three men under 40 running in the half marathon, with Scott Foulser finishing first with a time of 1:30:09, Karl Kafta placing second with a time of 1:36:44 and Tyler Duncan finishing in 1:44:57. The fastest time for the half marathon though was Travis Carter of Kitimat in the 40-59 age group, completing the run in 1:29:18. He was followed in his age group by Mike Hamilton of Prince Rupert with a time of 1:32:56 and Fred Lambright of Terrace at 1:28:24.
For women under 40, Marie Eve Gauthier had the fastest time for the half marathon at 1:35:24, followed by Tanya Kormendy at 1:42:37 and Amber Sheasgreen at 1:43:47. There was one woman over 40 running the half marathon, as Judy Thompson completed the course with a time of 2:02:08.