It was the 40-somethings who did much of the winning at the 46th annual Royal Victoria Marathon weekend.
In the marathon, 47-year-old Kip Kangogo of Lethbridge, Alta., won in 2:24:28, setting a masters course record. Fawn Whiting of Victoria, 40 and a mother of three, pulled off a surprise victory in the women’s race in 2:48:50.
“I am so happy to take the masters record and also for the win,” Kangogo said shortly after the race. “My family is here cheering me on, so it was nice to do it in front of them.”
Kangogo improved Jim Finlayson’s masters record by nearly a minute.
Calgarian Michael Zahara finished second in 2:28:32, four minutes and four seconds behind Kangogo, recording a personal best. Alex Browns of Maple Valley, Wash., took third in 2:32:20.
Whiting was over the moon with her surprise win and personal best. Her previous best was 2:51:44, set at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2025.
“I can’t believe I won. It was a perfect day. I was going for a 2:50, so I was surprised to be first. No one was passing me, so I continued to pace it well.”
Whiting ran with her brother, Daniel, for more than 35 kilometres before he cramped up. He nevertheless finished in 2:50:09. The siblings are two of three children born as triplets.
Charlotte McNair of Banff, Alta., held the lead briefly before Whiting took over ahead of the turnaround.
“I could see the other girls were not too far back at the turnaround,” Whiting said.
McNair finished in a personal best of 2:49:32. Tessa Ladner of Calgary took third in 2:52:07.
Vail runs away with the half-marathon
In the half-marathon, local athlete Brandon Vail won in 1:05:40, taking nearly three minutes off his personal best. The Speedfarm athlete entered the race with a best of 1:08:31 from the 2025 Comox Valley RV Half Marathon.
Vail worked with Justyn Tyrrell of Barrie, Ont., now living in Calgary, for a few kilometres before creating separation and running much of the remaining distance on his own.
“He wasn’t far behind, so he did push me to run strong. Once I got to the Terry Fox statue [at 17 kilometres], I took off down the hill.”
Justyn Tyrrell finished second in 1:06:01, followed by Ryan Tyrrell in 1:07:45.
Justyn took 35 seconds off his personal best from the 2025 Royal Victoria Half Marathon. Ryan’s personal best is 1:05:10, set at the 2025 Montreal Half Marathon.
The women’s race went to Natasha Wodak of North Vancouver. Wodak holds the course record at 1:11:45 and had hoped to challenge it again, but she was not feeling quite right. She finished in 1:14:33.
Wodak was coming off the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, where she finished the half-marathon in 1:12:13. Just six months earlier, she had run 1:10:53 in Berlin.
For now, however, she has bigger fish to fry.
“I will be running the Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz., in December. While I don’t know if I can run my national record of 2:23:12, I want to remain competitive.”
“I ran with the guys but never really found my pace. I didn’t expect to fly through the course, but it was good to be here and take the win. I have bigger fish to fry.”
At 44, Wodak remains a formidable competitor.
“At age 44, to be still winning races is an amazing feeling.”
Eliyah Brawdy finished second in 1:15:52, while Tyler Hudacek of Seattle took third in 1:16:03.
Travaglini and Hegland surprise in the 8K
In the 8K, Calgary’s Matthew Travaglini won in 23:48. Travaglini is familiar with success on Victoria’s streets, having previously won the half-marathon and the TC10K, held each April.
Former Victoria athlete Liam Dwyer, now living in Vancouver, finished second in 24:26. Jerome Bouchard took third in 24:28.
Former University of Victoria Vike Chloe Hegland was another surprise winner on Sunday. Like Whiting and Kangogo, she had reason to celebrate, although perhaps no one was more surprised than Hegland herself.
Hegland remains a competitive runner, but it has been several years since she competed with the UVic Vikes. After a summer of strong running and aerobic conditioning, she found herself in new territory with the victory and a substantial personal best of 27:39.
“I knew I was finally in good shape to run well. I was sure I could go sub-29 and maybe try for sub-28, but to run 27:39 is amazing. I am very happy with the race today.”
Sara Inglis, originally from Scotland and now living in Langley, B.C., finished second. Although registered for the half-marathon, the former international-level athlete stepped down in distance to the 8K, running 28:13.
The new mother works full-time as a teacher and, while she is not getting in the training she is accustomed to, remains competitive locally.
Alycia Butterworth of Burnaby, B.C., took third in 28:18.
The former UBC Thunderbird competed in middle-distance events until relatively recently. She won silver in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Dunfee enjoys the marathon atmosphere
Sunday’s marathon also featured race-walking world champion, Evan Dunfee.
The Richmond, B.C., athlete was a guest of the Royal Victoria Marathon and delivered a motivational speech at Saturday night’s pre-race Power Plates carbo-loading dinner. The 36-year-old then race-walked the 42.2 kilometres in a chip time of 3:24:59 and was clearly delighted to be in Victoria.
“The atmosphere was amazing, the weather was perfect, and the body and mind felt strong. It’s been a great weekend, and the RVM team made us feel very special.”
Dunfee’s next major goal is to get fit for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Saturday’s 5K race
On Saturday, Aidan Longcroft-Harris of Victoria won the 5K, which runs in nearby Oak Bay, as part of the marathon weekend. Added a few years ago, the race has proven to be popular.
He won in 15:08.
Taking second and third were Danny Morin of Toronto, ON, and Jason Basaur of Nanaimo, BC. They finished in 15:25 and 15:59, respectively.
Waverley Mulligan won the women’s race in 17:14, while Robyin Astridge of Calgary took second place in 18:00 and Charlotte Gough of Mill Bay, BC took third in 18:15.
Record participation caps weekend
Perfect running weather greeted more than 17,000 participants at the 46th Royal Victoria Marathon weekend.
Sunday’s marathon, Outway Half Marathon and Westland Insurance 8K sold out before race weekend. Saturday’s Island Savings 5K recorded its highest registration to date, with more than 1,000 participants. The Thrifty Foods Kids Run also reached capacity, rounding out an impressive festival of running in Victoria and Oak Bay.
With 17,536 participants registered, this was another record year for the event, surpassing the previous year’s total by 2,500.
Registrations included 4,927 in the marathon, 7,389 in the Outway Half Marathon, 3,396 in the Westland Insurance 8K, 1,124 in the Island Savings 5K and 700 in the Thrifty Foods Kids Run.
“I am so proud of our community for cheering on our record number of participants this weekend,” said Cathy Noel, RVM race director. “I truly believe that running brings people together to reach personal goals. The sun shone down on everyone this year, which helped everyone shine.”
Kangogo, meanwhile, claimed his first Royal Victoria Marathon victory at 47. His 2:24:28 was a masters record in the men’s 45-49 age category.
Asked whether he was getting stronger, Kangogo said, “I feel I am getting consistent, and when I do my own marathon training, I have to go for it.”
The three-time TC10K winner enjoys racing in Victoria.
“There is no community quite like Victoria, and I enjoy coming back.”
