Lanni Marchant, who lives in Chattanooga, TN continues to roll as she raced the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon today in very warm temperatures and still ran a fast time of 71:03, just 16 second from her personal best and Canadian record time. Second place went to Vancouver’s Natasha Wodak.

Guelph, Ontario’s Reid Coolseat won the men’s race in 65:40. Fellow Canadian Matt Loiselle finished third while American Arya Bahreini finished second.

The Scotiabank half-marathon course is fast, starting at UBC it moves east, then returns west on flat asphalt before dropping significantly for several kilometres. The second half of the race features some rolls and a crossing of the Burrard Street Bridge, which is challenging, late in the race. As the course is point-to-point and has a significant downhill the course times cannot count as official records.

Here is Randy Clegg’s post-race report:

6,500 runners brought their best, taking to the scenic course from UBC to Stanley Park for the 17th annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k, raising $850,000 and counting for 83 local charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

Race day saw convincing victories on a hot Vancouver morning. Reid Coolsaet, Canada’s number one ranked marathoner from Guelph, broke away from Toronto’s Matt Loiselle at the 10k mark, cruising to victory in 65:40. Loiselle eventually finished third behind twenty-one year old Oklahoman Arya Bahreini. Top Canadian females Lanni Marchant and Natasha Wodak battled for first place with Lanni claiming her title as “Queen of the Roads,” in an impressive time of 71:08.

“We could not have anticipated a better race day with Canada’s top talent competing in Vancouver,” said Alan Brookes, Canada Running Series Race Director. “Beyond the outstanding results, the support from the local community and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, is what makes this day so incredible. Every runner should be proud they have made the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k BC’s top fundraising road race.”

Top BC finisher Rob Watson placed fifth overall using the event as a tune up for the upcoming Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Marchant, Wodak and Vancouver running “Super Mom” Catherine Watkins will also be representing Canada in Toronto next month.

“This weekend’s Scotiabank Vancouver Half- Marathon & 5k was a true celebration of sportsmanship, philanthropy and community spirit,” said Winnie Leong, Senior Vice President of the BC and Yukon Region at Scotiabank. “It’s inspiring to see the way the people of Vancouver show their support for the 6,500 runners and 83 charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.”

Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon Results

Half-Marathon Male

  1. Reid Coolsaet, Guelph, Ontario                        65:40
  2. Arya Bahreini, Edmond, Oklahoma                66:34
  3. Matt Loiselle, Toronto, Ontario                        66:58

Half-Marathon Female

  1. Lanni Marchant, London, Ontario                        71:08
  2. Natasha Wodak, Vancouver, British Columbia             72:31
  3. Lioudmila Kortchaguina, Markham, Ontario                 77:33

Scotiabank Vancouver 5k Results

5k Male   

  1. Nolan Sammut, Vancouver, British Columbia               18:09

5k Female    

  1. Olivia Willitt, Coquitlam, British Columbia                    19:31

For more highlights and complete race results, please visit: www.vancouverhalf.com.

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