Hundreds of runners braved the cold and strong winds for the Fredericton Marathon on Sunday.
“We are over-the-moon thrilled,” said co-race director Christine Little. “We’ve had record numbers.”
About 2,900 runners registered for the event in 2024, added co-race director Bruce Macfarlane. This year, that number reached 3,234.
“This is all about putting Fredericton on the map,” he said. “People are getting back into health and wellness and running.”
Male winner Lee Roy, fighting a chest cold, didn’t expect to win. More than 350 runners completed the 42.2-kilometre course.
“I’m surprised I even finished,” said the Bathurst runner, who crossed the finish line with a time of 2:45:39. “I can’t believe it.”
He added he plans to celebrate by going to bed.
Female winner Brianna Kao said simply finishing the race was a victory, since she didn’t finish last year.
“This is my redemption year,” she said. “It was a whole mental block last year, and this year I really focused on believing in myself.”
Kao won with a time of 2:56:40.
The marathon also coincided with Mother’s Day. For Anna Simonds and her partner, Kayla Blackmore-Simonds, completing the half marathon was a perfect way to celebrate their first Mother’s Day as a couple.
“It’s pretty special and we certainly want to lead by example and show [our daughter] how to be happy and healthy,” said Blackmore-Simonds, who gave birth to the couple’s first daughter 10 months ago.
“Right after she was born we were thinking about how we could celebrate each other as moms,” added Anna.
Over 300 volunteers helped keep the marathon running smoothly, according to organizers. The marathon’s route was also new this year, bringing runners into the downtown core to ease congestion on the city’s trails.
