Winning silver and gold or achieving personal best times, some Vanderhoof master runners may be giving thanks to their fitness and dedication over the Thanksgiving weekend.
On Oct. 8, Brian and Wanda Nemethy finished second in their age categories for the half-marathon event at the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon, which featured over 6,000 participants racing through the streets of downtown Victoria.
Running 21 km in one hour 20 minutes 41 seconds — about two minutes faster than last year’s racing pace — Nemethy is placed 18th out of 2,820 half-marathon runners, while Wanda is placed 170th, completing the race in one hour 37 minutes 12 seconds.
Team Nemethy also won first place in the husband and wife category.
“Twenty-six years ago, Wanda ran her first half marathon and this past weekend, she ran faster by 47 seconds,” Nemethy said. “Who says we get slow as we age.”
Also participating from Vanderhoof are Jennifer Little, who finished the half-marathon event in two hours six minutes 56 seconds, and Lauren Makin, who ran the eight-kilometre event in 49 minutes 46 seconds.
Meanwhile in Kelowna
On Oct. 9 in B.C.’s wine country, Vanderhoof’s Orrin Milne ran his fastest half-marathon and Chris Sutton completed his second marathon with a 40-minute improvment at the BMO Okanagan Marathon in Kelowna.
Placing 32nd in his age group and 84th out of 1,233 runners, Milne completed the 21-kilometre distance with a time of 1:44:25.
Sutton completed the 42-kilometre race with a time of 4:19:31, placing 46th in his age group and 153rd out of 451 runners.
“Though I was aiming for under four hours, it was a significant improvement from last year,” Sutton said. “I trained smarter, watched my diet, and ate better the morning of.”
– with files from Brian Nemethy
