For the second time since the summer, Tatsuya Hatachi found himself atop a podium on the Semiahmoo Peninsula.
On Sunday, the fleet-footed Coquitlam runner took top spot in the Rotary Run Half Marathon, clocking a time of one hour, 20 minutes and three seconds in the 21.1-km race, which was three seconds quicker than second-place finisher Katherine Moore of Vancouver.
The Rotary Run victory was the second in recent months for Hatachi; he also claimed top spot at the Canada Day 10K in White Rock on July 1, which was his second consecutive win in that event.
And Hatachi wasn’t the only familiar name to find the podium at last weekend’s event, which also included a five-km run and a team relay; South Surrey’s Tyler Ginther – winner of the 2009 race, and many others locally in recent years – topped the field in the five-km race.
Ginther’s time of 17:30 – a blistering 3:30 per-kilometre pace – set a new event record. He finished more than a minute and 20 seconds ahead of second-place runner Elliott Clarke of White Rock. Surrey’s Steeve Guerin was third, nine seconds back of Clarke.
Rounding out the podium in the half marathon was Rika Hatachi, who finished third in a time of 1:30:29, while the top Surrey runner was Martin Schwuchow, in fifth. White Rock’s Francisco Velazquez placed sixth, but was was first in the male 25-29 division.
The top team in the relay event was Running Smile, competing in the Open 175+ (total years) division, clocking a time of 1:31:30. In second was Surrey’s General Paint, competing in the corporate division, while third was won by Trane Team, also of Surrey.
For full results, visit www.rotaryrun.org
