BMO Vancouver Marathon draws one of highest participation rates ever
Kenyan Daniel Kipkoech wins men's race in 2:21:04, while women's winner was Hirut Guangul in 2:39:52
It's been 45 years since the first Vancouver Marathon took off in the city, now in 2016, the race has grown larger than ever.
"We've got over 16,500 runners ... one of our highest in history," said the race's executive director Charlene Krepiakevich.
Runners lined up early Sunday morning to begin the 42.2 km race at Queen Elizabeth Park before heading through Pacific Spirit Park, around UBC, then through the West side before looping Stanley Park and finishing in Coal Harbour.
Strong, graceful finish for Daniel Kipkoech winner of the 45th <a href="https://twitter.com/BMOVanMarathon">@BMOVanMarathon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RUNVAN?src=hash">#RUNVAN</a> <a href="https://t.co/XZd2JWEGF4">pic.twitter.com/XZd2JWEGF4</a>
—@AaardwolfYour <a href="https://twitter.com/BMOVanMarathon">@BMOVanMarathon</a> First Female ... Hirut Guangul 2:39:52 <a href="https://t.co/54x864Y3gk">pic.twitter.com/54x864Y3gk</a>
—@PhotorrhorneThis year's male winner was Kenya's Daniel Kipkoech who completed the race in 2:21:04. Ethiopian-American Hirut Guangul was the top female, finishing in 2:39:52.
The event used a rolling closure protocol, meaning that roads closed and later re-opened as runners passed through the course — no roads were closed for the entire duration of the race, which has a completion time limit of seven hours.
