The Edge-to-Edge Marathon crown will remain on the mainland as Vancouver's Hjalmar Kristiansen bested the marathon's roster for the second year in a row on Sunday.
Kristiansen finished the 42 km race in 3 hours, 1 minute and 14 seconds (3:01:14) carving over 5 minutes off last year's winning run of 3:06:25.
It was a decisive victory for Kristiansen who completed the race a full six minutes before second place finisher Tanya Kormendy of Nanaimo who posted a time of 3:07:41.
Wesley Ashwood of Squamish took third place with a time of 3:08:41.
The result surprised the 31-yearold Kristiansen who had put race training on the back burner this year to focus on educational pursuits.
"I went back to University and I've been working full-time so I probably haven't dedicated enough time to training," he said. "It caught me off guard a little bit."
Despite the low confidence brought on by the training lull, Kristiansen was stoked to head to the West Coast to participate in the event that he said has become a staple on his annual campingholiday schedule.
"I love it," he said of the West Coast. "I live in Vancouver so it's a rush all the time and here it's nice just to relax."
It was the fifth time Kristiansen has raced the Edge-to-Edge and he has improved every year since a time of 3:32:01 earned him 13th place in 2010.
"This is the first marathon I ever ran so it's a yearly thing, I always come back and do it again and it's nice to see how it changes," he said.
He saw a huge change in this year's course as Tofino and the Pacific Rim Highway were nixed from the run and he said the new course was tougher with more hills to power through but he enjoyed the new sightlines.
"There was a lot more going on, the scenery was changing all the time, it wasn't just running a straight line on the road," he said. "It's definitely slower because of all the gravel and the turning around but it's nice, I like it, it's a good track for sure."
Race director Sue Payne said the new Ucluelet-based course received high marks from runners.
"We've had lots and lots and lots of positive feedback and for the most part everybody loved the course," she said.
"It's a challenging course but at least it's a very challenging and safe course because there were no real traffic issues, not like the last few years where it's been so congested on the highway." She said she was thrilled to see Ucluetians come together to make the event a success.
"It went amazingly smooth. Everybody pulled together, the volunteers were amazing, the community was amazing, we've had so many comments from runners and supporters that the community was so upbeat, so happy and so positive and cheered everybody on and they really, really appreciated that," she said.
Payne said that while it's nice to see a local come first like Tofino's Jim Gardner did in 2012, the race's popularity draws formidable competition.
"We love it when a local wins but this has become such a destination race people are coming from all over the place because they can spend the weekend here and it's such a gorgeous place to hang out," she said.
Wayne Crow of Comox won the Edge-to-Edge half marathon with a time of 1:29:30 followed by Andrea Lee of Black Creek who finished in 1:34:11 and Julian Mackenzie-Feder who finished in 1:34:35.
It was Mackenzie-Feder's first Edge-to-Edge and his time earned him the top spot in his 20-29 age category.
"It's a super fun race, very difficult, very challenging, but it's beautiful out here and it's great; I'll be back here next year," he said.
Coming in with a time of 1:35:23 was Julianne "Jules" Kucheran of Delta who was the second female half-marathoner to cross the finish line.
It was Kucheran's first Edgeto-Edge experience and she was stoked on the course and the community.
"It was awesome, the trail portion was beautiful," she said. "The hills were very challenging but a lot of fun, a lot of great views and the people were awesome; all the cheering people (and) all the volunteers were so awesome." Kucheran crossed the finish line with friend Erin Udal enthusiastically cheering her on.
"I'm so proud of her," said Udal of Gabriola Island, Kucheran's longtime friend who carried a sign reading 'heart u Jules.' "I came to watch her because I love this area of Vancouver Island and thought it would be a great way to support my friend and have a great weekend."
The pair turned the event into a West Coast vacation and planned to go surfing that evening.
"I had never been to this area of Vancouver Island and so we made a trip out of it; we're going to go surfing later hopefully my legs aren't too sore," Kucheran said.
Ucluelet's Danny Osborne was the first local to cross the halfmarathon's finish line and earned first place in the under-19 category with a time of 1:48:29. He attributed his successful run to Ucluelet Secondary School running coach Shannon McWhinney. "We have a running club at school and I'm really thankful for Ms. McWhinney for doing that," he said. "She really motivates a lot of us to come out once or twice a week for a run and that gives us the ability to do stuff like this."
For full marathon results check out www.edgetoedgemarathon. com. reporter@westerlynews.ca
Top local results
Full Marathon 1.Monica Lisso, Tofino 3:41:09 2.Danny O'Farrel, Ucluelet, 3:57:02 3.Dave Bailey, Tofino, 4:24:12 4.Jody Tchir, Tofino, 4:52:58 5.Michael Bower, Tofino, 5:55:21
Team relay 1. Hustle and Flow, Ucluelet, 4:04:39 2. Paddle West Gumboot Chitons, Tofino, 4:06:56 3. How the West Was Run, Ucluelet, 4:40:40 Half Marathon 1.Danny Osborne, Ucluelet, 1:48:29 2.Candice Baker, Tofino, 2:10:24 3.Megan Hall, Tofino, 2:11:09
4.Francesca Paladino, Tofino, 2:11:20 5.Katrina Peters, Tofino, 2:13:28 6.Emily Gow, Tofino, 2:18:29 7.Suzy Christoffel, Uclueley, 2:32:35 8.Nikki Delisle, Tofino, 2:45:22 9.Denise Koshowski, Tofino, 2:45:42 10.Reanne Hamel, Tofino, 2:51:38 For full results, visit: http://www.sportstats.ca/displayResults.xhtml?racecode=107810