Kingswood Park became home for hundreds of local runners throughout the region in the eighth annual Fall Challenge.
Sunday’s competition — featuring runners participating in half-marathon runs and walks, plus the five- and 10-kilometre race distances on the Red Willow trail system — rivals many running events throughout the Capital region.
“It was a huge success this year. It was our highest numbers to date with 494 runners,” said race co-ordinator Christine Rasmussen. “Everything went really well. The weather was even good.”
While the rapid growth in participation for the race is something organizers are pleased to see, Rasmussen still wants to focus on the core values that have helped make the event the success it is today.
“We want to keep the community feel to the event and though it’s not a major goal to go up [in size], we are happy to accommodate whatever amount [of runners] there are to run in St. Albert,” she said.
The fastest runner in the 21.1-km half marathon was A.J Rankel. The Edmonton native battled with two other challengers hard to the end and prevailed to win the race in his first year at the event.
Although he was victorious, Rankel believes the position may not have held such meaning as previously believed.
“The guy I was running with stopped with a hundred metres to go. I think he wanted to cross the line together, since there was another one back in third,” said Rankel. “To say I won the race wouldn’t be fair, although I technically crossed the line first.”
This year’s top three positions in the half marathon were won with respective times of 1:21, 1:21:02 and 1:21:03.
While the top three participants may have finished a respectable distance ahead of the pack, Rankel believes the times are nothing remarkable when it comes to a high-end performance race.
“The race was fine. There was a lot of people there,” he said. “The winning time wasn’t anything remarkable but that’s OK. There can’t be a fast time every time.”
To get into the top possible shape to achieve a level of performance in marathons, Rankel participates in a gruelling exercise regime every week.
“I train every day, around 62 to 80 miles of running a week. I try to keep going fairly consistently,” said Rankel, who is gearing up for the Chicago marathon.
This year’s half marathon saw 255 competitors take the field.
For more information on race results and statistics for all competitors, log onto: www.sva-club.com/running-group.
