Daniel Kipkoech and Hirut Guangul win 45th annual BMO Vancouver Marathon races
This year's men's BMO Vancouver Marathon wasn't even close.
Kenyan long-distance runner Daniel Kipkoech was first across the finish line at 2:21:04.
The runner-up, Habteselassa Lemma Gemechu of Ethiopia, was more than two minutes behind. Local favourite Ryan Day came in third, more than 15 minutes behind Kipkoech.
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Kipkoech didn't match his personal best of 2:18:49, which he achieved in last year's BMO Vancouver Marathon when he came second. In 2014, he won the Victoria Marathon.
The women's winner was Ethiopian American Hirut Guangul, who took 2:39:52 to complete the 42-kilometre race. Fellow American Allisan Macsas came second at 2:42:07, followed by North Vancouver's Ellie Greenwood at 2:45:21. Last year, Guangul came second at 2:41:25 and Greenwood placed third with a time of 2:47:23.
The top racers were eligible for up to $40,000 in prize money, but not all of it was given out because some course records remained unbroken.
Kenyans Paul Kimugul and Jane Murage won the men's and women's half marathon. The fastest B.C. male was Smithville's Terrence Attema and the fastest B.C. female was Langley's Lisa Brooking.
This year, there were more than 16,500 participants in the BMO Vancouver Marathon, shattering the previous record. When the first race was held in 1972, only 32 runners reached the finish line.
The winner of that 1972 race, Tom Howard, came first in the 65 to 69 age group in today's eight-kilometre race.
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