By Jill Sperling

Kamloops Marathon returns with record turnout after one year hiatus

Jul 22, 2018 | 10:44 AM

KAMLOOPS — There were blue skies for the 2018 Sport Chek Kamloops Marathon, a major contrast from last year’s event, which was cancelled due to wildfire smoke. 

Race Director Charlie Bruce says Sunday morning’s race had a record turnout.

“One of the things that we did last year is that those individuals that chose not to have a refund on their money, they were able to roll their registration fee over,” Bruce said. “So, I think that we got a lot of people that registered last year, plus word got out that we were looking forward to a big marathon this year. Sure enough, the numbers are telling us that we’re on the right track.”

The marathon’s top male finisher was Ian Mckinley of Kamloops with a time of 2:43:14. 

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The top female finisher was Rika Hatachi of Coquitlam with a time of 3:13:43. 

The race is a certified Boston Marathon qualifier.

“We had to meet some pretty stringent measurements in order to be certified as a Boston qualifier,” Bruce said. “We’ve got an amazingly quick course here. Elevation gains are minimal, the biggest elevation gain we’ve got, believe it or not, is going over Overlander Bridge, and that’s minimal. If you’re looking to qualify for Boston, this is the run that you want to do.”