CANMORE – Pro runner Aaron Ahl crushed the Canmore Rocky Mountain Half Marathon on Sunday (Sept. 8), winning the 21-kilometre race at time of 1:11.40.
Mostly on cruise control, the speedster from Calgary was still flying out there and his time was the fastest recorded since at least 2016.
“I didn’t come into the race with a ton of expectations, I wanted to win, but get out there and enjoy it,” said Ahl, who also won the half marathon in 2023. “Not a lot of pressure on it, just go out and have fun and enjoy the weather.”
Training mostly in Victoria, Ahl returned from a few weeks off and signed up for the destination race in the Rocky Mountains. He mostly competes in middle distance races such as three-kilometre steeplechase and 1,500 metre, but he was still five minutes in front of second place.
“The goal was to stay relatively easy at a target heart rate for the first half and then I sped up a little bit at the end, but kept it under wraps for most of the race because I don’t want to push myself in the deep end too much.”
Canmore runners Matt Neumann and Matthew Embury finished second and third, respectively.
Courtney Milligan of Canmore was the first woman to finish and fourth overall at a time of 1:25:50.1.
The competition, which also features 10km and 5km races, starts and finishes at Centennial Park. The courses are mostly flat with some hills, and about a 70 per cent gravel and 30 per cent asphalt ratio.
According to organizers, approximately 2,500 runners signed up in 2024.
In the 10km, Duncan Marsden of Canmore proved once again to be the fastest with a time of 34:31. It’s the fourth time he’s finished in first place over the past six events.
The fastest local women were Marianne Turenne of Lake Louise and Grace Glaab of Banff, both crossing the finish line at 50:56.3.
In the 5km, Leo Gillan of Calgary won at a time of 21:59.1.
The fastest local male and female were Jocelyn Poissant at a time of 22:35.3 and Kirsten Anderson at 28:03.
For full results, click here.
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