A new course record was set at the Whistler Half Marathon by first place finisher David Palermo of Vancouver. Palermo shaved off eight seconds from the 2011 top time set by James Finlayson of Victoria.
Palermo completed the 21km course, which features a total elevation gain of 250 metres and four hills, in one hour, nine minutes and 17 seconds.
Jason Loutitt of Squamish placed second overall this year with a time of 1:10:57. Edward McCarthy placed third a little over 30 seconds behind Loutitt.
The fastest female runner was Karen Tulloch of Vancouver in a time of 1:17:31 and she was followed 14 seconds later by Catrin Jones of Victoria while Care Nelson of Langford placed third in 1:19:23.
Tulloch’s time also set a new women’s standard. Care Wakely covered the course last year in a winning time of 1:21:04. Tulloch’s time this year was more than three minutes faster than the inaugural women’s winning time posted in 2011.
Race Director Dave Clark said the event successfully raised $15,200 for the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Canada.
“We had a thousand runners registered and it sounds like everyone had a great time out there,” said Clark.
Clark said the elite competitors as a group were very fast this year.
Clark also said the Little Rippers Kids Run was popular with parents.
“It was fantastic the way we were able to incorporate it into the community by working with the school to have the kids do some training, so to speak, for it ahead of time really was a big win,” said Clark.
For full results, check the Thursday edition of Pique Newsmagazine.
