The first female to cross the finish line in the second annual RunWild Leading Edge Marathon was startled by her accomplishment.
“It’s never happened before. It must not have been a fast race if I was first,” said a surprised Janelle Brcic.
The St. Albert resident placed seventh overall at three hours, 20 minutes, 59 seconds.
Her goal at the start line was 3:45, but she ended Sunday’s race with a personal best time by nine minutes.
“I’m just beyond happy,” Brcic said.
Last year she finished fourth overall in the female division at 3:39:43 for 21st place overall.
“I was faster this year by far. I just trained harder and did some extra long runs,” said Brcic.
She credits running partner Gerianne Zabolotniuk for the fast finish in the 42.2-kilometre event.
“We had a good pace from the start and we kept our pace pretty steady. Grandin hill kind of slowed us down a bit but we managed to keep running,” Brcic said.
Zabolotniuk, 51, was the second-fastest female at 3:22:46 for eighth place overall.
The St. Albert mother finished one spot ahead of Brcic last year at 3:35:47 for 15th place overall.
“We both had goals this year and we conquered them all,” said an excited Zabolotniuk. “We really did it. I still can’t believe it.”
Brcic, 27, is a big fan of the RunWild event
“It’s so well organized. It’s also so good to run around the city. The whole thing is so enjoyable,” said the Ecole Secondaire Saint Marguerite d’Youville alumna.
FAST TRACKS: In total, 33 females out of 91 finishers completed the marathon.
The second-place female finishers in their respective age groups were all from St. Albert: Natalie Visscher (3:46:19 in the 30 to 39 division), Kathleen Range (4:05:23 in the 40 to 49 division) and Penny Baragar-Brcic (4:09:43 in the 50 to 59 division).
The female marathon winner last year was Leanne Foff of Edmonton at 3:25:54 for ninth place overall.
The top 20 marathon finishers are listed on page 70.
Visit www.resultscanada.com for the complete race results.
