Finishing 10th overall at the 33rd annual Victoria Marathon with a personal best time was a bittersweet feeling for Marc Meunier.
The two-time reigning RunWild Leading Edge Marathon champion completed Sunday’s 42.195-kilometre race in two hours, 42 minutes and one second as the fastest male in the 35 to 39 age category.
“I went in definitely looking for a 2:39. That was my goal, but on the other hand it’s still a personal best by over two minutes so I guess I can’t complain. It was a good day,” said Meunier.
The Paul Kane High School athletic director was surprised to finish as high as he did.
“I didn’t know at all until I talked to my wife and she told me the news. I was like, ‘Holy, that’s incredible!’” Meunier said.
Thomas Omwenga of Kenya repeated as the marathon winner at 2:20:41.
Overall there were 1,076 males and 837 females in the race.
Meunier was clocked at 37:59 at 10 km, 1:20:26 at 21.1 km and 1:53:47 at 30 km.
“I checked the race profile before going and it was hilly but I didn’t think the hills would be that tough. There were lots of small little hills and it actually did make it a pretty tough marathon for sure so I might have underestimated that a little bit,” he said.
The 8:45 a.m. start time was late by marathon standards. Combined with the recent balmy weather that Victoria has been experiencing and it made for a warm race.
“If anything it was a little bit too warm,” Meunier said. “It was a high of 22, so the second half of the marathon, about an hour and a half in or so, you’re starting to heat up pretty good so I was hoping for definitely a cooler day.”
The 12th marathon of Meunier’s career was also his third of the year. In January he ran a 2:45 on a flat course in Phoenix and in May repeated as the RunWild champion at 2:49:09, nine minutes and 12 seconds faster than his 2011 winning time in the first marathon in St. Albert history.
“I was happy with all three of them,” he said.
Meunier’s goal before turning 40 in December is to run even faster.
“The wheels are turning for sure,” he said. “I would like to build off this fitness that I have right now and see if I can maybe hit that 2:39 here in the next two, three months but it’s a fine line between wearing yourself down and actually feeling fresh and gaining more fitness.”
The five-foot-nine and 150 pound Meunier could pass as one of the students in the Paul Kane hallways.
“We’re creeping up there in age but as long as the results are still coming I’m not going to stop. The body feels good. I’ve been very lucky, knock on wood, that I haven’t had any major issues so I won’t get too cocky for sure,” said the five-time Ironman competitor and the 10th fastest Canadian at the 2008 worlds.
