Running News Daily

Leslie Sexton flies to second straight Vancouver Sun Run crown

A star-studded lineup of runners raced the 2023 Vancouver Sun Run on Sunday, producing a pair of exciting 10K races won by John Gay and Leslie Sexton. Gay won the men’s race in a tight battle with 2019 Sun Run champion Justin Kent, crossing the line in 29:40. Sexton successfully defended her title from 2022, winning in 32:22. The race was a massive success, as more than 30,000 runners took to the wet and rainy streets of Vancouver to test their limits. 

Two in a row for Sexton 

Sexton won the 2022 Vancouver Sun Run in 32:27, and this year she not only repeated as champion, but also improved on her previous winning time by 15 seconds. As she told the Vancouver Sun after the race, “I tend to run well in the rain. I saw the forecast and I knew this was a strength for me, and I’m just going to roll with it.” 

Sexton ran near identical splits over the two halves of the race, running the first 5 km in 16:12 and the second in 16:10. This even pacing and negative split helped her catch Olympic marathoner Malindi Elmore, who got out to a hot start, passing through the 5 km checkpoint in 16:04. Over the closing 5 km, Sexton didn’t panic or force things as she attempted to draw Elmore back in, instead sticking to a regular pace and trusting in her fitness. 

“Last year, I went out too fast,” Sexton told the Sun. “The course really chewed me up over the second half [in 2022] and, this year, I just let the top three go and they gapped me a bit. I just worked my way past people as it went on.” By 7 km, Sexton had caught Elmore, and she made her passing move on a slight uphill around a kilometre later. 

Sexton continued to pull away in the final couple of kilometres, ultimately crossing the line in 32:22, 13 seconds in front of Elmore. Cleo Boyd rounded out the podium with a final time of 32:55. 

For the first time in 27 years, a local runner has taken the top overall spot in the Vancouver Sun Run

Burnaby runner Justin Kent had the top time in the men’s 10K race, finishing in 29:30, followed by Calgary’s Trevor Hofbauer just a fraction of a second behind.

Natasha Wodak of North Vancouver topped the women’s category with a race time of 32:38. The 2016 Olympian has previously won the women’s category in the 2012 and 2013 Sun Runs.

“It’s beyond words. I’ve dreamed about this. I grew up in Vancouver. It’s always been such an iconic event. I’m speechless,” Kent said at the finish line.

The last local to win the race was Paul Williams in 1992.

“I can’t believe it’s happening. You dream of moments like this, it puts everything in perspective, all the hard work. I can’t thank my family and coach enough,” said Kent.

It’s the first time Kent has ever competed in the Sun Run, saying he is more of a track runner and that the event had previously not lined up with his race schedule.

Kenya´s Daniel Kipkoech will try to maintain Kenyan dominance at Vancouver Sun Run this weekend

Kenyans won the men’s division of The Vancouver Sun Run an amazing 16 of 21 times from 1994 through 2014.

If it’s going to happen in 2019 at the popular 10K event, it will be up to Daniel Kipkoech, the Kenyan-born runner who spends a good part of the year in Lethbridge, Alta. He’s the only Kenyan in the men’s field this year, with 2013 and 2014 winner Paul Kimugul, who was 10th last year, opting not to return.

Kipkoech, 32, has been a frequent presence in B.C. distance races in recent years, winning the BMO Vancouver Marathon in 2016 and 2017 and the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon for five consecutive years from 2014 through 2018.

He’s also won the Times Colonist 10K in Victoria twice and finished second, third and seventh in The Vancouver Sun Run. But somehow, he’s never been a winner of the Sun Run, one of the largest road races in North America.

“The Vancouver community is why I come back every year,” Kipkoech said after winning the 2017 marathon. “They’re so cheerful, loving and welcoming. It’s a beautiful place, especially the people.”

Americans have won three of the past four Sun Runs and Jerrell Mock of Fort Collins, Ariz., figures to be a favorite this year based on his 28:07 clocking in winning last July’s Deseret News 10K in Salt Lake City.

But there’s also a strong contingent of Canadians in the field, led by Geoff Martinson of Vancouver and Albertans Trevor Hofbauer, the 2018 Canadian half-marathon champion, and Matt Travaglini, who was third in last year’s Sun Run in 29:49, just 35 seconds behind winner Brendan Gregg.

12-year-old Eric Wittig has severe allergies to peanuts and is running in the Sun Run for food allergy research and treatment

If you’re allergic, you can never assume you’re safe.

Twelve-year-old Eric Wittig is doing his second Vancouver Sun Run on April 14 to raise awareness and money for allergies research.

He has severe allergies to peanuts, cashews, pistachios and a legume called lupin, which shares a protein with peanuts. 

“I found out by accident. Lupin was mixed into my pancakes and it made me very sick,” Eric said.

He is part of Team Allergy, a youth team that caught the eye of John Smythe, a 29-year-old Vancouver native who plays midfield for the men’s national field-hockey team.

Smythe and his teammates will join Team Allergy at the start (and finish) line on race day.

“Playing field hockey in Canada is, what some might say, a niche sport, one which probably wouldn’t be able to be played at the highest level without the support of the community,” Smythe said from Malaysia, where the team is competing at the moment. “Therefore, it’s not uncommon on the national team to try to get involved with the community as much as possible.”

That includes coaching. And that’s how Smythe met Eric’s parents at York House, where their daughter attends school. When they told him about Team Allergy, Smythe — who has Crohn’s Disease — immediately thought of his teammate Taylor Curran, a veteran midfielder from North Vancouver who has a peanut allergy.

“We often joke around on tour that we can’t eat peanut butter, but I’m also aware of the planning and fear of uncertainty that comes with travelling to different countries. This can be harrowing,” Smythe said.

“Ultimately, as soon as we heard about Team Allergy, the national team boys wanted to join the fundraising initiative and have fun at the same time. Running in the Sun Run for Team Allergy will mean the world to us to give back to the community that has already helped us so much.”