Locals top field at Queen City Marathon
Saskatoon runners take both top spots among the 6,000 participants in QCM
Sunday was full of surprises for many runners at the Queen City Marathon.
With more than 6,600 registered participants, many runners, walkers and people in wheelchairs were pleasantly surprised just to cross the finish line at Conexus Arts Centre in one piece.
The female and male winners of the full 42.2-kilometre marathon, meanwhile, were similarly surprised to win their respective races.
Jen Kripki paced the women’s side with a time of three hours 21 minutes 48 seconds, while Dr. Mark Berscheid, also of Saskatoon, finished first on the men’s side at 2:54.48.
Both Kripki and Berscheid are parents. Kripki is an entrepreneur and student. Berscheid is a pediatric dentist. Neither went into the race with first place in mind.
“Last night I told myself that I’m not going to look at my watch and I’m not going to have any expectations,” said Kripki, who hadn’t competed in a full QCM marathon in more than five years. “My training hasn’t been the best this summer, so I just wanted to go out and have fun. Things just seemed to somehow fall in line.”
Kripki battled minor injuries throughout her training for the race, which made her victory even more gratifying.
“I don’t have any celebrations planned because I really didn’t expect this,” she added, breaking into a laugh. “But I am very happy, and I see perhaps an adult beverage in my future.”
Like Kripki, Berscheid wasn’t counting on a first-place finish.
“It feels pretty amazing,” he said with a big smile, a few minutes after crossing the finish line. “I absolutely didn’t expect to win. I think most of the faster guys weren’t here, and I just happened to have a good race.”
Next up for Kripki, she said, is the Boston Marathon. Berscheid isn’t sure when he’ll compete again, but agreed that a celebration was in order.
“I’m going to take it easy and have a nice, big meal,” he said. “That’s about it.”
Mayor Michael Fougere was among the participants in the QCM. He fell short of posting a personal-best time in the halfmarathon, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
“This is a world-class event,” he said. “It’s wonderfully organized. Everyone is happy, everyone is celebrating. It’s just a wonderful time.
“I’m going to go have something to eat,” the mayor continued, “and then I’m going to go back home and lie on the couch to recover."