The Vancouver Sun Run took over the city again Sunday, with more than 57,000 people registered for the 10-km event. First held in 1985, it has grown into Canada\u2019s largest 10K road race and the third-largest timed 10K event in North America.<\/p>\n
This year, Burnaby, B.C.\u2019s Justin Kent<\/a> won the men\u2019s race, while Cochrane, Alta.\u2019s Makenna Fitzgerald emerged as the unexpected winner on the women\u2019s side.<\/p>\n Another Kent vs. Gay showdown<\/p>\n The men\u2019s race came down to a familiar matchup between Canadian Running\u2018s own John Gay<\/a> of Kelowna, B.C., and Kent. The two runners have faced off frequently, including a close finish here in 2023, when Gay edged out Kent by a few seconds. On Sunday, the two runners once again stayed close to each other until late in the race. Kent ended up taking the win in 28:40, just ahead of Gay, at 28:44. Sarnia, Ont., native Andrew Davies\u00a0followed in 29:02.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sun Run is such a special event, especially for anyone who grew up in B.C.,\u201d Gay said. \u201cAll of Vancouver really comes out for it, and the energy is palpable throughout the city. Returning to that start line is always a highlight, and the battle at the front of the race was a lot of fun to be part of\u2014full credit to Justin Kent on taking it to the field and earning every bit of his win!\u201d<\/p>\n Top 5 men<\/p>\n Justin Kent 28:40 Fitzgerald pulls away with the women\u2019s title<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s race had a stacked women\u2019s field that included Olympians Malindi Elmore<\/a>, Natasha Wodak and Dayna Pidhoresky. But it was Fitzgerald<\/a>, making her Sun Run debut, who pulled away late to win, in 32:24. Fitzgerald, 26, only started running in 2017, when she joined the cross country team in her first year at Queen\u2019s University, but she quickly fell in love with the sport. She represented Canada at this year\u2019s senior cross-country world championships in Tallahassee, Fla. Kelowna\u2019s Elmore finished second in 32:38, and Joyline Chemutai of Kenya was third, in 32:44.<\/p>\n Elmore said she began the race conservatively, in the hope of being able to finish strong. \u201cWith a kilometre to go, I felt great,\u201d she wrote on Instagram. \u201cSo I threw down my fastest kilometre in ages (3:02) and felt the joy of running as fast, and hard, as I could, all the way through the finish line. And that\u2019s a great way to spend a Sunday morning\u2013me and 60,000 other awesome runners ripping up the streets of beautiful Vancouver!\u201d<\/p>\n Top 5 women<\/p>\n Mackenna Fitzgerald 32:24
\nJohn Gay 28:44
\nAndrew Davies 29:02
\nRichard Allen 29:10
\nThomas Broatch<\/a> 29:14<\/p>\n
\nMalindi Elmore 32:38
\nJoyline Chemutai 32:44
\nNatasha Wodak<\/a> 32:47
\nDayna Pidhoresky<\/a> 33:23<\/p>\n