SportsLife 2015, issue 3 | Page 34

The 2015 Manitoba Marathon: More Than a Race By Scott Taylor, Photos by James Carey Lauder Here’s the thing: Yes, Thomas Omwenga won his second Manitoba Marathon. Yes, 34-year-old Heather Magill, a Calgarian who now resides in Grand Forks, was an easy winner in the women’s marathon. And yes, 21-yearold Winnipegger Yussef Abdulelam won the men’s half marathon in record time and Darolyn Walker, the winner two years ago, was the top female in the half-marathon. But while we honour our champions, we cannot forget the thousands of runners from Manitoba and across the world, who make the Manitoba Marathon one of the greatest sporting events in our city. This past June, on a beautiful Sunday morning on the streets of Winnipeg, there were more than 10,200 runners taking part in all of the Marathon’s events – the full marathon, half marathon, relay, 10-km run and the 2.6-mile super run. So as we honoured Mr. Omwenga in this edition’s Starting Line-Up, we want to honour the everyday runners, the folks who made this year’s Manitoba Marathon – the brain child of the late, brilliant John Robertson – one of the most important events on our province’s athletic calendar. l 34 / sportslife