Royal Victoria Marathon - Women's course record on the line.

(C) Copyright - 2008 - Christopher Kelsall

Royal Victoria Marathon – September 30, 2008 – Victoria, BC – Women’s course record on the line at the 2008 Royal Victoria Marathon.

Women's record

Cheryl Murphy of Victoria, BC may take down the Royal Victoria Marathon (RVM) course record Sunday, October 12, 2008 when she races the 29th annual event.

She is looking to continue running well in anticipation of the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, (‘Berlin 2009’).

Murphy’s debut marathon performance was outstanding, Saturday March 1, 2008 at the Snickers Marathon Bar, Marathon in Albany, Georgia. She finished 2nd to Kenyan, Janet Cherobon to place 8th overall in 2:40:12, nearly 3 minutes under Athletics Canada criteria (see below). Janet finished 5th overall in 2:37:27. Cheryl's time was the fastest Canadian women's marathon recorded in 2008 at that time.

Cheryl also ran a string of solid road races this spring including the Vancouver Sun Run and Victoria’s TC 10k, finishing a close second to Lisa Harvey with a time of 34:14.

Current RVM course record 2:42:32 is held by Val Chowaniec, which she accomplished in 1989.

Cheryl stands to make $6500 with the course record.

Murphy has competed and again qualified for the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii for 2008. She competed in the World Duathlon Championships as a member of Canada's national duathlon team.

Men's record

Steve Osaduik already owns the Royal Victoria Marathon course record of 2:16:49. This record stood so long, the local daily newspaper ran a full front page photo, complete with headline in large red script proclaiming 'the Wizardry of Oz' (Osaduik).

Osaduik missed racing in spring 2008 in his attempts to qualify for the Beijing Olympics as he was hampered by his first serious injury. He is back and ready to race after a summer of steady training. If Steve wins this year, this will be 3 consecutive Royal Victoria wins, two shy of Kelvin Broad’s record of 5 straight and tying Phil Nicholls with his 3 victories. Victorian, Nicholls has several top 5 finishes at Royal Victoria.

Weather seems to play a factor in many marathons, Victoria is not immune however, it is doubtful that heat will be a problem. Unfortunately swirling winds and warm temperatures hampered a few Canadian’s efforts at the recent Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, which was contested Sunday, September 28th. The heat, during the May 24th ING Ottawa Marathon also put on hold a few dreams.

Below are Canadian standards, with emphasis placed on running a qualifying time at the latter two marathons. There remains a few qualifying spots on the Athletics Canada marathon team for Berlin 2009. Two more may be filled officially, after the running of the Royal Victoria Marathon October 12, 2008.

Standards

Canadian athletes will be selected until the team quota is filled (5 per team) based on
performances in the priority order listed below*. Only performances achieved between January

1st, 2008 and May 24th, 2009 that meet IAAF criteria will be considered.

1. Run under 2:12:38 (men)/2:29:08 (women) in the 2008 and/or 2009 Ottawa ING
Marathon and/or the 2008 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

2. The top-ranked athlete, within the AC qualifying period, with performance of 2:12:38
(men)/2:29:08(women) in any other IAAF sanctioned marathon.

3. Top Canadian finisher at the 2008 or 2009 Ottawa ING marathon and/or 2008 Scotiabank
Toronto Waterfront Marathon in under 2:15:00 (men)/2:34:00 (women).

4. Other athlete with a performance under 2:12:38 (men)/2:29:08 (women) within the AC
qualifying period at any other IAAF sanctioned marathon.

5. The top Canadian finisher at the 2008 or 2009 Ottawa ING marathon and/or 2008 Scotiabank
Toronto Waterfront Marathon, with 2:18:00/2:43:00 achieved within the AC qualifying
period.

6. Other athlete (no more than 1 man or woman) identified as a ‘Rising Star’ under the AC
regular criteria.

7. 2nd Canadian finisher at the 2008 or 2009 Ottawa ING marathon and/or 2008 Scotiabank
Toronto Waterfront Marathon in under 2:18:00 (men)/2:43:00 (women)

8. 3rd Canadian finisher at the 2008 or 2009 Ottawa ING marathon and/or 2008 Scotiabank
Toronto Waterfront Marathon in under 2:18:00 (men)/2:43:00 (women)

9. Performance of 2:18:00 (men)/2:43:00 (women) within the AC qualifying period

____________________________________________

This article was made possible through the support of Synergy Health Clinic

Christopher Kelsall is sponsored by Island Runner Footwear, located in Victoria, BC - Check out the store's site: Island Runner.  

When visiting Victoria, rent from Chris' favorite RV place CampRV

Chris is a member of the Lydiard Foundation

Contact: chriskelsall@flocasts.org

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#7	Christopher Kelsall   May 27 at 1:51am Hey Coach Orlando Souza, That is the slowest, but is the IAAF B standard. I agree, but I am pretty sure it is not Canadian standard...we have 5 women who have run under that and another who has at the CIM course, I am not sure if CIM is still a qualifying race.... Men's IAAF for B standard is sub 2:18 as per IAAF also. Problem is all the Africans running 2:04/5/6/7 makes it tough - are they really that good? reply
#6	Coach Orlando Souza   May 26 at 4:37pm I think the standard 2h43 for Canadian women it's slow.... many girls in Canada can do..... Will be great when asking for under 2h40... Also the Men suppost to be around 2h15.... just opinion.. reply
#5	XYZ   October 10, 2008 at 8:41am I see you caught your annual cold. Every year the same thing. reply
#4	Wii   October 2, 2008 at 2:50pm 2:18:30 and 2:43:00 bank it. reply
#3	M   September 30, 2008 at 10:12pm Toronto was humid and breezy, wasn't it? And when Oz missed Chicago a few years back, he missed a heatwave there. reply
#2	Christopher Kelsall   September 30, 2008 at 7:38pm Cheryl already has the standard and may or may not need to actually race again, I am not sure. Perhaps it appears Steve runs better close to home...again, I am guessing, but he seems to. reply
#1	Schester   September 30, 2008 at 7:03pm So, if their goal is Berlin, why didn't they race in Toronto instead? reply