Whitehorse’s Kieran Halliday posted a personal best time with a Yukon title to show for it this week.
The 21-year-old was the top finisher at the Yukon Five-Kilometre Road Race Championships, hosted by Athletics Yukon on July 4 in Riverdale.
Halliday, who won the title in 2014, took first with a time of 16 minutes and 58 seconds — his best on the course. It was 1:02 from the course record set by Whitehorse’s Logan Roots at the 2015 championship.
“It was pretty tough, coming back from the Canada Day weekend. I was feeling a bit rusty,” said Halliday. “But it was good. It was a freshen-up competition before the Canada Games at the end of the month.”
Halliday will compete for Yukon at his third Canada Summer Games beginning at the end of the month in Winnipeg.
He competed in tennis in 2009 and became the first Yukoner to compete in steeplechase in 2013. He will compete in the 3,000-metre steeplechase again in Winnipeg.
Halliday competes in steeplechase for the University of British Columbia. The UBC team won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics track and field title at the end of May.
Joe Parker, another runner who will compete for Yukon at the Canada Games, was second fastest at 17:48 on Tuesday.
“Joe Parker is a lot younger than I am,” said Halliday. “He was trailing me for the first half of the race and I’d like to congratulate him. I think he’s a really good runner.”
Open male Boris Hoefs was third fastest at 18:58.
Whitehorse’s Emily Wale was the fastest female racer on the day. The 27-year-old claimed her first Yukon title with a time of 23:04.
“I’ve been coming out to these runs for quite a few years, probably 10 or 15 now,” said Wale. “I was down on the island doing some trail running this weekend, so I was slower than I had anticipated, but it went well. Nice conditions tonight — not too hot, not too cold, not too much wind. It felt good to get out and be here.”
Wale ran her 30th half marathon in May, finishing as the top Yukoner at the BMO Vancouver Marathon with a personal best time of 1:42:48.
Midget female Maya Cairns-Locke was the second fastest female in the five-kilometre championships on Tuesday with a time of 24:42. Cairns-Locke is also slated to race for Yukon at the Canada Games.
Masters female 4 runner Deb Kiemele finished the course in 26:40 to post the third fastest time for females.
Athletics Yukon will host the 10-kilometre road championships on Aug. 15.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com
Results
Youth development
1st Aurelia Koh — 32:51
Junior male
1st Joe Parker — 17:48
2nd Brahm Hyde — 20:51
3rd Thomas Moore — 20:59
Midget female
1st Maya Cairns-Locke — 24:42
Open female
1st Emily Wale — 23:04
2nd Coralee Ullyett — 26:44
3rd Jennifer Murtagh — 35:35
Open male
1st Kieran Halliday — 16:58
2nd Boris Hoefs — 18:58
3rd Chris Pappas — 22:53
Masters female
1st Melissa Yu Schott — 27:58
Masters male
1st Ben Harper — 21:40
Masters female 2
1st Glenda Koh — 32:52
Masters male 2
1st Ross King — 21:03
Masters female 4
1st Deb Kiemele — 26:40
Masters male 4
1st Clarke Laprairie — 23:47
Masters male 6
1st Chester Kelly — 24:58
Masters female 4 (walk)
1st Bonnie Love — 36:38
Short course (2.91 km)
1st Cali Yu Schott — 22:50
2nd Theo Yu Schott — 23:20
2nd Ben Yu Schott — 23:20