Lindsay Carson is raising the profile of Whitehorse’s running scene in a big way.
The 24-year-old secured a second place finish at the 30th annual Vancouver Sun Run, the largest 10-kilometre event in Canada with over 45,000 registered runners, on Sunday in B.C..
“I really did like it. I’m an Ontario native and this is my first experience being exposed to the West Coast running series,” said Carson. “I had no idea up to this race how monumental the Fun Run is and how much everyone can identify with it, not just elite athletes. It’s a huge mass-participation race too.”
Carson, a native of Cambridge, Ont. who moved to Whitehorse last year, placed second out of 19,377 women runners with a time of 33 minutes and 48 seconds.
She also placed first in her 19-24 age group out of 2,531 runners.
Not only was it Carson’s first Sun Run, it was her first 10-kilometre event.
“I’m strictly a five-kilometre cross-country runner, more so my background is in track - so middle distance - gradually moving up from the 1,500 to three Ks and five Ks,” said Carson. “All throughout university I would compete in either track or cross-country races. Road races weren’t as common. Now that I’m out of school I’m tending to do more road races because that’s where I’m getting my competition.”
“I was really happy to be a part of it and I knew a lot of my competition in the race as well,” she added of the Sun Run. “It was helpful for me, just trying to stick with them, and not getting overwhelmed by it being the biggest 10-kilometre in Canada. I had some familiar runners to race with.”
Logan Roots is another Whitehorse runner to outpace thousands.
The 20-year-old placed 20th overall - out of everyone - with a time of 32:09.
“It was a personal best, but I was really hoping to go about nine seconds faster and get that elusive 32-minute mark,” said Roots. “But I’m definitely not disappointed with this new PB. It’s something to motivate me through the summer.”
His time also put Roots sixth for men 19-24 out of 1,737 in the age group. It was his first Sun Run experience as well.
“It was awesome. It was really well organized for how many people were there, that was extremely nice,” said Roots. “There were a ton of spectators everywhere all along the course and it was very motivating. I’m going back again next year for sure.”
Carson and Roots were joined by six other Whitehorse athletes in the deluge of runners in Vancouver.
Logan Boehmer ran to 11th for males 19-24 and 64th overall with a time of 34:52.
Chester Kelly placed 25th for males 65-69 at 53:55; Dan Reimer came 75th for males 55-59 at 49:30; and Tracey Taylor completed the race in 53:55 to place 77th for females 45-49.
Carson has now had success on the road, the track and the trail over the last year or so.
She took fourth place in the senior women’s division Canadian National Cross Country Championships at the start of December.
Carson also placed fourth in the 5,000-metre at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Muncton, N.B., last June.
She finished 60th in the senior women’s race at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland.
Just last month Carson claimed third for women in Vancouver’s Mondo Spring Run-Off eight-kilometre race.
Carson plans to return to the track and field nationals this summer. Her first Yukon winter didn’t impact her training too much, she said.
“I got lucky. This was probably the mildest winter Yukon has seen in a while, so coming from Ontario, where they had the worst winter, I think I lucked out,” said Carson. “There were a couple days where it was really tough getting outside for my training runs.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com