Eric Gillis
OTTAWA – Eric Gillis of Antigonish, N.S., and Krista Duchene of Brampton, Ont., were crowned 2013 Canadian Half Marathon Champions today in Montreal, Quebec at the ScotiaBank 21k.
“I came to race for the win today”, said Gillis. “Perfect weather and a flat course made it a big marathon workout. It felt good to compete in just my second race since the London Olympics, served as great preparation in my lead up to the Ottawa Marathon (May 26).” Gillis finished in a time of 1:05:56.
Silver went to Rejean Chiasson of St-Isadore, N.B., in a time of 1:08:03 and Amor Dehbl of Montreal, Que., took bronze in 1:09:19.
In the women’s race Krista Duchene finished first to earn the Canadian title in 1:12:27 with Dayna Pidhoresky of Tecumseh, Ont., taking silver in 1:16:38 and Lisa Avery of Orillia, Ont., took bronze with 1:17:07.
“It was an excellent race with great weather”, commented Krista. “My coach and I set conservative goals for the race so I was prepared and able to execute my own race. My next race is the Ottawa 10km in May as I prepare for the Moscow World Championships later this summer. I have lots of training over the next few months.”
