2 records broken at sold-out Fredericton Marathon

The cool wind wasn't going to slow down marathon runners in Fredericton on Sunday.

They said it was good weather for running — on a favourably flat track — at the 45th Fredericton Marathon.

Stan Chaisson of Charlottetown won his third Fredericton Marathon in a row. He also broke his own race record, finishing in two hours, 24 minutes and 40 seconds.

He said he comes back each year because he loves the course and it's a well-organized race close to home.

"You get out on the trail and I find it's so peaceful out there," said Chaisson.

"You can get in a really good rhythm on this course because there's so little ups and downs. I also like that you do get to see, well, spectators, but then other competitors along the course. It's motivating to hear people cheering for you."

The top female finisher was Sarah Mulcahy of Fort Kent, Maine. She finished fourth overall in a time of 2:53:30.

Her time breaks the female record previously held by Paula Keating of Miramichi, N.B. Keating had the record since 2014.

Evan Arsenault of Quispamsis, N.B., was not far behind Chaisson. He finished second overall in 2:40:53 and placed first in his age group.

One runner from Halifax was happy to have finished her second marathon. She met her goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Emma Woodburn ran the Fredericton marathon for the first time Sunday, but had run the half-marathon. She said she also had a great day running with some of her teammates, the Road Hammers.

She had to fight hard at the finish.

"It was still really painful despite knowing I was going to get the time I wanted, but I did it," she said.

Bruce Macfarlane, the marathon's co-race director, said it means a lot to have runners choose the event.

"When you see more and more people come out and you see great performances, it's reassuring," he said. "It puts Fredericton, New Brunswick on the map. We've had people from all over, so it's just great."

According to Macfarlane, it takes about a year to plan the event, with over 100 volunteers and several organizations assisting.