At 2540 runners, and 200 volunteers, notes County Marathon Director Brian McLean, “the community support was fabulous this year, the volunteers were outstanding, everything is coming together and looking brighter for the future.”

Still, notes the director, the race will be capped at 2500 going forward. Already, taking care of so many people pushed County resources to the brink. Almost all of the accommodations in the area were booked over the weekend, and the race ended up renting every portable toilet to be found.

Racers gathered for a full marathon, half marathon, 5k run, and relay marathon on Sunday. Even the little ones got in on the action with a one-kilometre fun run.

The three fastest racers of the day finished in scorching time. Curtis Gellatly finished the 42-kilometre course beginning in Wellington and ending at the Crystal Palace in Picton in 2:41:12.9. Alex Wallace came in four minutes behind at 2:45:49.2. Guillaume Williams rounded out the top three with a time of 2:48:29.3.

The big local news is that Wellington’s own Rhys Agombar crossed the finish line in fourth place, at 2:53:02.4.

Val Robb was the first woman across the line with a time of 3:05:25.9, Raye McAvoy crossed five minutes later at 3:10:14.4, and Sarah Phillips claimed bronze at 3:23:33.9.

Tyler Hulan was last and most certainly not least: he was the final runner finish, with a time of 6:22:44.4.

From Wellington to Boston

Mr. Agombar beat his personal best by five minutes, significant because the County Marathon is an official Boston Marathon qualifying event. His time, while not an automatic qualification, is three minutes faster than the last person to qualify for the 2025 Boston Marathon.

All told, 446 runners completed the full marathon. Two hours in, half-marathon runners joined the fray. They ran 21.1 kilometres, and like the marathon runners, enjoyed scenery unique to the County Marathon.

“All of the other ones we’ve run are in the city. The scenery is just beautiful. At one point we were running beside Lake Ontario. It’s just different. It has more of a hometown feel. Everyone is cheering each other on, it’s a little smaller scale, it’s perfect,” said Erin Simpson, who completed the half marathon.

“I’m not a runner at all. That was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My legs started to cramp with three kilometres left. I thought I was going to collapse. It’s just such a huge challenge, then when you cross the finish line, you get such an adrenaline rush,” said Slobodan Teodorovic.

Road Complaints

Though there were complaints about road closures, Mr. McLean stressed no residents were blocked from getting into or out of their homes, and organizers advertised alternate routes ahead of time. If there was a situation where a vehicle needed to cross the marathon and couldn’t use a detour, the OPP accommodated.

“We’re always going to have hiccups here and there, but we try our best to educate and inform the residents and businesses within Wellington, Picton, and Bloomfield of the event,” he said. “Then we try to educate the OPP and route marshals the best we can.

“If someone is trying to get across the street, they just need to be patient. When there’s a gap between runners, we will allow traffic through.”