Ricard reaches goal at Manitoba Marathon

Lorne Ricard had a goal in mind as to how fast he wanted to finish Sunday’s 22nd-annual Manitoba Marathon in Winnipeg.
And when he crossed the finish line 3:10 later, he had reached it.
Ricard, racing in his fourth Manitoba Marathon, took advantage of slightly overcast skies and a flat 26.2-mile course to finish 51st overall in the field of some 7,500 runners–a new record for the event.
The previous record of 7,140 participants was set in 1988.
“I was really happy with the time,” said Ricard, who has raced in 23 marathons altogether, including Grandma’s in Duluth and the storied Boston Marathon.
“It was a beautiful day [and the course] was flat as a pancake. You pretty much pace yourself,” he added.
Ricard said the only hilly spot was at the Bishop Grandin bridge, situated around the 25th mile, which can make it tough on most runners. Ironically, he began to suffer cramps near the end of the race, which ultimately cost him some valuable seconds.
Ricard had help keeping his early pace from fellow local runner Don DeBenedet, who ran with him for the first 10 km. DeBenedet went on to finish the half-marathon in a time of 1:37:57.
Also running the half-marathon were Connee Badiuk, who finished with a time of 1:55:49, and former Fort Frances resident Melissa Armstrong, who now lives in Winnipeg (1:35:19).
Meanwhile, four other local runners were competing in their first-ever full marathon Sunday in Winnipeg.
Jason Kabel led the pack with a time of 4:23:21, followed by Ben Andrusco (4:33:39), Anthony Andrusco (5:13:19), and Greg Ste. Croix (5:28.45).
Kabel ran the race with a sore ankle while Anthony Andrusco ran it despite totalling his car on the way to Winnipeg.
Ste. Croix said they decided to follow Doris Barton’s lead (who was running at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth that same weekend) and he admitted it was quite an experience.
“As I finished the last two miles, I experienced the hitting-the-wall feeling but it was fun,” said Ste. Croix, who had run an 18-mile race in Longville, Mn. last month. “It was a great course, great weather, and very organized [and] I’d definitely go back.”
Ste. Croix said there is a big difference between running a half-marathon and a full one. “There’s definitely pain involved but I’d give it another shot.”
Meanwhile, Ricard said he’ll maintain his daily regime of running 12-15 miles (which he runs in the morning and then after work) as he prepares for the Twins Cities Marathon on Oct. 3 and then in Chicago at the end of that month.
In between, he’ll run races of the 10-km, 25-km, and half-marathon variety.
Ricard said he enjoys running marathons in both Canada and the U.S. “Yeah, I like the results and it’s a good family get-together,” he explained.
While Ricard topped the local contingent in Winnipeg, the story of the marathon was Red Rock’s Dallas Allaire, a 37-year-old phys. ed. teacher, who placed second in the men’s portion of the marathon.
Allaire finished just three seconds behind Trinidad’s Curtis Cox, who clocked a winning time of 2:30:53. While Allaire expected to finish with that type of time, he admitted he was surprised to place as high as second.
“I can’t say I expected to place [second],” said Allaire, who had pulled away from Cox at the 10-mile mark only to be slowed down by cramps around the 14th and 15th miles to lose his lead.
“It was close. I had trouble breathing and I was worried about other people passing me,” he noted.
Still, Allaire gave the fans a finish to remember as he put pressure on Cox to keep his lead down the final stretch.
“On my last mile I wanted to see what I had–it’s not often you have a finish like that,” he stressed.