By Jared Knoll

UPDATE: Rubber slaps pavement in Sask. Marathon

May 27, 2012 | 8:54 AM

Runners from across the country are in Saskatoon to take part in the 2012 Saskatchewan Marathon, including seasoned athlete Brendan Lunty who crossed the finish line first on Sunday.

“It feels really good,” said Lunty, who travelled from Camrose, Alta. for the race.

Lunty, who finished with an unofficial time of two hours and 34 minutes, said although he led the race the entire way through, he was surprised he didn't see Saskatoon runner Jason Warick.

“I kept looking over my shoulder and expected to see Jason right behind,” said Lunty.

This year, the race has attracted a diverse crowd of runners, from first-time runners to seasoned athletes.

VAISAKHI MELA

Hundreds flocking to P.A. for Vaisakhi Mela celebration

14m ago

SIGA

SIGA and Northern Lights Casino main sponsors of the 31st PAGC Fine Arts Festival

18h ago

Workplace incident

City of Prince Albert pleads guilty to workplace safety violation, handed fines

20h ago

“We're going to have a pretty amazing race this year,” said marathon organizer Shad Ali.

“There will be a fierce competition for first, second and third place.”

And they have good reason. The event is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon — the world's oldest annual marathon dating back to 1897.

But most people participating are doing it to achieve personal fitness goals, or just for fun.

“We have a group of relatives, for instance, who come from Regina, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Holdfast, and they've chosen to run together,” Ali said.

There was an expo for the marathon held in the basement of TCU on Saturday, where late comers could register for the full run, the 10 kilometre stretch, or the half-marathon.

Vendors for all kinds of fitness gear and nutritional supplement were out with kiosks.

“We're selling nutrition like crazy. When you get into endurance events over an hour in duration, your body needs extra nutrition for the activity because your body can only store so much glycogen,” said Lyndon Smith, general manager of the Running Room in Saskatoon.

“People buy gels, and various other nutritional products that are small, easily digestible and basically have just the right amounts of electrolytes and sugars to boost those muscles.”

A runner himself, Smith said the Saskatchewan Marathon inspired him to go to Marathon itself in Greece, and do a good portion of the run to Athens.

He knows participating in a major event like this is about way more than just the one day.

“Most of the people that have been training for the marathon will have been training for 16 or 17 weeks,” Smith said.

“They've worked that hard to get there, to run a half-marathon or a marathon, and so they're going to want to keep that party rolling, and keep that level of fitness up.”

The marathon began at 7 a.m. on Pinehouse Drive near the Soccer Centre, and will mostly wind down around 1:30 p.m. at the same location.

Sections of street all the way down to the edge of Victoria Park, mainly in the vicinity around the start and finish line.

news@panow.com