At the age of 54, a Nova Scotia runner has won Halifax’s Blue Nose Marathon for the fifth time.
Dave MacLennan of Scotsburn, a rural community northwest of New Glasgow, overcame a hamstring issue to capture the title with a time of 2:50:10.2 -- nearly four minutes ahead of runner-up Bryan Hipson.
In the women’s division, Sarah Latonas of Calgary won with a time of 3:22:11.4.
MacLennan’s win on Sunday marked his first Blue Nose title since 2009.
“You're always trying to do your best,” MacLennan told CTV Atlantic. “I knew I had good training in over the winter.”
MacLennan began running as a teenager, but switched to longer distances after joining a running club in his county.
“I found out I was actually pretty good at it,” he said. “Once I started winning marathons, I knew what I had to do and I was able to keep going forward with it.”
MacLennan says he gravitated to longer races because of the challenge that running for extended periods provides.
“When you're in a five-(kilometre) or a 10-(kilometre), it's over with really quick but (with) the marathon, you're out there and you really know you've accomplished something when you're done,” he said.
Despite his age, MacLennan doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
“I still enjoy doing it and I still enjoy getting out and running,” he said.
“There (are) probably not too many more victories in there, but I'll still be (going out) and doing the best I can.”
MacLennan’s next marathon is during the Johnny Miles Running Event in New Glasgow on June 18 -- a race he’s won a record 11 times.
“Dave works extremely hard,” said Terry Curley, director of the Johnny Miles Running Event. “He's dedicated and focused on his training and he's a natural.”
With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh
