Ft. McMurray runners make it a double
From an article written by BOB NYEN
Fort McMurray Today Newpaper staff
Phil Meagher successfully defended his 1999 Red Deer marathon title by
winning again Sunday, and another local runner made it a McMurray sweep by claiming
top spot in the women's race.
Meagher's winning time of 02:40:07 was 1:53 ahead of
runner-up Lonnie Matsuno of Calgary.
The women's finish was more dramatic and came down to a sprint between McMurray's
Sonja Frank and Calgary's Fariyal Samson, who closed to within 11 seconds of the eventual
champion at the finish line.
Al Ladha, Professional Photographer/ Frank and Samson in a close finish.
At one point Frank held a seemingly comfortable 10-minute lead in the women's overall
category, but said she lost it mentally when she encountered larger groups of runners,
slowing down from a 4:10-km pace to 5:00, never regaining her pace.
When she saw how much Samson had gained at the last downhill, Frank almost lost her 11
second lead but was able to
out-sprint her competitor down the home stretch to take first place.
summerized from the Fort McMurray Today Newpaper