Fredericton Marathon sees first-time winner, course record

The Fredericton Marathon on Sunday morning saw a first-timer finish first overall, and a course record set by the reigning women's champion.

Runners were treated to blue skies and cool temperatures for the Boston Marathon qualifier.

Halifax's Joe Stewart came to Fredericton to run his first marathon, never expecting to place first.

"It feels fantastic," he said at the finish line on Aberdeen Street. "My first marathon, I just wanted to see what I could do. And to come out with a win was way more than I expected."

Stewart finished in a little over two hours and 31 minutes.

While it wasn't Sarah Mulcahy's first marathon, her finish in two hours, 50 minutes and seven seconds was strong enough to beat the women's course record she set last year. 

"I'm just a small-town girl from Fort Kent, Maine," Mulcahy said. "I'm a mom, I'm a teacher, I'm a coach.

"I don't strive to do anything more than do better than my own time. So, setting the record isn't necessarily always my goal. It's more to do better than I did the last time." 

Organizers Christine Little and Bruce Macfarlane said 2,800 people registered in all events this year, an increase of 25 per cent.

There was a 70 per cent jump in marathon participants while the half-marathon saw a 52 per cent increase. Registration for the 10-kilometre event was up by 25 per cent. 

"They said that by … 2025 you'd get back to pre-pandemic levels, but we already smashed that and we're just thankful," Macfarlane said.

"We thought we were going to have rain this weekend ... we couldn't have asked for a better day."

Stewart said the conditions made for a good day "to go out and run fast." 

He said he wasn't planning to use his Fredericton result to qualify for other events, but he wouldn't rule it out now.

He grew up running and participating in triathlons. He competed for Saint Mary's University over five years in cross country and track.

"So, this was kind of the next step for me to make it up to the longer distances," he said. "I don't think there's a better place to run in the Maritimes."

Moncton joggler Jean-Marc Doiron, who completed the marathon while juggling, was aiming to break the Guinness world record time but missed by a few minutes. 

While Doiron said the result was disappointing, he said he plans to try again at a future marathon.