91原创

Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

91原创 Sun Run: Women debut with one-two finish

VANCOUVER 鈥 They might well have been the two smartest women in the Sun Run field. They were undeniably the fastest.
9781078.jpg
Rachel Cliff of 91原创 was the first woman to cross the finish line in Sunday's 91原创 Sun Run.

VANCOUVER 鈥 They might well have been the two smartest women in the Sun Run field. They were undeniably the fastest.

Rachel Cliff and Lindsay Carson, both competing in Canada鈥檚 largest 10-km race for the first time, went 1-2 on a cool, windy morning when the sun made only the briefest of appearances.

Cliff, a 26-year-old 91原创 native, spent six years at the University of Guelph in Ontario and had always wanted to enter a Sun Run, but it never fit in with her schedule. Now at UBC working on a master鈥檚 degree in occupational and environmental hygiene, she finally had an opportunity this year.

鈥淚鈥檓 really happy, I really wanted to come and win it, being from 91原创 and all,鈥 said Cliff. 鈥淚t was really nerve-racking through the whole race. It wasn鈥檛 until 800 (metres) to go that I thought 鈥業 have this, I鈥檓 going to do it.鈥 It feels great.鈥

Cliff just missed her 鈥淎 goal鈥 of a sub-33-minute race, crossing the finish line in 33 minutes, 14 seconds, beating Carson by 35 seconds.

Carson, a 24-year-old Cambridge, Ont. native and McMaster University grad, is currently living in Whitehorse, where she works as an engineer. Talk about your challenging training environment.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 tough,鈥 the diminutive runner said of the wind and cool temperatures Sunday morning. 鈥淎fter getting frostnip on my nose five times this winter, this is Hawaii.鈥

鈥淎ctually, (Whitehorse) wasn鈥檛 too bad. I lucked out for my first winter. It was probably the territory鈥檚 most mild winter they鈥檝e had in 20 years. And that was my first winter. I was told by many Yukoners I got lucky, especially with Ontario鈥檚 winter this year.鈥

Carson called her time of 33:49 鈥渁wesome,鈥 but admitted she had no real target in mind.

鈥淚 just came here to race. Time, especially because the 10K isn鈥檛 so much my distance, I consider myself more a racer, I鈥檓 just really happy I got up for the podium finish.鈥

Kimberley Doersken of 91原创 was third in 33:54.

Carson was nursing a sore Achilles, the result of trying to train with a severe tailbone bruise obtained during a fall while cross-country skiing. All of that contributed to not being able to keep pace with Cliff off the start.

鈥淚 know Rachel is really fit right now. Maybe in a shorter race, I could have stayed with her pace a little longer. It鈥檚 a 10K. It can be a detrimental race if you go out hard and blow up.鈥

Both Carson and Cliff benefited from the late withdrawal of two-time reigning champion Natasha Wodak, who is battling a heel injury and plantar fasciitis. Still, Cliff wished the Port Moody resident, who is one of her training partners, had been able to go.

鈥淚 love racing her ... and I just don鈥檛 like seeing her injured,鈥 said Cliff. 鈥淚 think my time would have been quicker if she had been here, for sure.鈥

Cliff said she got caught up with the men鈥檚 masters runners at the start, then backed off that pace, feeling it was bit too quick.

鈥淚 actually was alone much more than I thought I would be. I wanted to go under 33, but it was my first 10K, so I might have been kind of ambitious.鈥

Cliff, who will turn her attention to the track (1,500, 5,000) for the rest of the spring and summer, earned $5,500 for the win 鈥 $3,000 for top woman and $2,500 for top 91原创.

鈥淗onestly, the money鈥檚 great ... and tuition is due in a month, but I would have done it if there was no money. The Sun Run is such a 91原创 event and I really wanted to win it one year.鈥