Heschuk wins half marathon

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Published on Thursday, June 22, 2017

Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner

Twenty-year-old Daniel Heschuk of Neepawa, claimed first place in the 2017 Manitoba Marathon’s  men’s half marathon on Sunday, June 18, with a time of 1:09:45.6. Michael Middlemiss of Regina finished second with a time of 1:12:54.7, while Davit Hagos Kidane of Brandon ended the day in third place, with a time of 1:13:35.8.

For Heschuk, this was the fourth time he has competed in the half marathon, but his first time taking top spot on the podium. In previous years, the University of Manitoba track athlete had improved every single year on his performance (Eighth in 2013, fifth in 2014 and third in 2015). Heschuk said being able to surpass his personal bests in this manner has been very exciting.

“Leading up to the race, I never had any specific goal in mind. I was just hoping to hit a new personal best and possibly hit a time under 1:10,” noted Heschuk. “At the start line, I was feeling pretty good and decided to go for first and see where that took me and it worked out pretty well. I managed to hit a time of 1:09:45, which I was pretty excited about and my race strategy worked. It was a bit of a difficult race at times, with the wet weather, but it went fairly smoothly overall.”

Having been involved with running since he was a grade nine student at NACI, Heschuk noted that hitting new personal bests and seeing progression is the most gratifying aspect of running. “It’s exciting to push yourself and see how fast you can go and how long you can hold that speed. There’s also the team aspect. Competing with the Bisons, I’ve realized that I’m not only racing for myself, but you’re working to get points for the team. It’s gotten to the point where my motivation to do well is so that I can get the team in a better position. And finally, the competition aspect of running adds a lot more excitement to the sport. Racing others encourages you to work that extra bit harder and provides a medium where you can hit new standards in running.”

Other notable results for Neepawa based competitors included:
Marathon:Doug Miller. ranking #272 overall, time - 04:10:25.5; Ines Caren Biernoth ranking #420 overall, Time - 04:42:52.8
Half  Marathon: Daniel Heschuk. ranking #1 overall, time - 01:09:45.6; Britton Nugent. ranking #834 overall, time - 01:57:08.2;  Bryan Harley.  ranking #1094 overall, time - 02:02:36.7.
10K: Lance Nugent. #67 overall, time - 00:48:30.1;  Jodie Byram, #142 overall,  time - 00:52:24.7.
Regional competitors included: Karen Holyk (Minnedosa) Half marathon, #2363 overall, 03:05:11.8.  Lorna Kinley (Gladstone) 10K, #336 overall, time - 00:57:41.7. Jodi Mcvey (Minnedosa) Super Run, time - 00:40:57.1. Kristen Wozney (Minnedosa) Super Run, time - 00:40:57.0. Natalie Wozney (Minnedosa) Super Run, time - 00:40:56.9.