Nickel City newcomer takes marathon gold at Sudbury Rocks!!!

Sudbury is not blessed, at the moment, with a glut of sub three-hour marathoners. As such, welcoming a newcomer to town to maintain local bragging rights in the May 10 Sudbury Rocks!!! marathon is not a bad thing at all.

With his wife accepting a position at Laurentian University late last year, 39-year-old Pascal Renard made the move from Ottawa to Sudbury, with his family, back in December.

On Sunday morning, Renard cruised to a comfortable win in the local marathon, clocking a time of 2:43.52 on a gusty overcast day.

"I didn't want to go too hard for the first half, aiming for 2:48:00, and tried to stay consistent," said Renard after the race.

"I was hired as an elite pacer for the Ottawa Marathon (May 25), so that is also why I didn't want to go 100 per cent leading up to that."

Renard expects to pace one or more of the elite female runners in the nation's capital, looking to run a time of 2:35.00 or 2:40.00.

"I've run a number of marathons, this is a little bit on the hard side," said Renard, citing the rolling hills, and fair number of turns along the route.

Still, despite leaving a city well-known for its "runner-friendly" trails and routes, the father of one young daughter is pleased with the training he was able to accomplish up north.

"We had a long winter, so I've certainly enjoyed the indoor facility at Laurentian," said Renard. "I have no complaints, really. I've been discovering the city and finding my own routes in and around the university."

Following race weekend in Ottawa, Renard has a few other targets in sight as he finds a balance between a busy life and his running.

"Over the summer, I will maybe do some 10-kilometre races," he said. "I am turning 40 in September, so I am thinking of doing maybe the national cross-country championships in Kingston in November."

The top woman in the marathon was Betty Annala from Rosslyn (near Thunder Bay), finishing 14th overall in a time of 3:44.48.

A total of 32 individuals completed the marathon, with results as follows:

1 - Pascal Renard - 2:43:53 (M30-39) - Sudbury
2 - Gilles Gobeil - 3:04:09 (M40-49) - Gatineau
3 - Attila Kovacs - 3:05:31 (M40-49) - Kecskemet
4 - Alain Marcotte - 3:06:51 (M40-49) - Rouyn-Noranda
5 - Marc Larochelle - 3:15:46 (M40-49) - Sudbury
6 - Ken Stubbings - 3:20:38 (M50-59) - Cobourg
7 - Ryan Grant - 3:28:40 (M30-39) - North Bay
8 - Mike Yates - 3:30:03 (M40-49) - Ottawa
9 - Michel Lavergne - 3:31:27 (M50-59) - Kirkland Lake
10 - Steve Fessenden - 3:34:18 (M40-49) - Little Current
11 - Rob Greene - 3:40:44 (M30-39) - Sudbury
12 - Peter Yawney - 3:41:25 (M40-49) - Sudbury
13 - Benoit Rancourt - 3:43:00 (M60-69) - Ste-Germaine Boulé
14 - Betty Annala - 3:44:59 (F40-49) - Rosslyn
15 - Jack Lee - 3:53:34 (M30-39) - Scarborough
16 - Otto Mulder - 4:01:39 (M50-59) - Callander
17 - Jacob Rosset - 4:04:22 (M1-19) - Sudbury
18 - Amber Konikow - 4:05:18 (F40-49) - Lively
19 - Paul Statchuk - 4:08:10 (M30-39) - Toronto
20 - Mario Tremblay - 4:10:21 (M30-39) - Ste-Germaine Boulé
21 - Julia Bae - 4:15:08 (F30-39) - Toronto
22 - Diane Lafrance - 4:19:46 (F50-59) - Gatineau
23 - Julie Hayes - 4:20:15 (F30-39) - Wahnapitae
24 - Maurice Nakoochee - 4:28:09 (M50-59) - Chapleau
25 - Wei Tan - 4:31:11 (M40-49) - Markham
26 - Cassandra Bigras - 4:32:00 (F20-29) - Barrie
27 - Stephanie Cowan - 4:39:39 (F40-49) - Carp
28 - Anna Maria Drouin - 4:40:12 (F50-59) - Dorval
29 - Jean St-Aubin - 4:40:50 (M50-59) - Sudbury
30 - Shanelle Guillemette - 5:24:04 (F1-19) - Timmins
31 - Manon Guillemette - 5:24:04 (F40-49) - Timmins
32 - Wilfred Goron - 5:52:07 (M60-69) - Wheatley