BADDECK, N.S. — The Halifax Road Hammers men’s team has broken the Cabot Trail Relay Race course record, winning it for a second consecutive year.
Finishing with a time of 16:10:24, the Road Hammers shaved 1:14 off the record previously set by the Maine-Iacs (16:11:38).
Gavin Hatheway ran the final leg for the Road Hammers, crossing the finish line first at 1:04:32 — 41 second faster than Curtis Anderson from the Black Lungs (Toronto). This was the second leg Hatheway ran in the 2019 relay and the filmmaker said his “legs burned pretty much the whole way.”
“You trick yourself into thinking there’s no pain,” Hatheway said when asked how he pushed through to win.
“You can’t really train for the amount of hills you encounter here.”
Hatheway also credited the atmosphere and energy of the crowd.
“Once you come down across the highway, you know it’s pretty much downhill the rest of the way,” he said. “You cross the highway and you can hear the crowd cheering… it’s amazing energy.”
OVERALL WINNERS
- First: Halifax Road Hammers (men) — 16:10:24
- Second: Maine-Iacs (men) — 16:19:18
- Third: Black Lungs (men) — 16:48:58
FIRST MIXED TEAM
- Raging Bulls (Moncton) — 19:57:04
FIRST ALL-WOMEN TEAM
- Halifax Road Hammers (women) — 20:59:09
FIRST CAPE BRETON TEAM
- Cape Breton Road Runners – 21:07:51
The first woman to cross the finish line was Maddy Crowell, running for the Raging Bulls from Moncton — the first mixed team to complete the race. The 27-year-old, who has participated in the Cabot Trail Relay Race four times, asked her teammates if she could run the last leg because of the difficulty and she hadn’t done it before.
“I’m kind of into the hard ones. This is a 4.5 (out of five for difficulty),” said Crowell who is originally from Charlottetown P.E.I.
“The atmosphere is great, there are a lot of good people and a ton of good runners,” she said.
“It’s super unique and you’ll never do anything like this again.”
Warm weather on Saturday had event organizer Dave Parkinson a little worried about possible medical issues like dehydration but said a cool breeze off the ocean and low humidity helped. With emergency services and first aid crews on hand, Parkinson said they “luckily” didn’t need their services and there were no injuries during the 31st year of the race.
“A couple of people came across the finish line not feeling good, but no major injuries,” said Parkinson who’s been organizing the race for 25 years.
The Cape Breton Road Racers were the first local team to cross the finish line, coming in ninth overall with a time of 21:07:51. They were just behind the first female team to finish, the Halifax Road Hammers women, who completed the relay with a time of 20:59:09.
RELATED:
• Halifax Road Hammers to defend Cabot Trail Relay Race titles this weekend
• Cabot Trail Relay Race unveils teams for 2019 event
• First winners of Cabot Trail Relay Race haven’t missed a year
