Reimer top Manitoban finisher in annual marathon

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This article was published 26/06/2023 (675 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steffan Reimer finally got the monkey off his back. The Blumenort runner was the top Manitoban at the 45th annual Manitoba Marathon, held in Winnipeg June 18.

Reimer said he still is hoping for more in future years, as he finished second behind Roger Hopper from Chesapeake, Fla. Hopper set an impressive pace, finishing in 2:23, with Reimer nine minutes behind.

“Obviously, I’d like to win it at some point overall, but just to be the top Manitoban officially was a check off the bucket list,” Reimer said after coaching a soccer game in Steinbach June 19.

It was a tough race for Reimer to reach his top pace, as he competed in the Fargo Marathon May 20.

“That’s a very quick turnaround for marathon running,” he said.

“Realistically, (my time), was all I could have asked for. If everything’s perfect I’m exactly about 2:30 shape… 2:32 is fantastic.”

Reimer called his run “clockwork,” adding the most difficult challenge came early in the race.

“I had to make the choice about a mile in to let another guy go, and just had faith my pacing was gonna hold on,” he said, noting he made the pass roughly 14 miles into the race.

“It was eating me alive to not chase him down, because I’m competitive and I like winning and I like competing but (I had to) trust the process. A marathon isn’t 10k, it isn’t even a half marathon. It’s a long day out there.”

Reimer will return to rebuilding and training, hoping to improve his times slightly for a planned fall marathon. He added most pro marathon runners only compete at a race pace twice per year, due to the toll competing takes on their bodies.

“I was in sub 2:30 shape heading into Fargo and had a bad day, where I wasn’t feeling perfect,” Reimer said.

“It sucks when you put in three, four months of training and have a bad day.”

Reimer had heavy training schedule, splitting up roughly 80 miles of running between nine sessions during the average week. A lot of his focus was spent on keeping a strong pace in the final stretch of distance.

“The half-way point of a marathon is mile 20,” Reimer said.

“The last six miles is the back half of a marathon. Mentally, physically, your body is shutting down.”

Reimer wasn’t the only Eastman runner to complete the full marathon. Eighteen athletes managed to complete the full 26.2 miles, which finished inside IG Field. One of the most impressive performances came from Oakbank’s Bob Conarroe, who took first place in the male 70-74 category with a final time of just under four hours.

Manitoba Marathon Finishers:

Carson Wiebe (Niverville)

Luke Wadge (Niverville)

Chris Schroeder (Steinbach)

Alex Tamayo (Steinbach)

Devyn Bartel (Steinbach)

Kristyn Fanstone (Oakbank)

Bob Conarroe (Oakbank)

Josh Doerksen (New Bothwell)

Steffan Reimer (Blumenort)

Mickael Cazemayor (Lorette)

Stephanie Tetreault (Lorette)

Miguel Rondeau (Lorette)

Dustin Rodeck (Ile des Chenes)

Thomas van der Breggen (Ste Genevieve)

Krista Fry (Ste Anne)

Jaala Van Dongen (La Broquerie)

Brent Marynowski (La Broquerie)

Robert Mann (Springfield)