Kwok and Sullivan top Intersport Fun Run

In the Yukon, you never know who is going to show up at the start line of a race.

In the Yukon, you never know who is going to show up at the start line of a race. At last Tuesday evening’s Intersport Fun Run and Walk one of the former gods of female running in Canada quietly, and with no fanfare, registered, ran and won the race.

Krestena Sullivan is hardly a household name, but she has a glowing running resume. At the 1992 National Junior Championships she won the gold medal in both the 800- metre and 1500-metre distances.

A few years later she attended and ran for Villanova, an Ivy League university in Pennsylvania, where she was named the female athlete of the year in the 1996-97 season. In 1998 she posted one of her best five-km times, running 16:36 in a race in Ontario.

So on Tuesday evening, it was no surprise that Sullivan was the fastest female runner (19:07). However, she was closely followed by her sister Maura Sullivan (19:15), a local running talent who also has an impressive athletic resume.

The top three was rounded out by Amy Riske (21:21), who consistently records five-km times that are the envy of many local runners.

On the men’s side, Harrison Kwok took first-place honours, breaking the 19 minute threshold by three seconds (18:57).

Kwok was followed by Jeff Hills (20:02) and Doug Mayr (20:48), a member of Don White’s gold medal Klondike Road Relay masters team.

In the 10-km event, frequent marathoner Keith Thaxter (39:56) and masters runner Margaret Mundell (50:16) were the fastest.

Noted race walker Ruth Hall (35:25) placed first in that category, but the real battle was for second place. Susan Dennehy (37:32) managed to hold off a charging Catherine Simpson (37:41), who finished just nine seconds out of second place.

Here are the complete results:

5 km Runners

Men

1. Harrison Kwok,18:57

2. Jeff Hills, 20:02

3. Doug Mayr, 20:48

4. Mike Doering, 24:16

5. Brian Mottus, 25:40

6. Grant Macdonald, 28:17

7. Antoine Bouthiaux, 35:21

Women

1. Krestena Sullivan, 19:07

2. Maura Sullivan, 19:15

3. Amy Riske, 21:21

4. Jeanette Gallant, 23:04

5. Sheri Hogeboom, 23:32

6. Veronique Herry, 28:32

7. Christine Paradis, 28:34

8. Shari MacIntosh, 29:26

9. Staci Kindervater, 29:26

10. Katie Ringstad, 33:00

11. Cecile Bouthiaux, 35:20

10 km Runners

Men

1. Keith Thaxter, 39:56

2. Nathan Doering, 41:30

3. Tom Ullyett, 50:44

4. Robert Bowerman

5. Keith Lay, 52:48

Women

1. Margaret Mundell, 50:16

2. Jackie Moore, 51:58

5 km Walkers

1. Ruth Hall, 35:25

2. Susan Dennehy, 37:32

3. Catherine Simpson, 37:41

Submitted by Tom Ullyett on behalf of Athletics Yukon.