{"id":40012,"date":"2017-11-14T09:38:06","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T14:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=40012"},"modified":"2017-11-14T09:47:42","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T14:47:42","slug":"muskoka-algonquin-runners-shine-provincial-championships-home-turf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/muskoka-algonquin-runners-shine-provincial-championships-home-turf\/","title":{"rendered":"Muskoka Algonquin Runners shine in provincial championships on home turf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main photo: MARS Bantam Girls (from left) Mya Marshall, Clara Pringle, Laura Yungblut, Haley Clarke, Nadia Parsons, Chloe Punkari, and Eve Carreau<\/em><\/p>\n

For the first time ever, the Athletics Ontario Cross-Country Championships made their way to Muskoka on November 12 and the local running club, Muskoka Algonquin Runners (MARS), showed the rest of the province what they were made of.<\/p>\n

MARS had bid to host the race twice in the past but were unsuccessful. “They don\u2019t usually award the bid to small towns,” noted club president Pierre Mikhail. To help make their third attempt successful, Mikhail enlisted the help of FITT Events, which runs Band on the Run and the Muskoka Kids’ Tri.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

For Mikhail, it was important to host the event in Muskoka for the exposure it gives local runners of all ages to the sport. “I love running and I think cross-country is a really great sport. It’s a really amazing experience for the kids we see in our primary school race to get to compete and also get to see runners of all ages from Bantam all the way to 70-year-olds running.”<\/p>\n

MARS sponsored the top eight grade 7\/8 runners from the Hoya Hills race so that they could have free entry at the provincial championships. “It cost us about eighty dollars per kid. They were pretty excited because they felt like they had qualified for this race.”<\/p>\n

Mikhail noted that it was also a great experience for local high school runners to experience that level of competition and also see their coaches compete. One of them \u2014 Cameron Heinz \u2014 placed 13th in his age category, “an amazing result”, said Mikhail.<\/p>\n

The largest MARS contingent at the championships was the Masters category. Twenty-four runners competed with some stellar results. Two women \u2014 Lavinia Carreau in the 30-39 group and Helen Dempster in the 45-49 group \u2014 were provincial champions, as were the Men’s 40-49 team. Chris Watson came third overall in the Masters category, and all of the women’s teams entered \u2014 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59 \u2014 came second. (See the full MARS results below.)<\/p>\n

All photos courtesy of Pierre Mikhail<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t