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Lucas Jones, winner of the SudburyRocks!!!
Marathon
All
Photos Here
The supportive community
that gathers for the Sudbury Rocks Marathon
Randy
Pascal
2026-05-28
There is no denying that
the Sudbury Rocks Marathons races are extremely well supported.
While final numbers for the group in its
entirety are still being compiled, all signs point to
close to 2300 participants – a new record high for
the event that celebrated year 21 this past Sunday.
In fact, based on casual race day conversations,
one might surmise that the Sudbury Rocks Marathon is all
about the “support” – in all of its
various incarnations.
Nearly ninety runners / joggers would
complete the full marathon, with 24 year-old Lucas Jones
the first to cross the line, clocking in at 2:44.50 as
he completed his fourth marathon and third in the nickel
city.
A native of Langton (near Tillsonburg),
Jones attended Laurentian University, was a member of
the nordic ski team and has spent the past year or so
in the Ottawa area – and still saw fit to make his
way to Sudbury to run in less than ideal conditions.
“It’s the people,” said
Jones, acknowledging a key motivator in selecting this
race to slot into his busy calendar of athletic endeavours.
“I’ve been in Ottawa for the winter and even
with where I am from, the community just isn’t the
same.”
“Sudbury is big enough, with lots
of people, but small enough that everyone knows each other
and supports each other.”
A cross-country runner during his high-school
years who lost his love of running before re-engaging
during his time north, Jones also had some practical reasons
for choosing to race in a setting that is not at all foreign
to him.
“Knowing the course is essential,
especially here,” said Jones. “There’s
elevation in Sudbury that there isn’t in other cities.
We might be running some of the flattest roads in Sudbury,
but when I did Niagara, my legs got tired because there
is no change of elevation at all.”
With his sights set on perhaps eclipsing
the 2:30 barrier some time in 2027, Jones managed to capture
the Sudbury race by a seven-minute margin, with Alex Godin
(2:51.42), Kyle Coffey (2:55.29), Nicholas Lambert (2:55.52)
and Alex Chenier (2:59.36) rounding out the top five and
the trio of Iris Lenauer (3:13.18), Saree Sasson (3:13.25)
and Jessica Brake (3:16.23) showing the way in the women’s
division.
A year ago this time, Lucy Gideon stood
on the sidelines, cheering on her daughter (Megan Easter),
one of a group of friends who were running in support
of families who lost loved ones to cancer. Set to celebrate
her 50th birthday in October, Gideon could remain on the
sidelines no more.
A ten-kilometre run-walk trek was a reasonable
goal, in her mind, though she plans to tap into the knowledge
gained from 2026 to improve with age a year from now.
“I made sure I practiced a lot, but at the end,
I was exhausted,” said Gideon, an avid walker who
cited no long-term connection with running at all in her
background.
“Next year, I will make sure to
practice even more.”
While the remainder of her daughter’s
grouping were tackling the 21km, Gideon was somewhat on
her own for the 10km – at least on her own as much
as one can be in a race that featured more than 400 hardy
souls forging forward in the rain.
“I started with a slow jog for a
bit and then just walked at times – but I am very
chatty, so I would talk to anyone who was beside me.”
Throw in an affinity for both music and
podcasts and one has the makings of the start of a journey
that the friendly psychotherapist would like to see grow
and prosper in the years to come.
“Because of my age, I grew up in
the seventies and eighties, so I love that and the techno
stuff too,” said Gideon. “And I will listen
to podcasts and keep busy pep-talking myself. This is
very motivating.”
Leah Kernan also found herself motivated.
Sure, it was last minute motivation –
but motivation none the less.
While the 30 year-old all-around athlete
during her time at Lasalle Secondary (flag football, soccer,
softball, cross-country) had been contemplating taking
a shot at her half-marathon with this group of friends,
it wasn’t until one week before race day that she
officially took the plunge and registered.
“This is the furthest I have run;
I just went for it,” said Kernan, who jogged the
21km distance with co-workers in a time of 2:41.53, with
her official "training" for the race beginning
seven days before the event itself - hardly the outline
of ideal pre-race preparation.
“There was a lot of stretching before
hand and stretching after the race too – but it
felt good, ” noted Kernan. I thought I would be
out of breath but I had breath the whole time. We just
kind of paced ourselves.”
And, of course, supported each other through
the tougher segments of the race.
“About halfway through, we were
thinking we still had another 10km to go – and my
music died – but running through New Sudbury and
Minnow Lake was really nice. My plan is to keep running
all summer.”
It’s been 18 years since Jeannine
Foisy completed her one and only marathon, that in the
same event she would revisit this past Sunday. This time
around, it was the half-marathon that called her name
– largely for the chance to share the experience
with her daughter, Julianne Graveline.
“For me, I was there to support
her – not realizing that she was there to support
me as well,” noted Foisy, the 62 year-old daughter
of figure skating great and member of the Sudbury Sports
Hall of Fame, Gertie Desjardins.
“I am very active, so that helped
– and I followed a program in a running book,”
said Foisy. “I didn’t stress much as this
wasn’t as much my goal as my daughter’s goal.
During the race, we were grateful that were together and
able to do this together.”
Mutual support, as it were, in a race
where encouragement and assistance could be found located
with ease.
Following are some of the top finishers
in other primary distances:
Half-Marathon
Men
1st - Eric Leishman - 1:12.37
2nd - Keon Wallingford - 1:13.14
3rd - Evan Palmer-Charrette - 1:15.29
4th - Dan Whalen - 1:19.55
5th - Tim Tindall - 1:20.35
Women
1st - Elissa Bertuzzi - 1:24.48
2nd - Sara Perfetto - 1:28.25
3rd - Fiona Shering - 1:29.37
Perdue Family Lise's 10km
Men
1st - Jacques Tiessen - 31:56
2nd - Cory Brennan - 38:25
3rd - Christian Smith - 38:35
4th - Taylor Conaty - 39:00
5th - Eric Sampson - 39:10
Women
1st - Jayde Hurley - 41:29
2nd - Emily Soares - 47:41
3rd - Sasha Shank - 48:04
5km Run / Walk
Men
1st - Cameron Date - 16:34
2nd - Travis Annett - 16:38
3rd - Alan Wilkin - 17:27
4th - Gord Farrell - 18:36
5th - Tejada Gieselman - 19:08
Women
1st - Kylee Fowler - 18:44
2nd - Georgia Lepage - 19:06
3rd - Kristen Mrozewski - 19:11
4th - Angela Mozzon - 19:16
5th - Charlotte Grenier - 19:51
Results Below
https://results.raceroster.com/v3/events/tpwce3523z4jyp5v
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