Two sisters from Canada ended up exceeding their expectations today and one won the Detroit Free Press Marathon.
Paula Keating, 44, of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada finished in 2:52:14 to win the women’s division and the women’s masters award.
“I was hoping to be in the top five women,” Keating said after finishing her third career marathon.
Before reporters could talk to Keating her sister, Erin Seagris of Windsor, ran over and gave her a hug. Seagris, 38, was wiping away tears.
“I’m so happy for her,” said Seagris, who completed her first half-marathon a little more than an hour before her sister crossed the finish line.
Seagris, a family doctor, said she also ran the New York Marathon last November and the Boston Marathon this past April. She said her previous personal best was 2:57:53 in Boston.
“That’s my best time ever in a marathon,” Keating said of Sunday’s victory. “I was in the lead for the whole time. My lead grew as the time went. The bikers who were with me kept updating me.”
She said the Free Press Marathon was “not as hilly” compared to her previous marathon experiences.
“I liked coming along the river over in Windsor and then coming back along the river here in Detroit,” she said.
She said the toughest part was coming off Belle Isle. “You had to dig deep there,” she said.
Keating said she grew up playing field hockey and does a lot of cross-country skiing.
It was her sister’s idea for her to come to Detroit.
“When I saw her Boston time, I said ‘You need to come and run Detroit because you’re right in that mix, that competitive mix,’” said Seagris, who finished the half-marathon in 1:38:48.
“I would ask for advice,” Seagris said. “She designed a program for me. To break 1:45 was my goal.”
After Seagris completed the half-marathon, she heard her sister’s name announced over the loud speakers as the race leader at Mile 18.
“I said I’m not going back to shower or anything,” Seagris said. “I gotta stay here and watch this.”
The sisters won’t have much time to celebrate, as Keating is flying back home on Monday.
Asked how they planned to celebrate, Seagris said: “We’ll definitely have some red wine.”
(source:freep.com)
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