On Sunday morning at the B.A.A. Half in Boston, Vancouver’s Kieran Lumb delivered an impressive debut in the half-marathon, clocking a swift 62:03 to secure third place. Lumb finished just two seconds behind Kenya’s Isaac Kipkemboi, who took second in 62:01, with Yemane Hailelassie of Eritrea claiming victory in 61:46.
Incredible half marathon debut for 🇨🇦 1,500m runner Kieran Lumb!
Lumb was third at the @BAA half this morning in Boston in 62:03 (5th fastest in 🇨🇦 history). pic.twitter.com/AVnRVjiEVl
— Marley Dickinson (@marleydickinson) November 10, 2024
Lumb wasn’t the only Canadian man who excelled on Sunday morning—his Olympic teammates Thomas Fafard, Ben Flanagan and Hamilton’s Max Turek (who recently paced Natasha Wodak to her 2024 Canadian marathon title) also captured top 10 positions, with Fafard taking seventh in 62:17, ahead of Flanagan in eighth (62:23) and Turek, who captured the 10th spot in 62:45. Toth was 25th in 67:11.
Following a busy summer on the track, where 26-year-old Lumb captured his second consecutive national title in the 1,500m and represented Team Canada at the Paris Olympics, Lumb was eager to take on a new challenge—a race 14 times the length of his usual 1,500m event. “My coach and I wanted to try something different this fall and emphasize strength,” Lumb told Canadian Running pre-race. “It’s been refreshing to mix things up.”
Pre-race, Lumb said he was excited to compete against Flanagan and Fafard, two athletes he rarely faces. Fafard, of Repentigny, Que., made his professional debut with Brooks Running at the 2024 Bell Canadian Olympic Track and Field Trials, where he finished second in the men’s 5,000m. Flanagan, a former Canadian half-marathon record holder, briefly held the accolade in 2022 after running 61 minutes at the Valencia Half Marathon. Flanagan’s record was surpassed by Cam Levins at the Vancouver First Half in February 2023, with Levins’s time of 60:18 still standing as the top Canadian mark.
The scenic Boston Half course winds through the city’s Emerald Necklace Park System, passing landmarks such as the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond and Franklin Park Zoo. The finish line is in Franklin Park, just south of the city.
This year’s race did not feature any Canadian female elites. For a complete list of results, head here.
