OTTAWA — Tariku Jufar won the men’s Ottawa Marathon in a record run Sunday while fellow Ethiopian Yeshi Esayias won the women’s race.
Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Thornhill, Ont., was the top Canadian women in eighth, earning the national marathon title. Rob Watson of Vancouver collected the men’s national title with his 10th place finish.
Jufar crossed in two hours eight minutes four seconds, to shave more than a minute off the Ottawa Marathon course record. In an almost neck and neck finish, Jufar was followed by Kenyan Luka Rotich, who crossed in 2:08:11.
Watson, who was the top Canadian at the Boston Marathon in April finishing 11th, ran a time of 2:18:33.
Esayias took more than two minutes off the 2009 course record, crossing in 2:25:30.1. Esayias was followed by fellow Ethiopians Misiker Mekkonin (2:25:44) and Sechale Delasa (2:27:31).
Kortchaguina finished with a time of 2:33:10 — the sixth time the 41-year-old has been top Canadian at the race.