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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 45 | Thursday, September 25, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Oakville's Tyler Chacra checks his watch as the runners start the Nutrience Oakville Half Marathon Sunday, then raises his arms in celebration as he crosses the line to win the race for the second year in a row. More than 800 runners took part in the half marathon and 1,722 runners in total participated in the day's various races, which included a 10K, a student relay and a 2K run/walk. | photo by Franki Ikeman -- Oakville Beaver Chacra repeats as Oakville half marathon champ said. "I have an internal drive to want to succeed," he said. "I was just trying to improve my time from last year, and if I win that's a bonus." The 27-year-old achieved both Sunday. Soaked from a steady rain that fell throughout the race, Chacra said it felt like he was wearing a five-pound vest. Yet, he still managed to knock a minute and 35 seconds off last year's winning time, finishing in one hour, 13 minutes and 56 seconds. That was more than four minutes ahead of secondplace finisher Luke Doucet of Toronto. Not bad for someone who, until seven years ago, really didn't like running. Growing up, Chacra played rep baseball, but even then wasn't particularly fast. "I was never the guy who got the green light," he said. "Other guys stole bases, but not me." It wasn't until Chacra started working at RMP Athletic, a running shoe and sport apparel distribution company, that he even 1:38:51.3 1:38:53.8 1:39:19.2 1:58:04.4 1:59:45.2 1:13:56.8 1:34:06.0 1:26:42.9 1:29:32.3 1:37:57.7 1:47:07.7 7 George Readings 8 Chris Kavanagh 9 Michael Perge Men 70-and-over 1 Ken Thomas Women 19-and-under 2 Jacqui Boyer Women 20-29 4 Ashleigh Woodward 5 Emily Jansons 7 Vicky Kulla 9 Shannon Bonero Women 30-39 3 Julie Martens 7 Allyson Fischer Women 40-49 1:52:33.6 2:06:26.2 2:06:37.5 1:56:01.4 1:54:15.1 1:38:53.8 1:39:19.2 1:45:29.7 1:46:32.1 1:32:54.5 1:38:51.3 By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff When he finished his first 10-kilometre race, Tyler Chacra looked at his time and started doing the math. He had run as hard as he possibly could, expending every last bit of energy. It had not been long since he started running competitively but he'd already set his sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon. "I thought I did quite good, then I looked at the pace I was running and realized I actually had to sustain that pace for 42.2 kilometres," he said. "I had left it all out there and figuring out that I would have to do that four more times, I thought `Yeah, there's no chance.'" Chacra eventually made it to Boston last year by taking the same approach he used to win his second straight Nutrience Oakville Half Marathon. "I just push myself for a personal best," he Listed are the top five overall finishers from Oakville and top-10 division finishers from the half marathon and top-5 division finishers from the 10K. Half Marathon Place, Name Time Overall, Men (340) 1 Tyler Chacra 1:13:56.8 11 Jim Mylet 1:26:42.9 22 David Smales 1:29:32.3 1:30:42.8 27 Darren Osborne 28 Pascal Becotte 1:30:50.8 Overall, Women (332) 6 Julie Martens 1:32:54.5 12 Michelle Ghert 1:38:26.1 considered pounding the pavement. "I was in the marketing department and I would go to all these race expos," he said. "Being around all those runners inspired me. I started with a 5K, worked up to a 10K and I caught the running bug." Constantly pushing himself for better times keeps Chacra motivated and a strong support network in his wife and co-workers allows him to get his training runs in. He earned second-place finishes at half-marathons in Barrie and Mississauga this summer, but more importantly, he cracked the 1:15 barrier for the first time in Mississauga. He bettered that by a minute Sunday on his way to victory. In all, Chacra has managed to cut more than 13 1/2 minutes off his time since he first tackled the Oakville half, finishing 24th in the 2011. The next challenge for Chacra is the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He finished 37th overall last year with a time of 2:39:49. This year, his goal is to break 2:35. 1:38:26.1 1:39:38.5 2:07.31.5 2:11:09.7 2:13:44.9 2:26:51.9 2:44:18.4 Time 38:43.9 38:49.0 40:03.1 41:01.1 41:19.9 Chacra also hopes to return to Boston. He had finished the 2013 race and was in a restaurant a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off. But first, he has Chicago, New York, London and Berlin on his wish list. He also hopes to run a sub-2:30 marathon before his 30th birthday. This time Chacra has no doubts that he's on pace to get there. Mississauga's Tammy Purdy won the women's half marathon in a time of 1:25:14. It was her third victory at the event, having won in 2010 and 2011. Oakville had three other age group winners in the half marathon. Tyler Wisner won the men's 19-and-under division, Liz Cramer was first across the line in the women's 60-69 division and Ken Thomas won the men's 70-and-over division. The 10K winners were Sergio Raez Villanueva of Mississauga and Allison Drynan of Toronto. Oakville's Freddie So, Michael Riley, Robert Rose and Paulina Maher claimed division titles. 1 Robert Rose 4 Andy Aicklen Men 70-and-over 2 Rudy Benko Women 19-and-under 3 Bridget Peros Women 20-29 1 Paulina Maher 4 Jill Korsiak Women 20-29 2 Leeanne Strathdee Women 40-49 4 Lucy Machado 5 Dina Mehren Women 60-69 3 Pamela Sacha 55:50.1 1:08:46.5 1:11:13.8 50:05.0 40:47.9 47:01.1 49:52.7 50:37.8 50:49.3 58:53.5 NUTRIENCEOAKVILLE HALF10K TOP LOCAL FINISHERS 15 Allyson Fischer 16 Ashleigh Woodward 18 Emily Jansons Men 19-and-under 1 Tyler Wisner 2 Nick Kurobasa Men 20-29 1 Tyler Chacra Men 30-39 10 Matt Macdonald Men 40-49 3 Jim Mylet 10 David Smales Men 60-69 3 Mario Ramirez 6 Roy Waghorn 3 Michelle Ghert Women 50-59 3 Gayle Gemmell Women 60-69 1 Liz Cramer 2 Pauline Watson 3 Penny Faucher 4 Carol Ross 7 Mary-Louise Kozak 10K Place, Name Overall, Men (234) 6 Freddie So 7 Trevor Lee 8 James Crowe 11 Michael Riley 12 Jamie Hancock Overall, Women (305) 2 Paulina Maher 9 Jill Korsiak 21 Leeanne Strathdee 23 Bridget Peros 24 Lori McPherson Men 30-39 3 Trevor Lee Men 40-49 1 Freddie So 2 Jamie Hancock 5 Brett Varey Men 50-59 1 Michael Riley 4 Ed Rieckelman Men 60-69 40:47.9 47:01.1 49:52.7 50:05.0 50:13.8 38:49.0 38:43.9 41:19.9 46:31.2 41:01.1 47:15.8