A retired forklift driver from Richmond, Ont., won the Sudbury Rocks marathon on Sunday, completing the 42-km course in three hours and two minutes.
But the wife of 57-year-old Brian Beeton said he should have won it last year.
"He came in second last year," Theresa Beeton said. "He lost by a minute and maybe a half. He had a bit of an earlier start because it was the chase race. When he first started, the marshall sent them on the wrong path. He did the five km first, then he did the marathon."
Sudbury Rocks is Canada's only age/gender chase marathon, giving runners a leg up according to their age and gender.
Beeton, who had never won a marathon, attributed the win to his family's support.
"It was tough," he said. "It was really tough. But you know my family was there all along cheering me along. Go Daddy, go. What more could you ask for?"
Finishing second was Kenyan runner Anthony Gitau.
"The race was not good because you don't know even who is running in front of you," Gitau said minutes after he crossed the finish line. "You don't know how far he is."
The hardest part of the race, he said, was the 35-km mark. "You're coming to the top of a hill but you're so tired."
Gitau said he just kept telling himself, "Go, go, go."
The event also staged a half-marathon, a 10-km, a five-km  and a one-km walk/run.
Organizer Steve Matusch said 1,400 men, women and children took part in the event, which raised $50,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association. Joe Babin raised the most money - over $2,000.
