A Richmond resident finished in the top one per cent at last weekend's Vancouver Sun Run — by walking.
It might help that he's an Olympic medallist in racewalking.
"I definitely got a handful of funny looks," said Olympian Evan Dunfee about participating in the 10-kilometre race with nearly 51,000 other people.
The race took place Sunday, April 27, starting in downtown Vancouver and ending at BC Place Stadium.
A video Dunfee shared on social media showed how surprised some people were to see him racewalking the event while others were running around him.
"You hear the odd sort of conversation in passing, where someone says, 'Oh, what's that person doing?'" he said.
"There are always people that haven't seen me before, and that's far fewer now, because I try to do as many races as I can."
Dunfee crossed the finish line in 38 minutes and 17 seconds — his fastest time racewalking the Vancouver Sun Run since 2018.
He noted his best time on a track race is 38 minutes and eight seconds, which he achieved earlier this year.
"I was a little bit surprised by how quick I was."
Dunfee said he heard a lot of cheers from spectators and that it was an enjoyable race, surrounded by the people running around him and those who appreciated his sport.
"Everyone's super friendly and really excited to be out there. It was a beautiful day, and we were all just pushing as hard as we could."
He said this year's Sun Run stood out for another reason.
Due to the tragic Lapu Lapu Day incident on April 27 — one day before the race — Dunfee said many participants ran to show support for the victims and their families.
"You saw a lot of people with little messages of hope and solidarity written on their bibs, and the hand-drawn Philippines flags on their bibs with pins," he explained. It made the run "extra special this time around," he added.
"We're so lucky in Vancouver that the community is so big, so strong and so inclusive. As someone who's kind of adjacent to it, but not part of it, I felt that inclusivity."
Next up, Dunfee will race in the BMO Marathon on Sunday, May 4. He’s aiming to finish in under three hours.
"That's a pretty big barrier, and I think that'd be a lot of fun if I could hit under that three-hour barrier."
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