PEIMont-Carmel’s Luc Gallant had a marathon debut to remember Sunday. He won the P.E.I. Marathon and set the course record with a time of two hours, 28 minutes.25-year-old Luc Gallant completes his first marathon in 2:28Jenna Banfield · CBC News · Posted: Oct 18, 2025 4:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoMany streets around Charlottetown saw delays for the 2025 P.E.I. Marathon, a course that stretches from downtown Charlottetown to Highfield. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)A 25-year-old Islander running his first marathon had a day to remember Sunday.Mont-Carmel’s Luc Gallant won the P.E.I. Marathon in record time. His 2:28 broke the mark set by Dennis Mbelenzi in 2021.Gallant said he’d never completed the 42.2-kilometre distance before.“I was gunning for the course record,” said Gallant, who holds the P.E.I Marathon record for the half-marathon. “I’ve never run over 37K, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but [I’m] glad to get it done.”He didn’t struggle with the extra distance.“I’ve been training for a while and I guess the jump from half-marathon to full marathon was pretty easy. Like, it’s basically the same type of training but a bit more volume and longer runs.”Along with the new P.E.I. Marathon record, Gallant also maintains the record for the half-marathon. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)Gallant ran six times a week as part of his training. His advice to those interested in starting is to strive for consistency.“As long as you’re getting out, you’ll get better, and just compare yourself to yourself and not others.”Jessica Willis, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was the first woman to cross the finish line. Her time was 3:03, second among all runners entered.She ran the Hamilton Marathon last fall, but the placement and time in P.E.I. came as a bit of a surprise to her. Willis says she will start training for the Boston Marathon in the new year. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)“I wasn’t sure what the conditions [were] gonna be like, so I just thought I’d run and see how it goes and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”She plans to run the Boston Marathon in April and will train for it in the new year. Running in honour of familyKevin Ryan, of Pinette, P.E.I., ran the half-marathon in honour of his nephew, Jacob Simmons. One of the races in the event bears Simmons’s name.Simmons was killed by an impaired driver while cycling in 2020. He was a well-known athlete on the Island.“He would have ran two of these in the time that I did mine, and that’s OK,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t about times, really. It was about doing it.”Ryan says he ran in honour of Jacob Simmons, a well-known athlete on the Island who died five years ago after being struck by an impaired driver. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)For Ryan, the most memorable part of the marathon was spending time with his son. He got a hug from his sister when he crossed the finish line.“Goals are important, but it’s the fact that … it was something I never did before. Do something everyday that scares you, right?”With files from Delaney Kelly
Islander wins P.E.I. Marathon in record time
