It was a personal best and a quicker finish than Vancouver Canucks legends for Vik Bains at a Vancouver marathon last weekend.
At the 2019 Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon, the 琉璃神社 marathoner was pitted against retired Canucks Daniel and Henrik Sedin and was able to etch out a faster finish with a 1:16:51 run-time, besting the Sedin twins by nearly eight minutes.
Bains has been a Canucks fan since childhood and was excited to see two of his heroes at the race.
鈥淚t was so epic, I had no clue they would be at the (race),鈥� Bains said.
鈥淎t the start of the line, I saw them and gave them a fist bump and said 鈥榣et鈥檚 go boys.鈥� It was a surreal moment.鈥�
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Bains and his 琉璃神社 marathon group, the Thursday Morning Running League (TMRL), have been competing in some of the biggest marathons in the world over the past five years, including the Boston Marathon where Bains ran a sub-3 hour time in April.
Fellow TMRL racers joined Bains and the Sedins in Vancouver. Former 琉璃神社 Rockets player Jason Deleurme and 58-year-old Rory Switzer were part of the 琉璃神社 delegation and also recorded better times than the former NHLers at the 21-kilometre race.
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Bains said that the Sedins were very approachable and humble and that the TMRL members left quite the impression.
鈥淚鈥檝e tracked the Sedin鈥檚 running careers for the past couple of years, and I鈥檝e worshipped them for nearly two decades,鈥� said Bains.
鈥淏ut at that moment they seemed more impressed by my time than the fact that they were future hall-of-famers.鈥�
Ironically, Bains finished 22nd overall in the race, the same number that Daniel Sedin wore during his 18 seasons with the Canucks.
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