Ethiopian clocks fastest marathon time on Canadian soil

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Despite the cool fall weather, runners in a Toronto marathon tallied new records on Sunday.

Deressa Chimsa, a 26-year-old runner from Ethiopia, finished first in the race clocked the fastest marathon time on Canadian soil.

He finished first in the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon in Toronto on Sunday morning, completing the course in two hours, seven minutes and four seconds.

Chimsa beat the old record — set at the 2010 edition of the annual race by Kenya’s Kenneth Mungara — by nearly a minute.

Lanni Marchant set a new Canadian women’s marathon record, finishing with a time of 2:27:59.

She beat the old marker — Ontario runner Sylvia Ruegger’s gem at a 1985 marathon in Houston, Texas — by 36 seconds.

The first Canadian to cross the finish line was Eric Gillis, of Guelph, Ont., with a time of 2:11:49, about 20 seconds shy of his personal best. He completed the race fifth overall.