After a number of top five finishes it was looking like this was the year that Steffan Reimer was ready to break the tape and win the Manitoba Marathon for the first time.

The 33-year-old Blumenort native was leading the Father’s Day race when the event was cancelled Sunday morning due to excessive heat and humidity as the temperature reached over 30 C just over an hour after the race began at the University of Manitoba campus in Winnipeg.

“Disappointing, that’s like the only word we can use,” said Reimer. “I went out at a pace where I thought I could run according to the temperature and I realize they’re trying to save lives but the whole situation is disappointing. I was feeling good.”

Reimer, who finished third in 2016 and fourth in 2017, was fourth again at the 2019 Marathon completing the 26.2 mile course in 2:38:49 under near perfect running conditions.

Running conditions on Sunday were far from perfect as the temperature soared early in the day.

The race was cancelled at 8:10 a.m. as Reimer was approximately eight miles from reaching the finish line at IG Field.

“I was training way harder than I’ve ever trained before. I was in shape to do really well and then for it to be the first hot day of the year and to have this kind of temperatures out there, it’s disappointing. I’ll keep going back to that word.”

“The running team that I run with in Steinbach, we were prepared to run in warm weather,” added Reimer. “We were preparing for it the last week-and-a-half knowing that it could be warm. We were getting out to run in the afternoons and mimic the heat. I felt like I went out accordingly and was doing well. To get pulled off the course after 18 miles and say your race is done is very disappointing.”