Record breaking numbers at Montreal marathon

WATCH ABOVE: Tens of thousands of runners will be taking part in the 24th  annual Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in Montreal on Sunday.

MONTREAL – It took American runner Ben Bruce just 2 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds to finish the 24th annual Montreal Rock ‘n’ Roll Oasis marathon, which took place Sunday.

The marathon started at 8:30 a.m. on the Jacques-Cartier bridge.

Bruce, who is from San Diego, California, crossed the finish line just before 11 a.m.

Last year’s winner, David Savard-Gagnon from Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, came in second with a time of 2:29:08.

Oukid Fehti from Saint-Leonard finished third at 2:31:43.

The event, which was broken down into five races – marathon, half-marathon, 10 kilometres, 5 kilometres and 1 kilometre – brought in almost 35,000 runners from 45 countries, a record breaking number.

“It’s just the feeling of crossing the finish line, it makes you want to do it again and again,” said Suna Ekmekcioglu, who has already taken part in the marathon twice.

“It’s an awesome thing to do.”

The course takes runners through Île Ste-Hélène, Île Notre-Dame as well as several Montreal neighbourhoods before ending at the La Fontaine Park.

To celebrate the marathon, twenty local artists are performing live concerts along the various routes, including a show by Sylvain Cossette at the finish line.