Rick Mannen

Inducted 1987 – Athlete, Athletics

Marathon runner Rick Mannen became an Inductee into the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition in 1987 in the athlete category. “It’s definitely one of the highlights of my running career,” Mannen told the Brantford Expositor upon his induction. “Knowing that I have worked very hard, it’s gratifying to be recognized today.”

View the interview with Rick Mannen.

Throughout his youth in the 1970s, Mannen ran shorter distances, including the 100, 400 and 800-metre events. The longtime Brantford Track and Field Club member and Pauline Johnson Collegiate graduate began training for longer distances in 1978.

At the close of the decade, Mannen showed signs of things to come in longer distances when he finished second at the Durham 13.1-mile half-marathon in Oshawa. Mannen then completed the 1978 Skylon International Marathon from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, New York, in two hours, 49 minutes and that qualified him for the 1979 Boston Marathon, where his time of 2:33 placed him 430th out of more than 8,000 competitors. In 1980, Mannen improved his marathon time to 2:27 at the Ottawa Marathon. 

Mannen ran some shorter 10- and 20-kilometre events after that due to nagging injuries but in 1982 he competed in a marathon in Toronto, finishing 51st in a field of almost 3,000 in a time of 2:39.

He then broke through in 1984 by winning the Skylon International Marathon in a blistering time of 2:19:40.

After that, he was second at the 1986 National Capital Marathon in Ottawa in 2:21:38 before winning the 1986 Toronto Wang International Marathon in 2:19:53 with more than 2,000 runners competing while claiming the Ontario Marathon Championship.

Arguably his most impressive performance was at the Hong Kong Marathon in 1987 when he beat an international field as an underdog by crossing the finish line in 2:20:51.

All told, Mannen won seven international marathons while also competing for Canada at the World Cup Marathon Championship in Seoul, South Korea, and at the Pan Pacific Marathon Championships in Long Beach, California.

Mannen’s biggest challenge in the marathon when he began was the distance but over time he became a world class athlete by getting as much out of himself as he could.

“You push yourself to the limit and hopefully you don’t go over the limit.”
- Rick Mannen

List of accomplishments:

• Inducted into Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition in 1987.
• Royal Canadian Legion District B long jump champion in 1973.
• Member of Brantford Track and Field Club team of four which broke the Canadian record for the under 18 - 4 x 800m relay in 1973.
• Race director for Tom Longboat Memorial 10-kilometre road race in 1981, bringing back race after it was dormant since 1970.
• 1982 captured the 17th annual Brantford YM-YWCA Boston Mini-Marathon completing the 11.2-mile race in 1:02:43.
• 1984 Skylon Marathon winner, 2:19:40.
• 1984 won The Expositor Trophy as Brant County’s outstanding track and field athlete.
• Mid 1980’s – 1990, Race director Brantford Rotary Classic Runs.
• 1985 was named Brantford’s Sportsperson of the Year.
• 1986 Toronto Wang International Marathon winner, 2:19:53.
• 1986 Ontario Provincial Marathon Champion.
• 1987 Hong Kong Marathon winner, 2:20:51.
• Members of Canadian team at World Cup Marathon Championship. and Pan Pacific Marathon Championship.
• Completed more than 60 marathons in his career, winning seven.