Distance runner Yuki Kawauchi and his fiancee Yuko Mizuguchi both prevailed at the Vancouver Marathon on Sunday.
Kawauchi won the men's race in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 1 second, while his soon-to-be wife topped the women's field with a time of 2:41.28.
The pair fell behind their races' respective leaders along Vancouver's scenic, but exposed seawall path with Kawauchi saying on Twitter they each "held on without giving up and were able to come from behind" to win.
Kawauchi crossed the finish line more than 2 minutes ahead of Ethiopia's Feyera Gemeda Dadi while Mizuguchi had a similar buffer over women's second-place finisher, American Autumn Ray.
Before deciding to turn pro after his Boston Marathon triumph last year, Kawauchi had been known as the "citizen runner" due to his time juggling marathon racing and a full-time job with the Saitama prefectural government.
The 32-year-old finished 17th in his Boston defense last month.
