It was a day of triumph for many of the thousands of runners who laced up their sneakers and took to the streets of Toronto on Sunday.

For 7-year-old Owen Derby, who has cerebral palsy, triumph was crossing the finish line after completing the 5-kilometre run with the aid of a walker — his victory sealed with a kiss by his proud mother, Vickie, who also did the run.

With dad, Brent, and younger brother, Brendan, at this side, Owen truly persevered.

“Nobody thought he could do the whole thing,” a tearful, but delighted Vickie Derby told reporters.

PHOTOS: More than 24,000 participated in the marathon

For Fauja Singh, who ran the marathon last year at age 100, triumph was returning to Toronto to complete the 5K race at age 101.

His coaches advised him to take it easy this year, so the U.K. resident opted for the 5K race to allow more people to run alongside him and to thank them for supporting him last year.

And for Ed Whitlock, triumph was setting a new world record for the fastest time for an 81-year-old when he crossed the finish line at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

From a technical standpoint, Whitlock may not have run his best race. He admitted he started quickly and began to fade midway through. But with a time of 3:30:28.4, he has plenty to celebrate. The previous record for an 81-year-old was 3:47:04.

Whitlock, who lives in Milton but grew up in London, England, says he races against the clock more than he does against others. Nevertheless, he still gets a lift when he leaves other runners behind.

“It’s always an ego boost when you pass people,” he said. “Unfortunately today, there were a hell of a lot more people passing me than I was passing them,” he added with a laugh.

Whitlock finished 407th out of a field of roughly 4,500 runners.

Two Canadian runners vying to break a 27-year-old national record for the fastest women’s marathon time weren’t able to complete the feat.

Krista DuChene of Brantford finished the race in fourth with a time of 2:32:15.4. Though a nagging hip injury slowed her down, she said she was happy with the race she ran.

“I was hurtin’, but that’s a marathon,” said the 35-year-old runner.

Lanni Marchant, the other woman thought to have a shot at breaking the record, did not finish the race.

The record, 2:28.36, was set in 1985 by Silvia Ruegger, who is still a runner.

Mary Davies of New Zealand crossed the finish line first in the women’s marathon event with a time of 2:28:56.6. Davies beat out top contender Agnes Kiprop of Kenya, who finished in second, and Radiya Adilo of Ethiopia, who placed third.

Betona Warga of Ethiopia won the men’s race with a time of 2:10:35.8, followed by Kiplimo Kimutai in second and John Kiprotich in third, both from Kenya.

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Matt Loiselle was the top Canadian finisher, in seventh place with a time of 2:16:23.7.

More than 24,000 runners took part in the race, which features distances of 5K, 21.1 kilometres (a half marathon) or 42.2 kilometres (a full marathon).

With files from Steve Russell