Running News Daily

Chris Balestrini: Run Your Way, for the Canadian 50K record holder, running is a reward at the end of a challenging day

Chris Balestrini does it all: trail running, road running and track running. “Pretty much all types of running,” he laughs. “I guess I could say, I’m an outdoor enthusiast.” That downplays his accomplishments: Balestrini is a New Balance-sponsored athlete who holds the Canadian 50-kilometer record, but also runs a smoking fast 10K (29:22). He just finished second at the Vancouver Marathon. And he’s getting his PhD while training as a pro athlete.

“My first memory of running was Grade 3 cross country,” he says. “I remember I wanted to be on the team because all my friends were on the team. I absolutely did not love running at that point.”

A stress fracture early in his high school running career led him to cycling, and he grew to love life on two wheels. But the time commitment for being a pro cyclist was too much once he entered university, so he made the shift back to cross-country running. The engine he built from cycling and the strength built from a few years off to let his bones recover and develop allowed him to make the cross-country team at Western University (but just barely); then he was off and running.

“From there, my love of running kind of came back and grew,” Balestrini says. “I realized that, maybe if I keep if I keep pursuing this, I can do something positive with it.”

Running even lends itself to chasing a doctorate degree, he says: “With running, there’s quite a bit of flexibility in training, when you’re doing experiments and when you’re writing,” he says. “You can find those nice parts of the day to get out and run, compared to when I was in medical school, and it was much more time-consuming. Then, it was harder to fit in training. Sometimes we’re sleeping at the hospital two to three nights a week, and working quite often. So you really have to prioritize running to make it happen. Luckily, I always viewed running as the the treat at end of the day, not something I had to do. That helped my mental health and my energy levels in the hospital. Viewing running as a reward makes a big difference in your outlook.”

He was good at short distances, but as a cyclist, longer durations were intriguing—and that’s where the 50k came in. “From my background in road cycling, the races were always longer than two and a half hours, which is the marathon time,” he says. “I naturally looked at the trails and got my feet a little wet going into the 50K races, then started looking at the 50-milers. The Squamish 50 miler was my debut in that distance last summer and I enjoyed being out all day. I enjoy the more the undulating terrain and not knowing exactly if you’re on pace. On the road, you have splits every kilometer and you have a more strict race plan. If you’re falling off, then it might be a bad day. But on the trails, you can have a bad 10 kilometers and then come back in the next stretch. And I think that really appealed to me, because it’s more of a long-term battle within your body, and also your mind, as well as with the competitors on the course.”

“When I’m looking for a race, I typically want it to be competitive,” he adds. “I want to be able to have not only the course push me, but to have competitors push me too, to explore those deep dark places within yourself.”

“I think “run your way” means to run any surface, any distance, and just go out and put forth your best effort,” Balestrini says. “In the last five years, I’ve raced a 1,500m on the track. I’ve raced marathons. I’ve raced 50-milers on the trails. And when I when I think about those events, I’ve gained experience and I’ve gained happiness. I think it’s important to not pigeonhole yourself into to one event or one distance, or even one type of running, and to just explore everything that running has to offer.”

(05/24/2024) Views: 387 ⚡AMP
by Molly Hurford

Mississauga runner Sergio Raez wins BMO Vancouver Marathon

For the first time since 2022, a Canadian runner has won the BMO Vancouver Marathon. After finishing third last year, Sergio Raez Villanueva of Mississauga, Ont., broke the tape in Vancouver on Sunday with a time of 2:22:45, marking the fastest time ever by a Canadian on the course.

It was a weekend to remember for Raez Villanueva, who chalked up his first career marathon win, which happened to be the morning after he saved another elite marathoner from choking.

Raez Villanueva told Canadian Running he had to perform the Heimlich maneuver. “He was choking on some food, and it helped,” says Raez Villanueva. “The experience left me very shaky afterward, but I guess that extra adrenaline translated well for the marathon.”

Raez Villanueva ran with McMaster University during his collegiate career and made the move up to the marathon in 2022, with a 10th place finish at the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2:18:04, which still stands as his personal best. Raez Villanueva returned to Toronto this past year, finishing as the third Canadian in 2:20:48.

Finishing behind Raez Villanueva for second on Sunday was Chris Balestrini of London, Ont., in 2:23:53. Matthew Neumann of Canmore, Alta., rounded out the podium with a time of 2:24:46.

The women’s race saw two international athletes cross the finish line in first and second. Argentina Valdepeñas of Guadalupe, Mexico, won the women’s marathon by nearly a minute over Kate Landau of Tacoma, Wash., in 2:39:38. Landau crossed the finish line exactly 56 seconds later for a time of 2:40:35. Vancouver’s own Emily Andrews rounded out the top three with a time of 2:45:02.

More than 23,000 participants gathered for the annual event starting in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park and finishing in the downtown Coal Harbour neighbourhood. Participants for this year’s race ranged from seasoned athletes to first-time marathoners, and collectively raised more than $360,000 for charity via the RUN4HOPE program.

(05/07/2024) Views: 502 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

BMO Vancouver Marathon delayed by ‘suspicious device’ on course

Vancouver’s 50th BMO Marathon got off to a rocky start Sunday morning when the event was delayed due to a suspicious device found along the course near Science World. CTV News reports that Vancouver police feel “the device was ‘strategically placed’ to disrupt the BMO Vancouver Marathon Sunday morning, but has been ‘rendered inert.'” Due to the incident, the race started an hour behind schedule.

Police think the device, which was spotted just after 5 a.m. by a volunteer, was planted to cause panic and disrupt the event. 

Thankfully, it was a false alarm and the 18,500 runners were able to race safely. 

In elite results, Chris Balestrini took the win for the men in 2:23:56. On the women’s side, 2020 Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky won in a new course record of 2:34:30, surpassing Kim Doerksen’s 2:37:00 from 2014. Also under the former record was 2016 Olympian Lanni Marchant, who was second in 2:36:42. Post-race, Pidhoresky said, “It was a bit of a rollercoaster, mentally. Lanni and I were together for most of the first half of the race. She’s a tough competitor, so in no way did I ever think that I had it in the bag. I was working hard the whole time.”

Of his win, Balestrini mentioned the incredible views: “It’s so scenic and so fun. Going along the seawall is just amazing.”

In the half-marathon, Justin Kent and Olympian Ben Preisner crossed the finish line together in 1:04:54. Preisner, who was the top Canadian performer in the men’s marathon in Tokyo, has run consistently well since his first Games.

Post-race, Kent said he’s thrilled to see the running community back together: “It’s always a top-notch event. I heard that there are 3,000 volunteers–it’s amazing–we are super appreciative just to be here.”

In the women’s race, 2:28 marathoner Leslie Sexton continued her winning streak, taking the title in 1:14:56. Sexton, who has currently run the fastest marathon time within the qualifying period, has her eye on the World Championships marathon this summer. Olympian Natasha Wodak was also entered in the half on Sunday, but this time in the role of pacer. She helped her friend Julie Pelly to a personal best of 1:30.

(05/03/2022) Views: 1,445 ⚡AMP

Chris Balestrini and Krista DuChene break Canadian 50K records

On a hot, sunny morning in Hamilton, Ont., Chris Balestrini and Krista DuChene ran a blazing-fast 50K, both setting new Canadian records of 2:48:32 and 3:22:22, respectively. Both athletes took several minutes off the previous Canadian records, proving that a little early summer heat wasn’t going to get in their way.

Balestrini’s run improves on Cal Neff’s 50K record by nearly three minutes, which he set earlier this year in Texas in 2:51:27.

Prior to the run, Balestrini told us he was confident he could outdo Neff’s record-setting pace of 3:26 per kilometer, which he did handily, holding an average pace of 3:25 per kilometer. Balestrini is a 2:17 marathoner, but this was his first official ultramarathon.

On the women’s side, DuChene shattered the previous Canadian record set by Catrin Jones in 2015 at the IAU 50K World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where she ran 3:28:20. Duchene’s 3:22 lowers that record by an incredible six minutes, making her average pace per kilometer 4:02 for the win.

This was DuChene’s second ultra of her career, having run a 54 kilometer trail race last fall. That run, she told us, gave her confidence knowing that she’d already completed the distance once before.

There have been no official results posted yet, so currently there is no news of how Phil Parrot-Migas or Rachel Hannah finished.

(05/21/2021) Views: 1,222 ⚡AMP
by Brittany Hambleton

Allie Kieffer won the Toronto Waterfront Half as she gets ready for the New York Marathon

Allie Kieffer won the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon Sunday clocking 1:12:44. Kieffer made a name for herself when she was the second American woman to cross the finish line at the 2017 New York City Marathon. After New York she trained in Kenya for seven weeks racking up 110 miles per week. Kieffer will be running the New York Marathon again in a couple of weeks. She most likely used her race in Toronto as a tune-up for New York. Second place female went to Reneta Plis in 1:13:58, and third place to Claire Sumner in 1:14:24. In the men’s race Will Norris took the win in 1:05:30, followed by Chris Balestrini in 1:05:47 and third place went to Lee Wesselius 1:07:21. The highlighted event was the marathon. Kenya’s Benson Kipruto, 27, was the overall winner clocking 2:07:21, with Mimi Belete of Bahrain winning the women’s marathon and breaking the course record of 2:22:43.  Cam Levins set a new Canadian's national record clocking 2:09:22.    (10/23/2018) Views: 1,732 ⚡AMP