Running News Daily

Natasha Wodak returns to Ottawa in search of a three-peat

For the past nine years, the last weekend of May has been a significant date on the calendar for many of Canada’s top distance runners, who head to Ottawa to battle it out on the roads for the Canadian 10K Championship. Last year, Moh Ahmed came close to beating Ben Flanagan’s national record on the banks of the Rideau Canal, surging past Canadian record holder Cam Levins in the final kilometre to win his first national title on the roads.

Two-time Olympian Natasha Wodak dominated from gun to tape to win her second consecutive title on the women’s side. Now, Wodak is aiming for a third straight Canadian 10K title, which would put her in a league of her own and make her the only woman to three-peat in championship history.

Wodak is coming off her third marathon build in the last 12 months. Four weeks ago, she took her final shot at the Paris Olympic standard of 2:26:50 (at the Hamburg Marathon), but came up three and a half minutes shy. After a few days off, Wodak returned to training in hopes of winning her third consecutive 10K title. “It feels like my training for this has been brief,” laughs Wodak. “I’m hoping there’s some residual fitness in the legs.”

The Canadian record holder in the marathon has competed at the last seven editions of the 10K and won on four occasions. “It’s our national championships and I come here every year to compete,” says Wodak. “I have no false expectations of winning, but I know I’ll fight hard for a top-five spot.”

The women’s field this year is deeper than it has been in recent years, with (soon-to-be) three-time Canadian Olympian Malindi Elmore also dropping down in distance to challenge Wodak for the national title. Elmore made it clear at Friday’s press conference that she’ll be racing on a full week’s training load and using the race to kick off the next stage of her Olympic marathon build.

Outside of Elmore and Wodak, former national champion Lanni Marchant returns to Ottawa, coming off a solid performance at the Night of the 10,000m PBs in London last weekend, where she ran 33:24. Marchant last won here in Ottawa in 2016. Eliyah Brawdy of Smithers, B.C., could also be a surprise winner. Two weeks ago in Coquitlam, B.C., Brawdy won her first national title over 10,000m (on the track), clocking an impressive 33:37.

Rory Linkletter vs. Ben Flanagan

Calgary’s Rory Linkletter had two goals for his 2024 season, and he’s already accomplished one of them: punching his ticket to the Paris Olympic Games (his second Olympics). Now, he aims to achieve his second goal: winning his first career Canadian national title. Linkletter came close two weeks ago at the Canadian 10,000m Championships in B.C., finishing second to Toronto’s Andrew Alexander in a wild sprint finish, but now he’ll get that chance once again on Saturday night in Ottawa, with only a few men standing in his way—including one of Canada’s best road racers and the 10K record holder, Ben Flanagan.

These two men know each other very well, having competed against one another for the last 10 years (dating back to their collegiate days in the NCAA). Being just one year apart in age, their careers have taken different paths. Flanagan has racked up several national titles over 5K and 10K and found success on the track over 5,000m. In contrast, Linkletter jumped up to the marathon, lowering his personal best by eight minutes since his debut in 2019. “The Ottawa 10K will be a good test of where I’m at,” says Linkletter. “I look forward to racing more than anything, and I love doing it—I always want to win.”

Flanagan has won the Ottawa 10K in his last two appearances and dominated the race from start to finish when he won two years ago in 28:39. “This is my first road race of the season before gearing up for the Canadian Olympic Trials,” says Flanagan. “I’m excited and eager to see where my fitness is at. I want to put on a show.”

(05/25/2024) Views: 498 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Moh Ahmed withdraws from Houston Half Marathon due to hamstring injury

Moh Ahmed’s debut in the half-marathon will have to wait. He has withdrawn from this Sunday’s Aramco Houston Half Marathon after suffering a hamstring injury in his final tune-up workout.

“I am regretfully withdrawing from the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. In my final tune-up workout on Wednesday, I tweaked my hamstring/hip flexor a bit, such that my coach, Jerry Schumacher, and I felt it would be unwise to line up on Sunday,” said Ahmed in a statement Thursday.

Ahmed’s half-marathon debut was highly anticipated, given his Canadian records in the 5,000m and 10,000m on the track. He is the only Canadian distance runner to have medalled in the men’s 5,000m event at an Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020).

“After a great few months of training, I was really looking forward to testing myself over the streets of Houston against a great field, but it will have to wait until next year,” said Ahmed. Outside of a few local road races and winning the Canadian men’s 10K title last year, he has not raced the 21.1 or 42.2 km distance.

Rory Linkletter will be the lone Canadian athlete in the men’s elite half-marathon field. Linkletter is racing in Houston in preparation for the Sevilla Marathon on Feb. 18, aiming for the Olympic standard of 2:08:10. His personal best of 61:08 was set at this race in 2022 (a Canadian national record at the time). Ljnkletter’s PB is only 50 seconds behind the Canadian half marathon record of 60:18 held by Cam Levins.

Despite Ahmed’s withdrawal, there will still be a large Canadian presence in Houston. Four athletes will be chasing their Olympic dreams in the marathon. Leslie Sexton, 2016 Olympian Lanni Marchant, and Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak will all have their goals on the women’s Olympic standard of 2:26:50, with two spots still open for Paris 2024.

On the men’s side, Tristan Woodfine from Cobden, Ont, returns to the marathon looking to break his personal best of 2:10:51, set three years ago at the London Marathon. The men’s Olympic standard for Paris is 2:08:10.

(01/12/2024) Views: 475 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Four Canadian runners to chase Olympic dreams at Houston Marathon

As the 2024 Houston Marathon Weekend approaches, the spotlight is not only on the highly anticipated half-marathon debut of Canada’s Moh Ahmed, but also on the intense competition among four Canadian marathoners aiming to earn the Olympic qualifying standard for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Wodak eyes Olympic standard

Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak leads a strong Canadian contingent in Houston, all chasing the Olympic A standard of 2:26:50. Former national team athletes Leslie Sexton and Lanni Marchant will also be vying for the two available spots on the women’s marathon team.

Wodak holds the fastest Canadian women’s time in the last two years, but her Canadian record of 2:23:12 from the 2022 Berlin Marathon was outside the Olympic qualifying window. Wodak took another shot at achieving the time at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, but warm conditions and a tactical race prevented her from earning a spot in Paris (she finished in the top 15, in  2:30:09).

Sexton returns to the marathon after a break from the distance of a year and a half. Sexton ran 2:28 twice in a 10-month period, winning the 2021 Philadelphia Marathon and finishing as the top Canadian at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. ((she finished 13th). With a best of 2:28:35, she would need to shake off almost two minutes to solidify her spot in Paris. But the fast Houston course (which she has raced before) could provide what she needs.

Also returning to the marathon after a long hiatus is 2016 Olympian Lanni Marchant. The London, Ont., native holds a personal best of 2:28:00 from Toronto in 2013, but there are a lot of questions around her fitness, after racing only twice in 2023. Marchant would need a career-best performance to earn her a spot on the Canadian Olympic team for 2024.

Malindi Elmore of Kelowna, B.C., is the only Canadian woman to have achieved the Olympic standard of 2:26:50 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Elmore was also the top North American female finisher in 2:23:30, achieving an 80-second personal best.

Ontario’s Tristan Woodfine takes another shot

After thinking he had a spot on the Canadian Olympic team for Tokyo, then having it taken from him in the final week of qualifying by Cam Levins and Athletics Canada, Tristan Woodfine is heading to Houston for another shot at his dream of being on Team Canada for the Olympics. Woodfine’s personal best came on a cold and wet day at the 2020 London Marathon, clocking 2:10:51. Since 2020, he has had his struggles with the marathon distance and beating that mark.

After tough luck with the heat and his stomach at the 2022 Ottawa Marathon, Woodfine switched coaches and spent most of the 2023 season building his speed on the roads. He recorded personal bests of 14:05 for 5K and 29:06 for 10K. Only two Canadian men have ever broken 2:10 in the marathon: Trevor Hofbauer and Levins.

Levins cemented his spot on the Canadian Olympic team for Paris at his record-setting run at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. To this day, he is the only Canadian marathoner to have run under the men’s Olympic A standard of 2:08:10. (He also did so at the 2022 World Championships.)

How to follow

The 2024 Chevron Houston Marathon is scheduled for Jan. 14. It is one of the fastest marathon courses in North America; in 2020, Elmore set the previous Canadian marathon record of 2:24:50 there. The last Canadian marathoner to win the Houston Marathon was Mississauga’s Peter Fonseca, who ran 2:11:52 for the win in 1995.

(01/09/2024) Views: 518 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

For Mother's Day, Krista DuChene reflects on balancing the marathon and motherhood

This Mother’s Day, we present a new video about retired 2016 Olympian, Boston Marathon podium finisher and Canadian 50K record holder Krista DuChene entitled “Seven Years Later,” in which the Marathon Mom reflects on a career spent balancing running and motherhood.

“Well, the one thing that’s the same is that I’m still making pancakes every day for the kids,” DuChene laughs, while commenting that her kids are a lot bigger now. (She and her husband have two sons and a daughter–Micah, Seth and Leah–ranging in age from 17 to 12).

DuChene commented in the earlier video that she got faster after each baby; it was only after she’d had her kids that she competed as an elite runner. 

At the Montreal Half-marathon in 2014, the Brantford, Ont. runner suffered a fracture in her femur and had to be carried from the course by Canada Running Series’s Alan Brookes. Less than a year later, she returned to racing and qualified for the 2016 Olympic team in Rio, along with Lanni Marchant. Her six Abbott World Marathon Majors, including a third-place finish at the 2018 Boston Marathon, also came after her injury, which could have ended her career.

On one of the nastiest days the Boston Marathon has ever seen, no one was more shocked than DuChene herself to find that she had reached the podium. “Knowing what the weather was going to be like was definitely an advantage to me, because it was going to be cold and wet and rainy and snowy, and I think there was even hail at the start,” she says in the video. “And it was an excellent opportunity for me to go out there and prove that I could be tough in those conditions, when many people dropped out of the course … It wasn’t until I saw it on someone’s phone, in writing, that I believed it! That was a pretty special moment.”

Another was the day she broke the Canadian 50K record in Hamilton in 2021. The pandemic was in full force, and DuChene says the enforced isolation took a toll on a lot of kids, including her daughter, Leah, who was overcome with emotion when her mom crossed the finish line. “I held her shoulders, and I’m like, we did it, we did it!” says DuChene. “I really felt like she was part of that moment with me.”

DuChene’s last marathon was the 2023 Tokyo Marathon on March 5, where Cam Levins set the Canadian marathon record for the third time. DuChene also broke a Canadian masters record in that race, lowering the mark for women age 45 by more than a minute (2:38:53). It was a great way to end a stellar career–one that means as much to her family as it does to her.

(05/14/2023) Views: 848 ⚡AMP
by Running Magazine

Expect an Ethiopian Flavor For Sunday's 50th Honolulu Marathon

After a marathon journey to get to Hawaii, a quartet of Ethiopian runners are looking forward to making the most of their first visit to the Aloha State. The group of athletes, coached by Yirefew Birhanu Derb, will line up Sunday before dawn for the 50th running of the Honolulu Marathon, America's fourth-largest marathon. The race features a more robust elite athlete roster following last year's slimmed down line-up coming off the pandemic.

Shifera Tamru and Asefa Mengstu lead the men's elite field, while Abebech Afework and Bere Ayalew are the top entrants in the women's division. After a trip that required more than 21 hours of air travel across multiple flights --from their home base in Addis Ababa to Frankfurt, then Los Angeles before reaching Honolulu-- they arrived late Wednesday. They immediately popped into a McDonald's for dinner, and have been getting acclimated to the local time zone, 13 hours behind Ethiopia.

They were all very happy to be invited to this race because they know it's a very good marathon," Coach Derb told Race Results Weekly during a photo shoot for the athletes on Waikiki Beach. "They are looking forward to racing and happy to have the chance to visit Hawaii."

Tamru, 24, is coming off October  Chicago Marathon, where he clocked 2:07:53 to finish fifth for the second consecutive year. He says that he has recovered well and is ready to go for Sunday. He has won three marathons in his career, all in South Korea: Chunchon in 2018, Seoul in 2019 and Daegu this past April. His personal best of 2:05:18 came at the Dubai Marathon in 2019.

The more experienced Mengstu --who represented Ethiopia as far back as the 2010 IAAF Half Marathon Championships-- has a resume with 13 marathon finishes, including the 2018 Dubai Marathon, where ran his lifetime best of 2:04:06. His most recent race was eight months ago, so he should be well rested. "I'm happy to be here and I'm expecting to win the race on Sunday," he said with a quiet smile as the athletes posed for photographs and chatted with the media.

The two men work well together in training, Derb says. But on Sunday, he points out, "it must be a competition." In addition to each other, they will have to watch out for a strong Kenyan, 36-year-old Barnabas Kiptum, who has a personal best of 2:04:17 (Milan, 2021). He dropped out of the Chicago Marathon this fall, but in July he proved he is still a contender by placing 15th at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. Stanley Biwott, the 2015 New York City Marathon champion with a 2:03:51 personal best, had planned to run here but scratched.

The women race is likely to come down to a duel between Afework and Ayalew. Like their male teammates, they also have a strong friendship and symbiotic relationship. "They are happy when they are training together, and they can help each other when they compete," Derb said.

Afework, 31, is by far the more seasoned of the two. Her international racing career dates back to the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she placed 18th. She has 20 marathon finishes to her name, and a personal best of 2:23:33 from Dubai in 2015. "I have a lot of experiences from other races and I'm expecting to use that previous experience to run well on Sunday," said Afework, who is coming off a DNF in October's Lisbon Marathon.

The 23-year-old Ayalew is a comparative novice, with four marathons in the books, but each one has been progressively faster. The most recent, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in October, resulted in her quickest time yet (2:22:52). "My training has been good and I expect to show that on Sunday," she said.

The women's field also includes Canadian Olympian Lanni Marchant, who won this race a year ago on a short recovery from the New York City Marathon, and Japanese veteran Mai Ito (2:24:42 PB).

Should weather conditions cooperate --it's been very windy the last several days-- both the men's and women's course records could be in play. Titus Ekiru of Kenya holds the men's standard of 2:08:00 from 2019, while his compatriot Brigid Kosgei clocked 2:22:15 in 2017. (Kosgei set the current world record of 2:14:04 two years later.) Prize money will be paid three deep: $25,000-10,000-5,000.

The forecast for Sunday morning calls for a temperature of 74F/23C when the gun goes off at 5 a.m. Most of the race will be run in the dark, as the sun will rise just before 7 a.m. on race day.

(12/10/2022) Views: 939 ⚡AMP
by Runners Web

Ethiopians And Kenyans Lead Elite Field at Historic 50th Honolulu Marathon

Athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya lead the elite field for the historic 50th edition of the Honolulu Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, December 11. Founded in 1973, and historically one of the five largest marathons in the United States based on finishers, this year's race will have its first full elite athletes program since 2019, paying prize money three-deep for both men and women: $25,000-10,000-5,000. The race will be run on its traditional course starting at Ala Moana Beach Park, making a loop through Downtown, wrapping around Diamond Head, going out along the Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai, then returning to Waikiki to finish in Kapiolani Park just after sunrise.

The race was held virtually in 2020 because of the pandemic, and had only a limited elite athlete program in 2021. Organizers are excited to have athletes this year who are strong enough to challenge the course records which were both set by Kenyans: 2:08:00 (2:07:59.02) by Titus Ekiru in 2019 and 2:22:15 by now world record holder Brigid Kosgei in 2017.

"We are excited to welcome top professional athletes to attack our incredible course records for the 50th anniversary race," said Honolulu Marathon Association President Dr. Jim Barahal. "At its core the Honolulu Marathon is an athletic competition, whether against others or against oneself, and we are excited to see what transpires on December 11."

Shifera Tamru is the leading entrant from Ethiopia. The 24 year-old has a personal best of 2:05:18 (Dubai, 2019) and has three marathon wins and five podium finishes in eight starts. He won the 2022 Daegu Marathon in Korea last April in 2:06:31, and was most recently fifth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October in 2:07:53. He'll be running the Honolulu Marathon for the first time.

His top rival is likely to be the Kenyan veteran Stanley Biwott, the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon champion who has a personal best of 2:03:51 (London 2016). Biwott, 36, has not completed a marathon since 2018 when he was fourth at the Abu Dhabi Marathon. He returned to racing after a long layoff earlier this year, clocking a 1:01:57 half-marathon in Padova, Italy. He has completed a total of 13 career marathons with four wins and eight podium finishes. Like Tamru, this will be his first run in Honolulu.

The other top contenders on the men's side are Asefa Mengstu of Ethiopia (2:04:06 personal best, Dubai, 2018) and Barnabas Kiptum of Kenya (2:04:17, Milano, 2021). Both men are veterans. Mengstu has completed 13 career marathons with 4 wins and 7 podium finishes. Kiptum has completed 18 marathons in 20 starts with 3 wins and 13 podium finishes. Neither man has ever run the Honolulu Marathon.

Two strong Ethiopian athletes lead the women's field. Abebech Afework (2:23:33 personal best, Dubai, 2015) and Bere Ayalew (2:22:52, Eindhoven, 2022) will both be making their Honolulu Marathon debuts. Afework, 31, is the more experienced athlete. She has completed 20 marathons in 21 starts, and has racked up three wins and seven podium finishes. She is coming back from a DNF at the Lisbon Marathon in October. Ayalew, 23, has only run four marathons. However, she's made the podium at all four including a second place finish at the Eindhoven Marathon in October of this year where she ran her personal best. Both athletes will be making their Honolulu Marathon debuts.

Reigning Honolulu Marathon champion, Lanni Marchant of Canada, is also in the field. The 38 year-old, who ran both the 10,000m and the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics, won last year's race in 2:41:25 on very limited training after finishing 11th at the TCS New York City Marathon a month before In her long marathon career, which began in 2011, Marchant has completed 15 marathons and made the podium three times. A criminal appeal lawyer based in Denver, she is the former Canadian record holder with a 2:28:00 personal best.

"It was a struggle out there," Marchant said after last year's race. "I dehydrated quick. Those last few miles I really had to find my purpose for running. I just got myself across the finish line."

Rounding out the elite field is Mai Ito of Japan. The 38 year-old --who competed in the 2016 Olympic Marathon and both the 2011 and 2015 World Championships Marathons-- has completed all 15 marathons she has started. Her personal best of 2:24:42 was set in Nagoya in 2015. This will be her first run ever at the Honolulu Marathon.

(12/02/2022) Views: 913 ⚡AMP
by David Monti

Kenyan marathoner Emmanuel Saina faces three-year doping ban

One of Kenya’s top marathon-distance athletes, Emmanuel Saina, has been sanctioned with a three-year ban from competition for doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced Monday.

With a marathon PB of 2:05:21 from the 2018 Buenos Aires International Marathon (where he also set the South American all-comers record), Saina was the 16th fastest marathon runner in the world that year, and when he last ran officially at the 2021 Rotterdam Marathon his 2:05:51 finish placed him 40th in the world. Saina won the 2021 Honolulu Marathon in 2:14:30, in race that featured Canadian Olympian Lanni Marchant taking the win on the women’s side.

The AIU requested an out-of-competition sample from the athlete in late August, resulting in a positive test for 19-norandrosterone (19-NA), a metabolite contained in nandrolone.

In early September,  the AIU notified Saina of the findings of his sample and his violation of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules. Saina was also informed of his rights in this situation, which includes the option of admitting to the violation and benefiting from a one-year reduction to his automatic four-year sentence. The AIU received a form of admission and acceptance of consequences signed by Saina on Sept. 17.

Because of Saina’s early admission, his sentence will receive a one-year reduction, resulting in a period of ineligibility of three years beginning Sept. 9, 2022, and the disqualification of his results since Aug. 17, 2022, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points prizes and appearance money. Saina waived his right to have a tribunal or to appeal.

The performance-enhancing nandrolone is also what former American Olympian Shelby Houlihan was sanctioned for in 2021. Houlihan contested her ban, arguing that the substance came from pig offal contained in a burrito she ate the day before her out-of-competition test.

The CAS did not accept her explanation and upheld the AIU’s charge. Houlihan also submitted a hair test and a lie detector test, both supporting her innocence, but these were found to be inadequate.

(09/28/2022) Views: 1,023 ⚡AMP
by Keeley Milne

Boston Marathon Champions & National Record Holders Headline Professional Field for 2022 B.A.A. 10K

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced a star-studded field for the 2022 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to be held on Sunday, June 26. Evans Chebet, the 2022 Boston Marathon men’s open division champion, will return to Boston, while recently crowned American half marathon record holder Emily Sisson will lead the women’s field on the roads of Back Bay. Four-time B.A.A. 5K champion and American 5K record holder Ben True will also make his B.A.A. 10K debut.

The B.A.A. 10K starts and finishes on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common and Boston Public Garden, and is widely regarded as one of the fastest 10K races in the world. Registration remains open at www.baa.org, while athletes interested in supporting Brigham and Women's Hospital, the B.A.A. 10K’s presenting sponsor and exclusive fundraising partner, are encouraged to visit www.runbwh.org/10k.

“We’re excited to continue to showcase the world’s most accomplished runners at our B.A.A. events,” said Mary Kate Shea, the B.A.A.’s Director of Professional Athletes and Technical Support. “We’re looking forward to cheering on all participants as they race towards the finish.”

The B.A.A. 10K women’s race brings together Boston Marathon champions Des Linden (2018) and Edna Kiplagat (2017), American record holder Sisson, 2017 B.A.A. 10K winner Joan Chelimo Melly, 2022 Boston Marathon top American Nell Rojas, 2016 USA Olympian Marielle Hall, and USA 15K runner-up Emily Durgin.

Sisson, a Providence College graduate and 2021 Olympian, ran 1:07:11 on May 7 to win the USATF Half Marathon Championships in a new national record. She’s also the defending USA 15K champion.

“Breaking the American record in the half marathon was very exciting and I'm now looking forward to switching things up and racing different distances,” said Sisson. “The 10K is a fun and different challenge and I always love racing in Boston.”

Additional international entrants include Biruktayit Degefa of Ethiopia, who has won a quartet of American road races this spring, and Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, who placed third at the 2022 B.A.A. 5K in April. From the B.A.A. High Performance team are Erika Kemp and Abbey Wheeler; Kemp is a two-time national champion.

In the men’s race, Chebet looks to become only the second Boston Marathon champion to win the B.A.A. 10K, joining the likes of 2011 winner and course record holder Geoffrey Mutai. Chebet stormed to his first Boston Marathon victory in 2:06:51 on April 18.

“After winning the 2022 Boston Marathon, I’m excited to return to the city to run the B.A.A. 10K with a world class field,” said Chebet. “Boston feels like a second home to me now.”

Challenging Chebet from Kenya are David Bett, the reigning 2019 B.A.A. 10K winner; Kennedy Kimutai, the fastest man in the field with a 27:09 lifetime best; Bravin Kiptoo, the 2019 African junior 10,000m champion; and Nicholas Kosimbei, winner of this year’s Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington, D.C. Brothers Jake and Zane Robertson, a dynamic pair from New Zealand who have lived and trained in Kenya, will also race. Recent Iowa State graduate and NCAA champion Wesley Kiptoo will make his Boston road racing debut.

Maine-native Ben True will return to familiar territory, having won the B.A.A. 5K four times, including a national-record setting run of 13:20 in 2017.  Fellow American contenders include Olympians Leonard Korir and Shadrack Kipchirchir, Princeton, Mass.-native Colin Bennie, and a quartet of B.A.A. High Performance Team members in Jerrell Mock, Matt McDonald, Jonas Hampton, and Paul Hogan. Korir enters the B.A.A. 10K hot off a pair of national title wins at the USATF Half Marathon and USATF 25K Championships in May.

In the wheelchair division, Jenna Fesemyer, the 2022 B.A.A. 5K women’s winner, Susannah Scaroni, the 2022 Boston Marathon runner-up, and 2020 Paralympian Yen Hoang are entered. Scaroni earned a gold medal on the track at the 2021 Paralympic Games in the 5000m, and is the fastest women’s wheelchair marathoner in U.S. history. James Senbeta and Hermin Garic are the top men’s wheelchair entrants.

For the first time in race history, Para Athletics Divisions will be offered for athletes with upper-limb, lower-limb, and visual impairments. Among the entrants confirmed include Marko Cheseto Lemtukei, Chaz Davis, and Liz Willis, each of whom won Para Division titles at April’s 126th Boston Marathon. Jacky Hunt-Broersma, who ran 104 marathons in 104 consecutive days for a Guinness World Record, and local Para athlete Adrianne Haslet are also entered.

In addition to racing, top professional athletes will participate in the first-ever B.A.A. 10K Fest & Field Day on Saturday, June 25, one day prior to the race. From 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Boston Common, 10K Fest & Field Day will feature youth fitness activities, games, appearances by professional athletes, running clinics, and more. Participants will also be able to pick-up their participant shirts and bib numbers at 10K Fest. Additional details will be available on baa.org in the coming weeks.

Registration for the 2022 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is currently open through the B.A.A.’s online platform Athletes’ Village. All participants who enter will receive an adidas participant shirt, unique bib number, and finisher medal. Additional participant information can be found on baa.org. The race will start at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 26 on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common and Boston Public Garden.

Brigham and Women's Hospital, the B.A.A. 10K’s presenting sponsor and exclusive fundraising partner, will again field a team of fundraising runners. Since 2016, more than 2,100 runners and 180 teams have raised $1.2 million to fuel life-giving breakthroughs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Learn more and register at www.runbwh.org/10k.

On June 1, the B.A.A. will celebrate Global Running Day with a special pop-up location at the Boston Marathon Finish Line between 3:00-6:00 p.m. Runners can take a picture with the Boston Marathon trophy, receive giveaways, refreshments, and more! RSVP for the free event on our Facebook page, and log miles throughout the day as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors Global Running Day Challenge. Visit https://bstnmar.org/GRD22 to sign up for free, track your miles, and print a bib to wear as you join a global community of athletes around the world logging miles.

2022 B.A.A. 10K WOMEN’S FIELD (NAME, COUNTRY, ROAD 10K PB)

Joan Chelimo Melly, Romania, 30:14^

Edna Kiplagat, Kenya, 31:06*

Sharon Lokedi, Kenya, 31:06

Mary Munanu, Kenya, 31:20

Biruktayit Degefa, Ethiopia, 31:23

Emily Sisson, USA, 31:47

Emily Durgin, USA, 31:49

Diane Nukuri, USA, 31:49

Lanni Marchant, Canada, 31:49

Vibian Chepkirui, Kenya, 31:49

Nell Rojas, USA, 31:52

Erika Kemp, USA, 32:18

Laura Thweatt, USA, 32:20

Elaina Tabb, USA, 32:40

Rachel Schneider Smith, USA, 32:47

Abbey Wheeler, USA, DB (32:53.50 10,000m)

Grayson Murphy, USA, 32:55

Fiona O’Keeffe, USA, 32:57

Katie Kellner, USA, 33:05

Des Linden, USA, 33:06*

Taylor Werner, USA, 33:35

Marielle Hall, USA, 33:36 (31:05.71 10,000m)

Allie Hackett, USA, 35:17

Jesca Chelangat, Kenya, DB (15:16 5K)

Courtney Hawkins, USA, DB (37:59.99 10,000m)

^ = Previous B.A.A. 10K Champion

* = Previous Boston Marathon Champion

 

2022 B.A.A. 10K MEN’S FIELD (NAME, COUNTRY, ROAD 10K PB)

Kennedy Kimutai, Kenya, 27:09

Bravin Kiptoo, Kenya, 27:12

Philemon Kiplimo, Kenya, 27:23

Zane Robertson, New Zealand, 27:28

Jake Robertson, New Zealand, 27:28

Wesley Kiptoo, Kenya, N/A (27:37.29 10,000m)

Ben True, USA, 27:51

Nicholas Kosimbei, Kenya, 27:52

John Dressel, USA, N/A (27:57.51 10,000m)

David Bett, Kenya, 28:08^

Dominic Korir, Kenya, 28:08

Leonard Korir, USA, 28:09

Shadrack Kipchirchir, USA, 28:12

David Nilsson, Sweden, 28:13

Tsegay Tuemay, Eritrea, 28:13

Bethwell Yegon, Kenya, 28:24

Reuben Mosip, Kenya, 28:28

Paul Hogan, USA, N/A (28:49.55 10,000m)

Johannes Motschmann, Germany, 28:51

Alex Masai, Kenya, 28:53

Colin Bennie, USA, 28:55

Futsum Zienasellassie, USA, 29:03

Matt McClintock, USA, 29:02

Jacob Thomson, USA, 29:07

John Raneri, USA, 29:19

Evans Chebet, Kenya, 29:30*

Jerrell Mock, USA, 29:36

Aaron Dinzeo, USA, 29:37

Matt McDonald, USA, 29:38

Diego Estrada, USA, 29:41

Fabiano Sulle, Tanzania, 29:53

Jonas Hampton, USA, 30:15

Tim McGowan, USA, 30:17

Connor McMillan, USA, 30:20

Josh Kalapos, USA, N/A (14:33.88 5,000m)

^ = Previous B.A.A. 10K Champion

* = Previous Boston Marathon Champion

 

(06/01/2022) Views: 1,258 ⚡AMP

Ethiopians will be vying for course records at 2022 Tartan Ottawa International Marathon

Ethiopia will again be favored to win when the Ottawa International Marathon returns to an in-person event on Sunday, May 29th.

Indeed, the Ethiopian women are expected to extend their 10-year winning streak as they vye to break the course record (CR) of 2:22:17, set in 2018 by returning champion Geleta Burka. Burka will be challenged by the 2019 defending champion, Tigist Girma, who has since run twice under 2:20

These blistering fast women will be challenged by countrywoman Bruktayit Eshetu who finished 2nd in the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a personal best of 2:22:40 and Juliet Chekwel of Uganda, who recorded a national record of 2:23:13 in her marathon debut two years ago.

Returning to Ottawa will be Lanni Marchant who broke the 28-year-old national record in 2013 by running it in exactly 2:28:00. Marchant will be heading off against Dayna Pidhoreski, the 2019 Canadian marathon champion with a personal best of 2:29:03.

Unprecedented depth of field in the men’s event

On the men’s side, Ottawa’s new Elite Athlete Coordinator Dylan Wykes, a 2012 Canadian Olympian, has assembled an unprecedented depth of field on Canadian soil. No fewer than eight of the men lining up on the start line will be boasting personal bests under 2:08, with three of them having recently run 2:06 or faster. The course record, set by fellow Ethiopian Yemane Tsegaye in 2014 is 2:06:54.

Wykes will be looking for return competitor Adugna Takele (2:05:57) and his fellow Ethiopian competitors Tsegaye Getachew Kebede (2:05:11) and Andualem Belay Shiferaw (2:05:52) to compete for that CR. The Ethiopians could see a fight from Kenyan Alex Kibet who recently won the Berlin Half Marathon with a personal best of 58:55, indicating his preparations are going well.

“It’s been an interesting challenge to build this start list with so little in-person competition over the past two years,” said Dylan Wykes, the Elite Athlete Coordinator. “Based on what we’ve seen recently with these athletes, and with how fast road races have been generally, I think we are quite likely to see some very fast times on May 29th. I can’t wait.”

The top Canadian in the men’s field is Tristan Woodfine, who was 10th in the 2018 Ottawa Marathon and will be seeking a top 10 finish.

(05/05/2022) Views: 1,019 ⚡AMP
by Paul Gains

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: 1,575 ⚡AMP

Fast Fields Set For The Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon

After a special pandemic edition in 2021 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon returns to city streets for the 2022 edition on Sunday, February 27.  The race, part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club (ATC), will feature an elite field, a $17,000 prize money purse, and a $5,000 bonus pool for exceeding the fastest times ever run in the state of Georgia (1:08:29 for women and 1:03:59 for men).

Leading the women’s elite field will be Kenya’s Viola Cheptoo who, when she competed as a middle distance runner for Florida State University in the NCAA system, went by “Viola Lagat.”  The younger sister of two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat will be running her first race since her dramatic marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon last November where she finished a close second to compatriot and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir.  Her time of 2:22:44 was the third-fastest time in race history.  She’ll be incorporating the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon into her Boston Marathon training.

“I am looking forward to it,” said Cheptoo who has never been to Atlanta before.  “I want to do well and build a relationship with the community, as I am aware of all the good work done by Atlanta Track Club.”

Cheptoo, who has a half-marathon best of 1:06:47, will face another strong Kenyan, Dorcas Tuitoek, who has run similarly fast: 1:06:33.  These two woman have an excellent chance of bettering the state record which was set by 2021 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel at last year’s race.

North American athletes will also be represented on the women’s side, including Dakotah Lindwurm of Minnesota Distance Elite (1:09:36 PB), Maegan Krifchin of the Atlanta Track Club (1:09:51), and Canadian Lanni Marchant (1:10:47) a 2016 Olympian and the 2021 Honolulu Marathon champion.

The top entrants on the men’s side are also from Kenya, and both have broken 60 minutes for the half-marathon.  Benard Ngeno (59:07 PB) and Geoffrey Koech (59:36) are the fastest men in the field.  The top North Americans will be Canadian record holder Rory Linkletter (1:01:08 PB), Jonas Hampton of Newtonville, Mass. (1:03:57), and Matthew McDonald of the Boston Athletic Association High Performance team (1:04:48).  McDonald, the tenth place finisher at the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon, formerly trained with the ATC at Georgia Tech.  He now works at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

The complete elite fields are below with personal best times:

Dorcas Tuitoek, KEN, 1:06:41Viola Cheptoo, KEN, 1:06:47Mary Munanu, KEN, 1:07:54Tsige Haileslase, ETH, 1:08:30Daisy Kimeli, KEN, 1:08:34Dakotah Lindwurm, USA, 1:09:36Maegan Krifchin, USA, 1:09:51Ludwina Chepngetich, KEN, 1:10:34Lanni Marchant, CAN, 1:10:47Leslie Sexton, CAN, 1:11:21Bridget Lyons Belyeu, USA, 1:12:24Grace Kahura, KEN, 1:12:49Janel Blanchett, USA, 1:13:43Anne-Marie Comeau, CAN, 1:14:09Joanna Stephens, USA, 1:14:23

Benard Ngeno, KEN, 59:07Geoffrey Koech, KEN, 59:36Raymond Magut, KEN, 1:00:00Bayelign Teshager, ETH, 1:00:30Bethwell Yegon, KEN, 1:00:57Rory Linkletter, CAN, 1:01:08Mike Cheshire, KEN, 1:03:45Jonas Hampton, USA, 1:03:57Matt McDonald, USA, 1:04:48Chris May, USA, 1:04:50Paul Hogan, USA, 2:15:51 (Marathon)

(02/17/2022) Views: 1,533 ⚡AMP
by David Monti

With fewer than 100 days until the Olympics, Canadian athletes are running out of time to qualify for Tokyo.

The end of the qualification period is even closer, and Olympic hopefuls in the marathon only have until May 31 to book their tickets to the Games, which begin just under two months later on July 23. With only two spots officially taken on the Canadian Olympic marathon team, four remain up for grabs, but with racing opportunities becoming more and more scarce, it looks like the team headed to Tokyo could be set. Here’s how the Canadian squad looks right now, plus other athletes on the outside looking in. 

Trevor Hofbauer and Dayna Pidhoresky are the only two Canadian marathoners who have been able to breathe easily in the past 18 months, after they both won at the Canadian Olympic Marathon Trials in Toronto in October 2019. Hofbauer won the men’s race in the second-fastest time in Canadian history, posting a massive PB of 2:09:51. His run, which was well under the Olympic standard of 2:11:30, locked him in as the first member of the Canadian team headed to Tokyo. 

Not long after Hofbauer crossed the finish line, Pidhoresky won her spot alongside him on the Canadian team. Like Hofbauer, she also ran a huge PB, crossing the line ahead of the Olympic standard of 2:29:30 and breaking the tape in 2:29:03. While some athletes have put themselves in great positions to be named to the Olympic team, Pidhoresky and Hofbauer are the only two who know with 100 per cent certainty that they will be in Tokyo this summer. 

Hit standard 

Rachel Cliff was the first Canadian to hit standard in the qualifying period after she broke the Canadian marathon record with a 2:26:56 run in Japan in March 2019. This was more than a minute quicker than the previous national record of 2:28:00 (set by Lanni Marchant in 2013), and at the time, it looked like it was more than enough to guarantee Cliff’s spot on the Canadian Olympic team.

Then Malindi Elmore shattered the national best once more, lowering it to a remarkable time of 2:24:50 at the Houston Marathon in January 2020. This was an amazing and unexpected result from Elmore, and it immediately shot her to the top of the list of eligible runners to send to Tokyo. Even so, Cliff’s 2:26:56 result still looked like it would get her to the Games, but then Natasha Wodak ran an incredible 2:26:19 at The Marathon Project in Arizona in December. The run was Wodak’s first crack at the marathon since her debut in 2013, and it suddenly put her in the third and final position for the Canadian Olympic marathon team. 

On the men’s side, matters are much simpler, as only two runners (other than Hofbauer) have hit Olympic standard. Tristan Woodfine was the first to do so, running a PB of 2:10:51 at the elite-only London Marathon in October. A couple of months later, Ben Preisner ran his official marathon debut at The Marathon Project, where he recorded a 2:10:17 finish, which is the fourth-fastest time in Canadian history. Unless someone else runs Olympic standard in the next month, Woodfine and Preisner will join Hofbauer in Tokyo. 

Outside looking in

Despite running one of the best marathons in Canadian history, Cliff is now the third-best option to fill one of the spots for the Summer Games. Also in the conversation is Lyndsay Tessier, who qualified for the Games with her top-10 finish at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. In a brutally hot race held in the middle of the night in Doha, Tessier battled for 42K, sticking at the back of the pack for most of the run. While many of her competitors that night dropped out due to the heat, Tessier stuck with it, eventually passing much of the field and climbing to ninth place. 

Like Cliff, though, Tessier’s result will be measured against those of Elmore and Wodak. Of course, it’s up to Athletics Canada to pick the team, but based on their individual times, it looks like Elmore and Wodak will be the two women who will join Pidhoresky on the start line in Tokyo. 

In the men’s race to Tokyo, the next runners on the list are Cam Levins and Rory Linkletter. Levins is the Canadian marathon record holder, but he ran his PB of 2:09:25 in 2018, several months before the Olympic qualification window opened. Since then, he has missed Olympic standard on three occasions, running 2:15:01 at the Canadian Olympic Trials, registering a DNF at the 2020 London Marathon and posting a 2:12:15 finish at The Marathon Project. Linkletter has only run two marathons, with his second coming at The Marathon Project as well. There, he ran close to a four-minute PB, but he wasn’t fast enough to hit standard, crossing the line in 2:12:54. 

Time is running out for any athletes hoping to nab a spot on the Canadian marathon team headed to Tokyo, and anyone who’s on the outside looking in better take a chance soon, although at this point, finding an official race could be the most difficult part of the entire process. 

(04/23/2021) Views: 1,388 ⚡AMP
by Ben Snider-McGrath

At the Los Angeles Games 36 years ago, Canadian Silvia Ruegger finished in eighth in the first-ever women's Olympic marathon

On August 5, 1984, the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon was held in Los Angeles. Fifty runners lined up for the 42.2K run and American Joan Benoit-Samuelson took the win in 2:24:52, grabbing the first Olympic gold in women’s marathon history. Three Canadians raced that day 36 years ago in L.A., including marathon legend and former national record-holder Silvia Ruegger. Ruegger finished in eighth place on the day, running to a 2:29:09 top-10 finish. That was the sole Olympic race of Ruegger’s career, and since then, no Canadian — male or female — has finished in a higher position in the Olympic marathon. 

Women’s marathoning through the years 

Benoit-Samuelson won the race in L.A. in impressive fashion, beating silver medallist Grete Waitz of Norway by more than a minute to take the gold on home soil. Going into the race, Benoit-Samuelson was a two-time Boston Marathon champion, and a year later, she won the Chicago Marathon and set an American record in the process. Her time of 2:21:21 stood as the national marathon record until 2006, when Deena Kastor beat it at the London Marathon. Benoit-Samuelson is still the fourth-fastest woman marathoner in U.S. history. 

The women’s marathon has come a long way since its introduction to the Olympics in 1984. At the time, the world record was 2:24:26, set by Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway (who finished in fourth in L.A.). Today, 36 years later, that record has been lowered by 10 minutes, and it currently sits at 2:14:04 following Brigid Kosgei‘s dominant performance at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Canadians at the 1984 Games 

Ruegger qualified for the Olympics at the 1984 Ottawa Marathon, which she won in a Canadian record of 2:30:37. She broke that record just a few months later in L.A., becoming the first Canadian woman to dip below 2:30 in the marathon. Ruegger raced alongside fellow Canadians Jacqueline Gareau (1980 Boston Marathon champion and the previous national record-holder before Ruegger won the Ottawa Marathon) and Anne Marie Malone. Gareau didn’t finish the race in L.A., but Malone recorded an impressive result to follow Ruegger’s, finishing in 17th place with a final time of 2:36:33. 

The following year at the 1985 Houston Marathon, Ruegger beat her record yet again, posting a 2:28:36. This remained the Canadian record for almost 30 years before it was broken in 2013 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon by both Lanni Marchant and Krista DuChene. A car accident following her record in 1985 left Ruegger to deal with injuries for the rest of her career, and she never returned to her previous record-setting form. Ruegger passed away in August 2019 at the age of 58 after a battle with cancer, but she remains one of the greatest athletes in Canadian history.

(08/06/2020) Views: 1,648 ⚡AMP
by Ben Snider-McGrath

Leslie Sexton has joined the lineup at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Defending Canadian champion Leslie Sexton has officially joined the lineup at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 21. Sexton is favoured to win again, as the strongest Canadian female entry. Her 2017 time was 2:35:47. Sexton stands to win $5,000 if she runs faster than 2:35:00, and she has stated her goal is to exceed her personal best, which is 2:33:33 (achieved on the Scotiabank course in 2015). Ultimately she would like to go sub-2:30 and join the likes of Lanni Marchant (Canadian record-holder, at 2:28), Krista DuChene (who is also running Scotiabank this year), Silvia Ruegger, Jaqueline Gareau and Lioudmila Kortchaguina. (08/15/2018) Views: 1,820 ⚡AMP

Top Finishers from Boston Marathon Des Linden, Sarah Sellers and Krista DuChene to Headline NYRR New York Mini 10K

The top three finishers from this year’s Boston Marathon Des Linden, Sarah Sellers, and Krista DuChene – will line up together again in Central Park on Saturday, June 9 at the NYRR New York Mini 10K.  “The NYRR New York Mini 10K started in 1972 as the world’s original all-women’s road race and has developed into an annual star-studded event,” said Peter Ciaccia, president of events for NYRR.  “New York City is in for a real treat this year with Des, Sarah and Krista all lining up together at the start line for the first time since racing to the podium in Boston."  Linden, 34, of Washington Township, MI, became the first American to win the women’s open division at the Boston Marathon in 33 years last month, clocking in at 2:39:54 in the face of rain and blustering winds. Previously, Linden had finished at runner-up at the 2010 Chicago and 2011 Boston marathons and fifth-place in Berlin in 2013 and New York in 2014. She will be racing the NYRR New York Mini 10K for the fifth time. Sellers, 26, of Tucson, AZ, is a full-time certified registered nurse anesthetist who finished in a surprising second place behind Linden at the Boston Marathon in what was just her second attempt at the 26.2-mile distance.  A former track and field athlete at Weber State, Sellers was a nine-time Big Sky champion from 2009-13 and earned Big Sky All-Conference honors 15 times in track and field and cross country. DuChene, 41, of Canada took third place at the Boston Marathon and first in the master’s division, crossing the finish line in 2:44:20. In 2016, the mother of three placed 35th at the Rio Olympic Marathon behind teammate Lanni Marchant; they were the first Canadian women to run in the Olympic Marathon since 1996. (05/08/2018) Views: 2,329 ⚡AMP

New Women’s Half Marathon Canadian National Record set Saturday in Texas

Canadian, Rachel Cliff ran 1:10:08 at the Woodlands Half-Marathon in the city of the same name in Texas on Saturday. The improvement was a huge jump for Cliff as her previous best was 1:11:52, set in January 2018. Pending ratification, her mark improves upon the previous national record of 1:10:47, held by Lanni Marchant, the Canadian women’s marathon record holder. (03/03/2018) Views: 2,271 ⚡AMP