The Canadian 10K Championships, a part of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on Could 24, are quick approaching–and with them comes an epic showdown between the 2 best feminine marathoners in Canadian historical past, Natasha Wodak and Malindi Elmore.
These nationwide distance icons boast a staggering array of achievements from the 5K to the 42.2K. Elmore, the previous nationwide marathon document holder, will return to defend her Canadian 10K title, whereas Wodak, the present nationwide document holder, will purpose to reclaim the crown she final held in 2023. In a head-to-head battle, may we see the Canadian document fall?
Elmore to defend her title
After successful her first Canadian 10K title in 15 years with a near-personal-best efficiency of 32:50 finally yr’s race, Elmore, now 45, is again for extra. The three-time Olympian holds a 10K private better of 32:35 from 2023, and is contemporary off the Berlin half-marathon, which passed off on Sunday, the place she clocked 1:10:21.
Alongside her three nationwide Olympic groups, the Kelowna, B.C., native additionally holds the Canadian data within the 25K and 30K street races, each set in the course of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2022.
Wodak eyes a comeback
Wodak, a Vancouver native, heads into the Canadian 10K Championships with a 10K better of 31:59 from 2015 and a marathon nationwide document of two:23:12 from 2022. The 2020 Olympian will likely be bouncing again from a irritating race at March’s Nagoya Girls’s Marathon in Japan, the place she recorded the primary DNF of her profession.
On the 2023 championships, Wodak raced to the nationwide title, clocking 32:51, however took third the next yr. In June 2024, she returned to kind on the Canadian Half-Marathon Championships in Winnipeg, taking first in 1:12:56, with Elmore working 1:13:09 for second.
Though Wodak has a statistical edge on Elmore throughout most distances, the 2 stay intently matched.
| Distance | Natasha Wodak | Malindi Elmore |
|---|---|---|
| 5km street | 15:36 (2019) | 15:40 (2007) |
| 10km street | 31:59 (2015) | 32:35 (2023) |
| Half marathon street | 1:09:41 (2020) | 1:10:11 (2023) |
| Marathon | 2:23:12 (2022) | 2:23:30 (2023) |
“Malindi and Natasha are two of the very best distance runners in Canadian historical past,” mentioned Run Ottawa’s Elite Athlete co-ordinator Stephen Andersen. “Their longevity, sturdiness and vary are spectacular and nearly inconceivable. We’re tremendous excited to welcome each of them again to the Otto’s Ottawa 10K and for one more epic battle. We all know each athletes will return to Ottawa hungry to win one other Canadian title and proceed to chase that long-time Canadian document.”