Canadian marathon document holder and two-time Olympian Natasha Wodak of Vancouver has gained the Canadian Marathons Championships at Sunday’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Wodak broke the tape in 2:27:54, successful her first nationwide title at this distance, ending fifth general and marking a triumphant return to the occasion the place she made her marathon debut in 2013. This was Wodak’s quickest marathon since she set the Canadian document on the 2022 Berlin Marathon.
Leslie Sexton of Vancouver was the second athlete to mount the Canadian ladies’s podium, ending seventh in 2:33:15, and Rachel Hannah of Port Elgin, Ont., was third (and ninth within the general ladies’s outcomes), in 2:34:33. Sexton gained this occasion in 2017 and was second in each 2015 and 2018; Hannah was second in 2016 and fourth in 2018.
Anne-Marie Comeau completed tenth within the general ladies’s outcomes, in 2:35:16. Erin Mawhinney completed eleventh, in her debut marathon, in 2:36:14. Mawhinney gained the Waterfront half-marathon in 2023.
Circumstances had been gentle and sunny on the Toronto course on Sunday, about 8 C at the beginning and warming as much as 15 C just a few hours into the occasion, however the gusty winds proved difficult for runners.
Wodak’s splits
Wodak led the Canadian ladies virtually from the beginning. Listed here are her recorded splits:
5 km: 17:13
10 km: 34:33
15 km: 51:54
20 km: 1:08:52
21.1 km: 1:13:02
30 km: 1:44:22
35 km: 2:02:05
40 km: 2:20:06
End: 2:27:54
Wodak, who’s 42, has had a profitable season at house this yr, successful the Vancouver Half and the Beneath Armour Eastside 10K; at Friday’s pre-race press convention, she declared this championship victory as her purpose. “Everybody needs to be a nationwide champion,” she mentioned. (Wodak has gained the 5K nationwide championships twice, the 10K 3 times and the half-marathon as soon as.)
Natasha Wodak 🇨🇦 wins gold within the Canadian Marathon championships in 2:27:54 (unofficially).
What a comeback efficiency for @tasha_wodak #ChooseTORun
— Canadian Working (@CanadianRunning) October 20, 2024
Wodak went into the race with a extra relaxed mindset than she’d been in a position to muster over her final a number of marathons, when she was attempting to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics; regardless of having set the Canadian document (2:23:12) on the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Wodak was unable to place down a qualifying time for the Olympics (2:26:50) within the three marathons she raced through the qualifying interval (the 2023 Budapest World Championships, 2024 Houston Marathon and 2024 Hamburg Marathon; she scratched from the 2023 London Marathon after coming down with a abdomen bug).
On the post-race press convention, Wodak confirmed that the nationwide title had been her A purpose coming into the race. She additionally mentioned she would welcome the prospect to signify Canada once more on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025, if she’s in a position to qualify; Sunday’s win confers worthwhile factors towards that purpose. “Should you requested me at 35 km if I wished to do one other marathon anytime quickly, it might be no,” she joked, “however sure, I might like to be again on the world stage.”
Wodak expressed some gentle disappointment at not reaching a time that mirrored her true health, and mentioned she struggled with nausea through the race: “I felt like I used to be in 2:25 or 2:26 form, but it surely was fairly windy on the market, and I felt nauseous for a lot of the race. However that’s the marathon–you really want an ideal day to PB and showcase that health. This was my quickest time since Berlin, and that’s an enormous win for me, after the final two marathons went sideways.”
Justin Kent wins Canadian males’s championship
Justin Kent of Vancouver gained the Canadian males’s nationwide championship in 2:12:17 (a private greatest), and was seventh general. Lee Wesselius of Mountain, Ont., was second, in 2:13:47 (additionally a private greatest); Wesselius was third right here in 2022. Andrew Alexander was third, in 2:14:13–a profitable debut for the Toronto runner.
Kent and his spouse, former 800m nationwide champion Lindsey Butterworth (who ran the 5K on Saturday), grew to become mother and father to a child woman, Willa, just some months in the past.
“It felt nice till we hit some windy stretches,” Kent mentioned after the race. “It’s all the time laborious from 33 km onward, I knew they had been on my tail, and I attempted to take it one kilometre at a time and keep as calm as I may. I’m ecstatic. There are veyr few occasions you’ll be able to win a Canadian championship, and it was wonderful to have good climate, good pacing, my family and friends and my daughter out right here.” For extra on Kent’s win, click on right here.
Girls’s course document, Canadian soil document go down
Ethiopians swept the ladies’s race, with Waganesh Mekasha, who narrowly misplaced final yr’s race, crossing the road in a brand new course document and Canadian soil document of two:20:44. Her compatriot, Roza Dereje, completed second, in 2:21:26, and Afera Godfay was third, in 2:21:50–a private greatest. (Godfay was third right here final yr additionally.) All three podium finishers went underneath the earlier course document and Canadian soil document of two:22:16, set in 2019.) For extra on that story, click on right here.
Mulugeta Uma of Ethiopia took the general victory within the males’s race, breaking the tape in 2:07:16. Uma additionally gained this yr’s Paris Marathon. Dominic Ngeno of Kenya was second, in 2:07:23, and Noah Kipkemboi, additionally of Kenya, was third in 2:07:31.
Cassidy wins wheelchair marathon
Josh Cassidy of Barrie, Ont., gained Sunday’s wheelchair race, crossing the road in 1:38:09, a bit shy of his personal course document, set final yr at 1:36:37. Hermin Garic of Utica, N.Y. was second, in 1:48:53.
This was Cassidy’s third consecutive win right here, having gained the occasion’s very first wheelchair race in 2022; he gained once more final yr with a course document. The athlete has had a really busy racing schedule this fall, lining up 5 marathons in seven weeks. He raced the Chicago Marathon final weekend and can race New York Metropolis in two weeks. “It’s been quite a lot of enjoyable and nice climate right now,” Cassidy mentioned after Sunday’s race, including that he has raced higher with every race.
Non-binary outcomes
Joshua Shin of Hamilton gained the non-binary class, with a marathon results of 3:32:09. Kyle Dech of Winnipeg was second, in 3:34:08, and Jordie Winn of Kawartha Lakes, Ont., was third, in 3:41:06.
For full outcomes of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and related races, click on right here.