For elite runners, transferring up in distance as you age is only a pure development. Historical past has proven this with the greats like Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie and Eliud Kipchoge—all of whom began with the 1,500m earlier than dominating the 5,000m and 10,000m, and finally excelling within the marathon. Following an identical trajectory, St. Catharines, Ont.’s Moh Ahmed has spent greater than a decade competing at a world-class stage on the observe, successful a number of medals. On Sunday, he’ll make his extremely anticipated half-marathon debut on the NYC Half Marathon in New York Metropolis.
Over his profession, Ahmed has rewritten the Canadian document books throughout distances from 3,000m to 10,000m, pushing nationwide requirements to never-before ranges. The query stays: will his success translate to the roads? Operating calculators counsel his 10,000m private better of 26:34, set at Sound Operating’s The Ten in 2022, exhibits the potential for him to clock 58:37 for the half marathon—a time nicely beneath the present Canadian document of 60:18, held by Cam Levins.
Nevertheless, stepping up in distance usually comes with a studying curve. Even Norwegian famous person Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who has been unbeatable over 5,000m, confronted challenges when he debuted on the Copenhagen Half Marathon final fall, in the end ending in 63:13 after an bold begin at a near-world-record tempo.
Expectations are naturally excessive for an athlete of Ahmed’s calibre, however breaking 60 minutes in his debut will likely be no simple feat. The NYC Half course is thought to be one of many hardest within the U.S., that includes a mixture of flat roads and rolling hills. This yr, for the primary time, runners will cross the Brooklyn Bridge earlier than weaving by means of Manhattan and Occasions Sq., then ending in Central Park. Based on Go&Race course maps, the course is roughly 1.8 per cent slower than a flat 21.1 km.
Ahmed’s longtime coach, Jerry Schumacher, advised CBC Sports activities Ahmed has had a robust six-week buildup main into the race, regardless of a minor foot problem that compelled him to withdraw from the boys’s 3,000m on the Millrose Video games in February. Schumacher estimates Ahmed is in 61-minute form—a formidable goal, given the issue of the course.
Traditionally, breaking 60 minutes on the NYC Half has been uncommon (it’s solely been achieved 4 occasions). Ethiopia’s Gebrselassie holds the course document of 59:24, set in 2007, and not one of the previous 10 winners have dipped underneath the 60-minute barrier.
Ahmed received’t be the one Canadian elite toeing the road on Sunday. Canadian 10K record-holder Ben Flanagan will race his second half-marathon of the yr after a robust exhibiting on the Houston Half in January. Becoming a member of them are Canadian XC champion Andrew Davies of Sarnia, Ont., and Tristan Woodfine of Cobden, Ont.
Followers can observe or stream the 2025 NYC Half without spending a dime on Sunday, March 16 at 7 a.m. ET, reside on YouTube.