Canada withdrew from the world half-marathon championships, 8 Canadians are running the Marathon Project
Stay safe and be smart, everyone
Hello,
I think I’ll never write a race preview again. Last week, I put together a primer on all the Canadians that were running in the world half-marathon championships. Then Canada pulled out just dates before the race, citing rising COVID cases in Poland.
Ah well, it’s 2020. I shouldn’t be surprised. I hope you’re all staying safe and taking care of yourself and your loved ones.
This issue looks at that decision, recaps the race that was, and takes a look at the stellar Canadian field that committed to the Marathon Project.
Let’s get to it!
8 Canadians taking on the Marathon Project
The Marathon Project announced their full fields for their Dec. 20 race
The Marathon Project is a marathon for elite North American athletes who have had their seasons wiped out because of COVID.
It will be held in Chandler, Arizona, set for Dec. 20 and will adhere to the health and safety standards set by World Athletics, USATF and the Arizona government. It’s a looped course and there will be no spectators.
The project is being organized by Northern Arizona Elite coach Ben Rosario, BOOM Management agent Josh Cox and Big River Race Management event organizer Matt Helbig. Runner’s World has a piece about how the race came to be and what to expect.
The field is being limited to 100 athletes, It includes eight Canadians (I get into that below); American Sara Hall, who just was the runner-up at London on Oct. 4; Sarah Inglis, the Scottish runner who lives and trains in Canada'; NAZ Elite team members Scott Fauble, Stephanie Bruce and Kellyn Taylor; Israeli marathoner Beatie Deutsch (who has been in thew news because she’s petitioning the Olympics to move the women’s marathon from Saturday to accommodate her religious beliefs); Greek American marathoner Alexi Pappas; Ethiopian and 2016 Boston marathon champ Atsede Baysa and U.S. trials fourth place finisher Augustus Maiyo.
You can see the full women’s field here and the full men’s field here.
For Americans, this race is about competition and a chance to prove their fitness — the U.S Olympic marathon team was chosen back in February. But for Canadians and other international competitors, this race could be make or break for their Olympic chances, providing the race receives World Athletics certification. If it does, an Olympic standard performance could put runners in contention for the Olympic team.
The men’s Olympic qualifying standard is 2:11:30. The women’s Olympic qualifying standard is 2:29:30.
Four Canadian women and two Canadian men have qualified for the Olympics:
Trevor Hofbauer (2:09:51, Toronto 2019)
Tristan Woodfine (2:10:51 London 2020)
Rachel Cliff (2:26:56, Nagoya 2019)
Lyndsay Tessier (9th place, Doha 2019 world championships)
Dayna Pidhorseky (2:29:03, Toronto, 2019)
Malindi Elmore (2:24:50, Houston, 2020)
Canada can send up to three men and three women to the Olympics. Trevor and Dayna are automatically on the team because they are the 2019 national champions. The other four slots are up to Athletics Canada, who can choose from all qualified athletes.
Canadians have until May 31, 2021 to post an Olympic qualifying run.
There’s also the Canadian record on the line. Canadian marathoning has made huge jumps in recent years. And with a recent record holder (Rachel Cliff) and current record holder (Cam Levins) running this race, we might see a new Canadian record.
The Canadian men’s marathon record is 2:09:25 (Cam Levins, Toronto, 2018). The women’s record is 2:24:50 (Malindi Elmore, Houston, 2020).
Here are the Canadians committed to racing on Dec. 20.
Rory Linkletter
Rory was one of the first runners announced as part of the Marathon Project. The 24-year-old trains with NAZ Elite in Arizona and just became a dual Canadian-American citizen.
Rory made his marathon debut in 2019, running 2:16:42 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He made his half-marathon debut in Houston in 2020, running 1:01:44, which was 16 seconds away from the Canadian half-marathon record.
He was named to the original world half-marathon championship team, but that was moved from March to October.
In June, he want after the Canadian one-hour record in an exhibition put on by NAZ Elite, but had a rough day and came up short. He will be running the 5K stage for NAZ Elite at the Michigan Pro Ekiden on Oct. 21.
Justin Kent
The Marathon Project will be Justin’s debut at the distance. The 28-year-old lives and trains with B.C. with the B.C. Endurance Project.
On July 1, he won the Canadian 10K virtual national championships. He was named the world half-marathon championship team earlier this fall. He ran 1:04:20 in a half-marathon in September to earn his world championship spot. Canada pulled their team out of the competition, just days before the race. Justin decided to use his fitness in a time trial fundraiser for KidSport BC. I have more on all this below.
Cam Levins
Cam Levins will be looking to capitalize on the fitness he built up for the London marathon with the Marathon Project. He was one of two Canadian men who ran London (the other was Tristan Woodfine), but the weather got to him and he DNFed just before the 40K mark.
He said he’s in the shape of his life and doesn’t want to see his fitness go to waste. The 31-year-old trains alone in Portland, where he lives. He’s currently coached by Victoria-based Jim Finlayson (who also coaches Emily Setlack).
Cam is the Canadian men’s marathon record holder. He ran 2:09:25 in Toronto in 2018, which was his debut at the distance. But he’s struggled at the distance since. He withdrew from London in the spring of 2019 with a foot issue and ran 2:15:01 in Toronto in the fall of 2019. He was supposed to run Rotterdam in the spring of 2020, but that got cancelled because of COVID. And London’s elite-only race in early October was a DNF. He did run a 1:02:12 half-marathon time trial training for London, which is an unofficial PB, so he is fit. It’s just about the pieces coming together.
Ben Preisner
Ben Preisner was supposed to debut at the marathon at London in 2020 on the race’s original spring date. But when the April edition of the race was postponed, he decided to run a marathon time trial instead, running 2:15:24 on a bike path near his home.
The Marathon Project marks his official debut at the distance. The 24-year-old is part of the BC Endurance Project and has been tearing up the Canadian half-marathon scene since leaving the NCAA. He won the Vancouver half-marathon in spring 2019 in 1:05:41 and the Toronto waterfront half-marathon in fall 2019 in 1:03:08. He was also named to the ill-fated world half-marathon championship team.
Rachel Cliff
2020 has not been kind to Rachel Cliff. She began the year as both the Canadian women’s marathon and and half-marathon record holder. Both those records were broken in Houston in January. The she was supposed to run the Tokyo marathon in March, but decided to drop out when the race moved to an elite-only format because this meant she probably would have ran much of the race alone. Then she was named to the Canadian half-marathon world championship team, only to have Canada withdraw days before the race.
The 32-year-old trains with BC Endurance Project and has only tackled the marathon twice. She made her debut in Berlin in 2018, where she ran the fastest Canadian women’s debut ever, 2:28:53. Her second attempt at the distance was her 2:26:56 record-setting performance in Nagoya at the beginning of 2019.
Kinsey Middleton
Kinsey Middleton made her marathon debut in 2018, running 2:32:09 in Toronto to become the national marathon champ that year. She struggled to defended her title in 2019, running 2:34:36 to place third Canadian overall.
Kinsey was set to run London in April, but that race got postponed due to COVID-19 . She ran a half-marathon PB of 1:11:48 in Houston in January, so she was fit heading into the race. The 27-year-old is a dual Canadian American citizen and lives and trains in Idaho, where she grew up.
Emily Setlack
Emily Setlack was the Canadian runner up at last year’s national champs in Toronto. Her time of 2:29:48 was a heartbreaking 18 seconds away from the Olympic qualifying time.
Her time of 2:29:48 was a huge breakthrough for Emily, who has been steadily improving at the marathon. She ran 2:35:47 at Rotterdam in spring 2019. Emily was supposed to run Rotterdam again in 2020, but COVID happened. The 40-year-old is coached by Jim Finlayson and is also an accomplished mountain runner.
Natasha Wodak
Natasha Wodak might be the biggest surprise Canadian name on this list.
Natasha ran her first and only (until now) marathon in 2013, running a 2:35:16 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. After that race, she saw a lot of success in the 10K and half-marathon distance, and was running the best races of her life in 2019 and early 2020. She won PamAm gold in 2019 in the 10,000m, setting the Games record in the process. She also became the first Canadian woman to run under 70 minutes in the half-marathon in Houston in January. (That record was quickly broken by Andrea Seccafien a few weeks later.) She also won the 10K virtual Canadian championships on Canada Day.
The 38-year-old lives and trains in B.C. and is coached by Lynn Kanuka-Williams.
Natasha spoke to CBC Sports about why she felt it was time to return to the marathon:
"I'm turning 39 [on Dec. 17] and I want to see what I can do in the marathon before I run out of time," said Wodak, who ran three 10K virtual road races in the spring and summer along with two 5,000s on the track and ran nine minutes in the 3,000 for a personal-best time.
"Many of my friends and other women are running so fast in the marathon. I've been inspired over the past [few] years and I want in on that."
She says she’s learned a lot about running, and herself, since 2013, and thanks to her fast friends and the pandemic, she’s ready to tackle the marathon again:
"I was still learning how to train at a high level [in 2013]," recalled Wodak, who unknowingly ran for a year with a tear in her left groin/pelvic area after the Toronto race. "I found [marathon training] very difficult and I was hesitant to put my body through that again. I was also going through a divorce.
"You have to want to do it … and in the last seven years I [never] got to that point. But I'm enjoying the change in training and it was the motivation I needed during [the pandemic]."
Canada said no to the world half-marathon championships, the race happened anyway
Canada withdrew team due to rising COVID cases in Poland
Last week’s newsletter, which had a preview of the world half-champs, went out on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday evening, it was out of date: Dutch runner and race favourite Sifan Hassan withdrew, because she decided to end her season early.
And Canada withdrew our entire team, which was comprised of Rachel Cliff, Justin Kent, Phil Parrot-Migas, Benjamin Preisner and Thomas Toth. COVID cases in Poland were rising and Athletics Canada felt it was no longer responsible to travel there to compete. Trevor Hofbauer had also been named to the team, but withdrew before Canada as a country did because of injury.
The various risks, according to Dr. Paddy McCluskey, Athletics Canada's chief medical officer, included flying and transfers within airports; whether individuals would comply to the safety protocols; and having the athletes be in publicly-accessed common areas like hotel lobbies and common dining areas.
"We simply cannot justify putting our athletes, coaches and staff in harm's way," Athletics Canada said in a statement.
Rachel wrote on Instagram that she was disappointed to not get to race, but trusts Athletics Canada to make the best decisions to protect their athletes:
Justin decided to not let his desire to race and his fitness go to waste. He decided to run a half-marathon time trial on Sunday, Oct. 18 and raise money for KidSport BC. It was raining, and he wore his Canada kit. He ran 1:02:34, according to his Instagram stories. If you’d like to support the cause, you can do so here.
Peres Jepchirchir wins women’s race, all top 3 finishers break old women’s half-marathon record
Peres Jepchirchir broke her own women’s only world record to take the win in Poland.
The 27-year-old Kenyan’s time of 1:05:16 was 18 seconds faster than her previous record of 1:05:34, which she set in Prague in September.
Second place finisher, Germany’s Melat Yisak Kejeta, and third place finisher, Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw, both ran under the old record. Melat ran 1:05:18 and Yalemzerf ran 1:05:19.
Peres won this event in 2016, and missed 2018 due to the birth of her daughter. World Athletics has a good profile of her, which covers her breakout in global running in 2014 at the Kenyan cross-country championships, her upbringing in Kenya and how COVID meant her shifting her 2020 focus from the Boston marathon in April to reclaiming the world half-marathon championships.
Ethiopia took home the women’s team’s title, thanks to a 3-4-5 finish. After Yalemzerf, Zeineba Yimer placed fourth in 1:05:39 and Ababel Yeshaneh (who holds the overall half-marathon world record of 1:04:31) placed fifth in 1:05:41.
The entire race was close and fast, with the top nine finishers all running under 1:07, and the top six finishers running under 1:06.
19-year-old Jacob Kiplimo wins men’s race in championship record time
Jacob Kiplimo became the breakout star of the weekend, winning the men's race in championship record time.
The 19-year-old Ugandan ran 58:49, which is the fastest winning time in the event’s history.
Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie cam in second, running 58:54 and Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn placed third, running 59:08.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei was the favourite heading into the race. He was making his debut in the half-marathon distance, but has been unbeatable for the past 18 months, setting three world records in the process. The 24-year-old ran 59:21 to place fourth overall. He said he gave it the best he had that day.
The entire top 10 ran under 60 minutes.
Thanks to Jacob and Joshua’s performances, Uganda won the men’s team event.
Strides: Other stuff to listen to, watch and know about
🏆 USports has cancelled all Canadian university national sports championships for the rest of the 2020-2021 academic year. Various travel restrictions across provinces, riding COVID cases in Canada and genera student safety and well-being were cited as reasons for the cancellations.
🎧 To celebrate its one-year podcast anniversary, Women Run Canada had on race directors Charlotte Brookes (of Canada Running Series) and Kirsten Fleming (of the Calgary Marathon). They spoke about race day logistics, the transition to virtual and what it’s like being a race director in the time of COVID. It’s a good listen if you’re interested in race logistics. It pairs well with Ali on the Run’s conversation with Michelle la Sala, who runs Blistering Pace Race Management, and spoke more broadly about getting into race management, working big races like NYC and Chicago and what the transition to virtual and COVID has meant for several American races.
🎧 Women Run Canada also spoke to Robyn Mildren recently. The 30-year-old talks about her time at University of Guelph, becoming an accomplished mountain runner, her marathon debut in Toronto last year, and how she’s balanced elite racing with pursuing a career in scientific research.
🎧 Tristan Woodfine continued his post-London media blitz by co-hosting The Shakeout podcast. If you listened to any of the podcasts I linked to last week, he covers the same ground. But if you don’t know Tristan’s London story yet, it’s worth a listen.
🎧 Malindi Elmore was on the Players Own Voice podcast to share her story. She talks about returning to running in her late 30s after having two kids and what it was like to break the Canadian women’s marathon record at 39 in her second attempt at the distance.
📺 Runners Hi had Kate Van Buskirk speak Malcolm Gladwell and his former running rival, Dave Reid:
The conversation was part of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon virtual expo, which also included conversations with Lanni Marchant, Justyn Knight, Rachel Hannah, Dylan Wykes and Canada’s New Balance team.
There are more than a dozen videos to check out, you can do so at the Canada Running Series YouTube channel.
👟 The latest distance challenges comes from the Toronto Women’s Run series: complete 416K by July 31, 2021. 416km represents Toronto’s 416 area code. Runners are encouraged to pick their own time frame to complete the distance. I’ve signed up and am going to try to finish it all in November. The swag bag includes coffee and you get a set of charms that spell out RUN if you complete the distance — the first charm comes when you complete 150K, the second when you complete 300K and the third when you finish.
🗞 Please enjoy this recap of the first ever Canadian national track & field championships from 1884:
That’s it for this week!
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Run the North covers Canadian running and comes out on Monday mornings.
Thanks for reading, keep on running and I’ll see you next week.