Hey, it's 2020! Here's a recap of what you missed over the holidays and a lookahead for all the awesome stuff happening this year
It was the end of the decade, now it's the start of an age.
Hello!
Welcome to 2020! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.
If you’re new to this newsletter and missed my year-end recaps, I recommended 26 books about running to read here and counted down the top 10 moments in Canadian running here.
The most popular thing I wrote last year was this post explaining how a marathoner could qualify for the 2020 Olympics. The qualification period closes on May 31, so this post will remain relevant for a few more months. I reference the standards a lot in this issue, so if you aren’t familiar with how someone can qualify for the Olympic marathon, it’s worth reading before diving too deep into this newsletter!
In this issue, I highlight the events that you should put in your calendar this year as a running fan. I also round up the news, links, podcasts and more I’ve come across since my last issue on Dec. 16. Some of it may already be known to you, but I figured it was worth including anyway, in case anyone needs to catch up!
If you want to reach out for any reason (offer feedback, correct something, suggest a story), just hit reply!
Thanks for reading, and keep on running.
The events to put in your calendar in 2020
Houston marathon & half-marathon
When is it? Jan. 19
The Houston races kick off the spring racing season. Several runners use it as a goal race, while others use it as a tune-up or a test of fitness heading into a later spring race. It attracts a fast international field and is one of the most competitive races in North America outside the world majors.
A lot of Canadians run Houston. It was at the Houston marathon last year where Natasha Wodak made a decent run at the Canadian half-marathon record and Malindi Elmore had her breakout marathon performance. Both Natasha and Malindi will be back this year. Rory Linkletter is also set to run the half.
It’s also the last real chance for Americans to score their Olympic trials qualifying time, so I expect this year’s race to be an exciting one!
Houston is a gold label race, which means finishing in the top 5 gets you the Olympic standard.
I’ll have a proper preview of Houston in next week’s issue.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Marathon: Albert Korir (2:10:02) & Biruktayit Degefa (2:23:28)
Half-marathon: Shura Kitata (1:00:11) & Brigid Kosgei (1:05:50)
Top Canadians in the marathon: Tristan Woodfine (13th overall, 2:15:19) & Malindi Elmore (7th overall, 2:32:10)
Top Canadians in the half-marathon: Evan Esselink (13th overall, 1:02:13) & Nastasha Wodak (10th overall, 1:10:33)
U.S. Olympic marathon trials
When is it? Feb. 29
Yeah, this is a Canadian newsletter, but the U.S. marathon trials are one of the most exciting races anywhere. Top three go to the Olympics. Who wouldn’t want to see a race with that on the line? There was some confusion about how the American team would be selected with the new tough standards, but World Athletics (formerly IAAF) eventually gave the U.S. trials gold label status, which means top 5 score an Olympic standard, regardless of time. This mean the “top three go to the Olympics” drama that makes this race so special is back on.
It’s also been fun watching so many Americans chase an OTQ — the standard needed to even run this race (2:19 for men, 2:45 for women). The women especially have stepped up, and hundreds have qualified. Reading profiles of regular people achieving this sort-of Olympic dream was one of my favourite things about 2019.
The fields will be so deep. On the women’s side you have Des Linden, Sara Hall, Jordan Hasay, Kellyn Taylor, Emma Bates, Molly Huddle, Emily Sisson just off the top of my head. On the men’s side there’s Galen Rupp, Scott Fauble, Jared Ward, Parker Stinston, Bernard Lagat…. it goes on.
There are a handful of favourites, but with a hilly, hot Atlanta course and the unforgivable nature of the marathon, it could be anybody’s day.
I have no idea how Canadians can watch this race legally, but if I find out, I’ll let you know.
Who made the team in 2016?
Men: Galen Rupp, Meb Keflezighi & Jared Ward
Women: Amy Cragg, Shalane Flanagan & Des Linden
PanAm Cross-Country Cup
When is it? Feb. 29
The 2020 PanAm cross-country championships will be held in Victoria, B.C. Cross-country is fun and it’s always cool when Canada hosts a major sporting event. I lived in Toronto when the PanAm Games were here in 2015 and it was a blast going to events and experiencing the energy of the city. If you’re out west, you should check it out.
The top six Canadians at the 2019 national championships all earned spots on the team. You can read my recap of the national meet here.
The women’s senior team is comprised of national champ Geneviève Lalonde, Natasha Wodak, Maria Bernard-Galea, Victoria Coates, Kirsten Lee and Hannah Woodhouse.
The men’s senior team is comprised of Connor Black, John Gay, Brandon Allen: Allen, Jean-Simon Desgagnés, Mitchell Ubene and Kieran McDonald.
You can see the full team, including the U20 athletes, at the Athletics Canada website.
I’ll have a proper preview when we get closer to the meet.
Tokyo marathon
When is it? March 1
Tokyo is the first world major of the year. Very few elite Canadians run Tokyo. But Tokyo is worth paying attention to because it showcases the depth of the Japanese marathon scene.
Japan is one of the deepest countries in the world when it comes to the marathon. And they tend to race hard and race fearlessly: last year 46 men went through the halfway mark under 65 minutes pace, but only four finished under 2:10.
Because Tokyo is a world major, finishing in the top 10 gets runners the Olympic standard.
It hasn’t been possible to legally stream the Tokyo marathon in Canada the past few years.
Who are the defending champions? Birhanu Legese (2:04:48) & Ruti Aga (2:20:40) [Results found here]
I could not find the top Canadians. If someone knows, let me know and I’ll update this issue online.
Rotterdam marathon
When is it? April 5
Rotterdam is where people go to run fast without the pressure of a world major or local race. It’s also early enough in the season that if something goes wrong, you can regroup and target a later spring marathon.
Several Canadians have had breakthrough or fast performances at this race over the years, including Lanni Marchant (2:31:50 in 2012), Krista DuChene (2:29:37 in 2015), Dylan Wykes (2:10:47 in 2012) and Melanie Myrand (2:33:20 in 2019) and many more.
According to this Instagram post by CBC’s Scott Russell, Cam Levins will be running Rotterdam this year, hunting for his Olympic berth. I haven’t found this information anywhere else though, so I expect an official announcement should be coming soon. If a few more Canadians pop up on the elite start list between now and race day, I’ll definitely keep you updated.
Rotterdam is a gold label race, which means a top 5 finish also counts as scoring the Olympic standard.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Marius Kipserem (2:04:11) & Ashete Bekere (2:22:55)
Top Canadians: John Mason (15th overall, 2:15:15) & Melanie Myrand (9th overall, 2:33:17)
Boston marathon
When is it? April 20
Boston is the second world major marathon on the 2020 calendar. It’s also one of the most special races in the world. It’s a difficult, tactical race and remarkable storylines come out of it year after year.
Top Canadians don’t go to Boston consistently. Three elite Canadians ran it in 2018 (Eric Gillis, Reid Coolsaet and Krista DuChene) but only Krista ran it in 2019. But with the U.S. trials being so close, we may see a few Canadians take advantage of a potentially weaker American field and go after a top 10 finish to get their Olympic standard.
Boston is usually broadcast in Canada on TSN.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Lawrence Cherono (2:07:57) & Worknesh Degefa (2:23:31)
Top Canadians: Karl Augsten (48th overall, 2:25:31) & Kate Gustafson (35th overall, 2:42:34)
London marathon
When is it? April 26
London is the third world major on the 2020 calendar. It’s fast and a lot of fun. It’s one of the biggest charity fundraisers in the world. The race highlights a different charity partner every year. Last year, it was the Dementia Revolution. I nearly died of laughter watching this video of a runner who dressed as Big Ben to raise money for Dementia Revolution crossing the finish line.
As for the racing side of things, Eliud Kipchoge is returning to defend his title and has the course record on his mind. Everyone is freaking out about what this means for the Olympics, but Kipchoge always preaches about chasing one rabbit at a time.
London’s not a big race for elite Canadians. Cam Levins was supposed to run it last year, but withdrew due to injury. But since it’s within the qualifying window for the 2020 Olympics, you might see a familiar face or two on the start line. As a world major, a top 10 finish is an Olympic qualifier.
London hasn’t been legally available to watch in Canada the past few years.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Eliud Kipchoge (2:02:37) & Brigid Kosgei (2:18:20)
Top Canadians: Noel Loo (233rd overall, 2:36:069) & Allison Blackmore (61st overall, 2:55:04)
Canadian 10K championships
When is it? May 23
The Canadian 10K championships are part of Ottawa marathon weekend — the 10K takes place on Saturday afternoon, and the marathon takes place on Sunday morning. It’s always a competitive race, with a stellar Canadian field and a strong international field as well.
Who are the defending champions? Dylan Wykes made a strong return to road racing taking the men’s title in 29:55. Wykes placed sixth overall in the race. Natasha Wodak won one of her several 2019 titles in the women’s race breaking the tape in 32:30, and placing eighth overall.
Ottawa marathon
When is it? May 24
Ottawa is a gold label race, which means top 5 score the standard. Canada only has two gold label marathons: Ottawa in the spring and Toronto in the fall. Ottawa has consistently attracted a strong international field. Elite Canadians that have toed the line in recent years include Dayna Pidhoresky, Reid Coolsaet and Krista DuChene. Last year, five Canadian women placed in the top 10.
With Ottawa one of the last marathons on the schedule before the Olympic qualifying window closes on May 31, we could see more elite names than usual in Ottawa this year.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Albert Korir (2:08:02) & Tigist Girma (2:26:33)
Top Canadians: Reid Coolsaet (8th overall, 2:17:37) & Dayna Pidhoresky (6th overall, 2:37:19)
Canadian 10,000m championships
When is it? May 31
The 2020 10,000m championships will be part of the Pacific Distance Carnival in Burnaby, B.C. The meet is a mix of the national championships, a high school meet and a community race. It looked like a lot of fun.
The field in last year’s event featured top marathoner Rachel Cliff and exciting new names on the men’s side, such as Rory Linkletter and Ben Flanagan.
Who are the defending champions? Natasha Wodak won the women’s race in 32:09.69 in front of a hometown crowd. Ben Flanagan, who had just turned pro last year, won the men’s race in 28:37.49.
Canadian half-marathon championships
When is it? June 14
The 2020 half-marathon championships will be held as part of Manitoba marathon weekend for the second time. Hosting it in Winnipeg proved to be smart: the cool weather led to several fast times and the June timing of the race set up runners nicely to wrap up their spring season and roll into fall marathon training.
Who are the defending champions? Malindi Elmore and Tristan Woodfine both ran big personal bests to claim their national titles: Elmore ran 1:11:06 and Woodfine ran 1:04:44.
Canadian track & field championships
When is it? June 25-28
The 2020 national track & field championships will be held in Montreal. They were held in Montreal last year too and it was nice to see fans come out to support the event.
2019 saw moments such as the dramatic 100m finish between Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown and a surprise 800m victory by Madeleine Kelly.
This year is especially important because it’s an Olympic year. Any athlete who wins a national title will have priority when it comes to being selected for the Olympics. However, they will need to have achieved the qualifying standard. Athletics Canada wrote about this process here.
Diamond League meets
Diamond League meets are the international premiere track & field meets. I wrote about them occasionally last year as track stars like Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Brandon McBride, Aaron Brown, Moh Ahmed and Andre De Grasse raced in various meets. They are important for international rankings and also preparedness for larger events, such as the Olympics.
Here is the schedule for the 2020 Diamond League meets:
Doha: April 17
China: May 10
Shanghai: May 16
Stockholm: May 24
Rome: May 28
Rabat: May 31
Eugene: June 7
Oslo: June 11
Paris: June 13
London: July 4
Monaco: July 10
Gateshead: Aug. 16
Lausanne: Aug. 20
Brussels: Sept. 4
Zurich (finals): Sept. 11
CBC usually has a stream of all the Diamond League events.
World Masters Athletics Championships
When is it? July 20-Aug. 1
The 2020 world masters athletics championships are being held in Toronto! I know very little about this event, but it’s cool it’s being held in Canada.
The schedule features 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, heptathlon, 10K road race, racewalking, a half-marathon and a cross-country race.
The website lists the events and has information on how to get involved if you want to volunteer.
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo
The Olympics are taking place July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo and Sapporo.
Here are the dates for the running events, as currently scheduled. You can see the full schedule here.
Track & field events: July 31-Aug. 9
Men’s 20K racewalk: Aug. 6
Women’s marathon: Aug. 7
Men’s 50K racewalk: Aug. 7
Women’s 20K racewalk: Aug. 7
Men’s marathon: Aug. 8
The top storylines so far?
They are so afraid of the heat in Tokyo they moved the marathons and racewalks to Sapporo
Russia’s been banned from competition again because of doping
There are several new sports, including surfing, skateboarding three-on-thee basketball and karate
The 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo
The Paralympics take place in Tokyo from Aug. 25-Sept. 6. The track & field events take place from Aug. 28-Sept. 5 and the marathon takes place Sept. 6.
Canada has some amazing para athletes, including Guillaume Ouellet, the two-time Para PanAm gold medallist in the T13 1,500m, and Nathan Reich, the world record holder in the T38 1,500m and 800m.
You can learn more about Canada’s Paralympians here.
Berlin marathon
When is it? Sept. 27
Berlin is the fourth world major in 2020 and the first in the fall racing season. It’s also one of the fastest races in the world, with Eliud Kipchoge setting the world record here in 2018. In 2019, Kenenisa Bekele made a remarkable run at the record and now we live in a world with two 2:01 guys.
Canadians have consistently popped over to Berlin to chase fast race times over the years. Rachel Cliff made her marathon debut in Berlin in 2018. It’s also where Lyndsay Tessier had her breakout 2:30:47 performance that same year. Krista DuChene ran Berlin in 2019.
CBC Sports has had an online stream of Berlin the past couple years.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Kenenisa Bekele (2:01:41) & Ashete Bekere (2:20:14)
Top Canadians: Tyler Hamilton (140th overall, 2:27:47) & Krista DuChene (12th overall, 2:32:27)
Chicago marathon
When is it? Oct. 11
Chicago is the fifth world major of 2020 and it’s usually fast and competitive. Last year, Brigid Kosgei demolished the 16-year-old women’s marathon world record here, running 2:14:04. The American field is usually very competitive and it’s a fun race to watch.
With 2020 being an Olympic year, it’s tough to predict how the elite field will shake out. Elite Canadians rarely go to Chicago, as it’s so close to the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, but the occasional name has popped up over the years.
Chicago isn’t usually broadcast in Canada, but if that changes, I’ll let you know.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Lawrence Cherono (2:05:45) & Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04)
Top Canadians: Eric Bang (47th overall, 2:19:56) & Natasha Labeaud (63rd overall, 2:45:47)
Toronto Waterfront Marathon & the Canadian marathon championships
When is it? Oct. 18
The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is the biggest race on the Canadian race calendar. It’s been the site of the Canadian marathon championships for a number of years and in 2019, it hosted the Canadian Olympic marathon trials (well, kind of. It’s complicated). This race consistently gets one of the strongest Canadian fields in the world, and the international field is also top notch. Toronto currently owns the Canadian men’s and women’s soil records and is the place where the only two 2:09 Canadian men’s marathons performances were run.
I have no idea how the lineup will shake out this year as there isn’t an Olympic berth on the line. Will Canadian marathoners want a chance to claim a national title? Or will they use the opportunity of an Olympic cycle just wrapping to take a shot at a race they’d love to run but doesn’t suit their schedule in a more demanding year?
Toronto is usually streamed online worldwide for free.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Philemon Rono (2:05:00) & Magdelyne Masai (2:22:26)
Top Canadians: Trevor Hofbauer (7th overall, 2:09:51) & Dayna Pidhoresky (10th overall, 2:29:03)
I wrote quite the recap of this race in 2019. Check it out here if you missed it.
New York City marathon
When is it? Nov. 1
The New York City marathon is the final world major race of the year. It’s also the biggest race in the world. It prides itself on its international feel, with runners from around the world populating both the elite fields and the mass entry.
It’s a tough, tactical course and it usually results in some of the best racing of the year. Last year, in the women’s race Joyciline Jepkosgei fended off icon Mary Keitany in her debut at the distance to win. The men’s race was a true race, and a non-elite, Girma Bekele Gebre, made the podium.
Canadians have occasionally popped up in the elite field. The last time an elite Canadian ran NYC was Lanni Marchant in 2016 — she came off her Olympic 10,000m/marathon double to run NYC as her fall marathon. Sasha Gollish was supposed to run NYC last year, but withdrew.
TSN has aired the New York City marathon the past couple years.
Who are the defending champions? [Results found here]
Overall: Geoffrey Kamworor (2:08:13) & Joyciline Jepkosgei (2:22:38)
Top Canadians: Dan Way (78th overall, 2:30:50) & Christy Lovig (53rd overall, 2:55:21)
Canadian cross-country championships
When is it? Nov. 28
The 2020 race season ends with the Canadian cross-country championships. The 2020 meet will be held in the same location as the 2019 meet, in Abbotsford, B.C.
This year, spots on the PanAm Cross-Country Cup team were on the line. Geneviève Lalonde, the Canadian record holder in the steeplechase, defended her title and Mike Tate took home his first-ever national championship when he broke the tape last year. You can read my full recap of last year’s meet here.
Canadian sprinter and pioneering coach Diane Clement named to the Order of Canada
Diane Clement was one of 120 people named to the Order of Canada over the holidays.
Clement, who is now 84 (her birthday is Jan. 1, according to her Team Canada profile), was a Canadian sprinter who competed in the 100 and 220-yard dash and the 440-yard relay at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
She was the first athlete to go the Olympics from New Brunswick.
After she retired from being an athlete, she went on to become the first woman to coach track & field at the University of British Columbia and was the first female president of Athletics Canada.
“I was speechless. In fact I had tears. I couldn't believe it,” she told CBC British Columbia about the appointment.
The CBC article also gets into the sexism and discrimination she faced throughout her career:
“Women had a choice in track and field of [running] 100 or 200 metres and [were told] if we trained for more than that, we might not bear children, and that was the mandate that we had at that time,” she said.
“When you think of what women have accomplished in all sports over the decades, and they thought that we were so delicate that we couldn't train for more than 200 metres, halfway around a track. We've come a long way, and women have shown that, if we do the proper training and have the proper coaches and support, we can do it all,” she said.
Other stuff I liked over the holidays that you might like too
In an effort to keep this newsletter to a semi-reasonable length, I’m going to share the links, podcasts and other stuff I liked over the holidays in a quick bulleted list:
iRun named Dayna Pidhoresky their runner of the year. She won the Canadian marathon championships and booked her ticket to Tokyo at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a huge breakthrough run. Krista DuChene wrote a lovely profile of Dayna.
Dayna shared what a block of training for her Toronto win looked like with iRun.
Krista DuChene also reflected on her decade in running for iRun.
University of Toronto profiled alum Gabriela DeBues-Stafford after her epic, record-breaking 2019. She broke eight Canadian records over the course of the year.
Canadian Running had Gabriela’s sister, Lucia Stafford, on their podcast The Shakeout in December. Lucia runs for University of Toronto and won the 2019 USports cross-country championship.
iRun talked to Lanni Marchant about her return to running after several injury plagued years in 2020.
Sasha Gollish was on the Sonya Looney podcast in December. They talked about Sasha’s rise to become one of Canada’s elite marathoners, her passion about getting girls in sports, her performance at the world championships in Doha and more.
Sasha was also on the Running Rogue podcast, where she discusses much of the same stuff, but also dives into her blogging about burnout and resilience.
Des Linden, the American who won Boston in 2018’s stormy hurricane hell, announced she was running BOTH the U.S. trials and Boston 2020 in the best way possible:
She also did a lot of media about the announcement, speaking to Runner’s World, NBC, Women’s Running and more about the decision.
Scott Fauble, an American elite who ran 2:09 at Boston last year and is now a front-runner to make the U.S. Olympic team, was on the Rich Roll podcast. He talks about his breakthrough races, turning pro, his approach to his sport and more.
The Ali on the Run Show talked to the three men who were tasked with pacing the 2:45 group at the California International Marathon. 2:45 is the Olympic Trials Qualifying time for American women. The conversation about their approach to pacing and how seriously they took their task is one of the best, different and nerdiest running podcast convos I’ve heard.
The New York Times had an essay about running while introverted, which really spoke to me.
Mary Cain stopped by Citius Mag podcast to discuss everything that’s happened since she went public about how she was treated while she was a member of the Nike Oregon Project.
Molly Huddle (who is married to a Canadian, going to mention that every time until the end of time) wants doping to be criminalized.
Roy Svenningsen, an 84-year-old from Edmonton, became the oldest person to ever complete the Antarctic marathon. CBC Edmonton spoke to him about the accomplishment.
I enjoyed the replies to this tweet:
That’s it for this week!
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Next week’s issue will have a bigger Houston preview and we will be back on track when it comes to sharing news, links and other stuff I think you’ll like in more detail.
See you then!