It's cold outside, but Canadians are bringing the heat to track meets
Gabriela Stafford breaks another record, Yuki is coming to Canada and more.
Welcome to the second issue of Run the North! Let’s get into it, shall we?
Gabriela Stafford breaks Canadian indoor mile record
Gabriela Stafford is on a roll! She broke her second Canadian record in three weeks — earlier this year she broke the 5K indoor record when she ran 14:57.45 at the Glasgow Athletics Association Miler Meet.
On Saturday night, Stafford won the indoor mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. Her time of 4:24.80 was also a meet record and is currently the world leading time in 2019 for that distance.
2019 is shaping up to be a huge year for Stafford: she also just got married, and will be graduating from University of Toronto in May and moving to Scotland to train full-time after that.
Stafford was a guest on the latest episode of Canadian Running’s podcast, The Shakeout.
In the Let’s Run video below, Stafford talks about moving to Scotland to train with Laura Muir.
Ben Flanagan wins Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge 3000
Ben Flanagan won the 3000m at the Dr. Sander Invitational in New York on Saturday, running 7:48.8, demolishing his PB in the that distance and going under sub 8:00 for the first time.
In the Let’s Run interview below, Flanagan talks about the race, dropping below 8:00 and chasing the Canadian record.
Yuki Kawauchi is racing Vancouver
Yuki Kawauchi, known for winning Boston in 2018 in torrential wind and rain and running like one million races a year while holding down a day job, is running the BMO Vancouver Marathon this year. The race is three weeks after Yuki toes the line at Boston, but since Yuki is known for running upwards of 30 races a year in distances ranging from the 1500 to ultras, and ran 12 marathons alone last year, that’s not that big a deal for him. Vancouver will be the first time Yuki has ever raced in Canada.
Can Yuki break the Vancouver course record of 2:18:37? Or the event record of 2:13:14? He’s run sub 2:20 a world-record 81 times, and has run sub 2:11 20 times, so it’s entirely possible. He publicly stated his goal is to win. Last year’s winner, Canadian Rob Watson, ran 2:27:38 to break the tape, so it seems possible.
Canadian Running recapped Yuki’s 2018 to give you a sense of how often he races. It’s a lot.
Rob Watson on The Morning Shakeout podcast
Speaking of Rob Watson, he was the latest guest on The Morning Shakeout podcast. (The Morning Shakeout is one of the best running newsletters and running podcasts out there, in my opinion) Watson is a Vancouver-based 2:13:29 marathoner who retired from professional running in 2016 after failing to qualify for the Olympics. He’s still running (he did win the BMO Vancouver marathon last year after all) and is currently coaching with Mile2Marathon.
The episode is excellent, Rob’s a very thoughtful guy and they cover the wide spectrum that exists within the sport of running, what it’s like to stay connected to the sport once you’re done being an elite, what it’s like to chase a dream for so long and never see it happening, and why regular runners are as inspiring for elites as elites are for regular runners. Oh, and why Rob is setting his sites on trail running in 2019. It’s definitely worth a listen.
Houston, we have more coverage
Last week, we highlighted Malindi Elmore, who crushed her marathon debut in Houston, running 2:32:15, finished seventh overall, the top Canadian, and well below her own goal of 2:35.
Why is this such a big deal? Elmore is 38 years old, she just had a baby and she doesn’t have any sponsors. I’ll be honest: she was barely on my radar when prepping for Houston. Now she’s in the conversation for top Canadian women marathoners, and her next marathon is going to be hyped.
Elmore gave an interview to Canadian Running about how she’s kept the love affair with running alive since high school.
Stephen Andersen at Running in Canada has a great, detailed breakdown of all the Canadian performances at Houston.
Evan Esselink spoke to Athletics Illustrated about his 62:17 finish in the half, which made him the top Canadian in the race, and was the fourth fastest Canadian half-marathon time ever.
Finally, Tempo Journal has an amazing photo gallery of the Houston half-marathon. See if you can spot Canadians Tasha Wodak, Eric Bang and Kyle Wyatt.
Strides: links I liked and think you will too
There’s a new Canada Food Guide! And it’s good! Basically: eat a lot of vegetables, drink a lot of water and be engaged with what you eat. iRun has a great breakdown what runners can take away from the new guide.
Reid Coolsaet shared his 2019 resolutions on his blog. His big focus? Qualifying for Tokyo 2020.
Not Canadian, but feels that way: Here’s a Facebook video of Mansfield University track star Ryan Clifford running on a snowy track he spent two hours shovelling. (via Let’s Run)
CBC News profiled a running group on the Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation.
The CBC Radio show Tapestry did a piece about the spiritual side of fitness groups. It’s mostly about CrossFit, but there’s definitely a lot of food for though in relation to run crews and groups.
I’ve been reading the Canadian running blog Just Me Jodie for years. It’s a great look at what life is like for a totally unexpected runner who is now a proud back-of-the-packer. Jodie just revealed that she completed the Dopey challenge at Walt Disney World and is now, finally, a marathoner! Congratulations Jodie!
Would you want to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days? Canadian Running previews the World Marathon Challenge and the two Canadians participating this year.
Eliud Kipchoge believes the sub 2:00 marathon is possible. If he does, I think we all should.
This Men’s Journal profile about American brothers Brent and Kyle Pease becoming Ironmen (Ironmans?) made me cry. Kyle has spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy and Brent must push him through the entire 140.6 mile race. They completed it in 14 hours and 29 minutes.
That it’s for issue #2! Thanks for reading! If you have questions, comments, concerns, ideas, just want to say hi, hit me up at runthenorthnews@gmail.com.