Canadian Record Smashed- Marathon

[Gurn]

She knocked over 1:12 off the previous record!

 

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/other/natasha-wodak-smashes-canadian-marathon-record-in-berlin/ar-AA12dKCD?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f005c13d4ced491c804253b6d91e1235

Natasha Wodak believes that enjoying the process will show up in the results.

 

The 40-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., who grew to love training for the marathon, shattered the Canadian record in that distance in Berlin on Sunday.

Wodak finished 12th at the Berlin Marathon in two hours 23 minutes 12 seconds, lowering Malindi Elmore's record of 2:24.50 set in 2020.

Wodak, who was 13th in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was a 10,000-metre specialist on the track for the better part of a decade, and said she didn't enjoy her first marathon experience in 2013.

"I was kind of like 'I don't know how much I want to do this,'" Wodak said.

"But as I've gotten older, and become a more disciplined runner, and I'm in a better place in my life, I really enjoy the training. And I've had a lot of fun with every marathon build, and challenging myself. Because it's new, right? The move to the marathon was a lot of fun, doing new training and challenging myself, and I really enjoyed it. And I think that's a huge part of why I've been successful, is because I really liked the training."

Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa won Sunday's race in 2:15.37. Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya broke his own men's

marathon world record to win the men's race in 2:01.09.

Wodak, who is coached by Trent Stellingwerff, said her recent training indicated she could run 2:24.

On Sunday, she ramped up the pace over the 42.195-kilometre course. Her second half was more than a minute faster than her first.

"I knew at 35K, because we had significantly dropped the pace through the last 5K, that we were well under Canadian record pace," Wodak said, moments before sitting down to a celebratory drink with her family.

"I had a pacer, and he just was like, ‘Let's go, let's go.’ And I just kept on him. I was tired over the last 5K, I was working really, really hard. But I knew that was just because we were running fast.

"I didn't think that I could do 24.12 . . . when I saw that time at the finish line, I was like, 'oh, wow, what?'"

Wodak's record comes amid a surge in Canadian women's distance running.

The Canadian record has dropped five minutes in the past nine years, although Wodak noted the huge improvements in shoe technology have seen distance running times plummet across the board in recent years.

Still, Elmore was ninth in the Tokyo Olympics, and the battle between the Canadian women to make that team was fierce.

"It's really exciting to be a part of women's distance running right now," said Wodak. "We just sort of are feeding off of each other. If Malindi hadn't run 2:24.50, I don't know if I would have set my goal to run 2:24 flat.

"So now Malindi is going to go run Toronto (Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 16), and she's gonna be like, 'OK, I want to run sub-2:23.' We just keep lowering the bar and it’s great when we all build each other up. She wished me good luck (Saturday) and said, 'I hope you have an amazing race.' That's a really cool run community to be a part of when we all support each other."

Elmore tweeted on Sunday, "Congrats Natasha! Huge impressive run today!"

Wodak planned to vacation in Germany with her family. She doesn't plan to race for awhile, and is considering competing in the Canadian cross-country championship Nov. 26 in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2022.

[babych]

That's incredible. I can't fathom being able to run at that pace for that amount of time. I did two halfs this year and both were around 1:53.... 

 

Good on them!

[-AJ-]

That's incredible for someone of her age. Outstanding.

[Ghostsof1915]

My sister was a middle distance runner in the 70's. She pulled out of the provincials because she couldn't handle the stress. I think it's amazing that anyone finishes a half to full marathon. Well done!

[Dazzle]

1 hour ago, -AJ- said:

That's incredible for someone of her age. Outstanding.

40 years old isn't that old, bud!

[-AJ-]

1 hour ago, Dazzle said:

40 years old isn't that old, bud!

For a marathon runner, I would assume it is. I would've expected the record-holder to be like 23 or something.

[bigbadcanucks]

4 hours ago, babych said:

That's incredible. I can't fathom being able to run at that pace for that amount of time. I did two halfs this year and both were around 1:53.... 

 

Good on them!

Good on you for your half marathons.

 

I can't fathom being able to run at that pace for 400 metres.  That may be too much for me.  I could probably do it for 200 metres.  Then pass out.

[bigbadcanucks]

3 hours ago, -AJ- said:

That's incredible for someone of her age. Outstanding.

Isn't 40 the new 30? 

[Gurn]

4 hours ago, babych said:

I can't fathom being able to run at that pace for that amount of time.

I think it depends on what is chasing you.

 

[CanuckinEdm]

20 hours ago, Dazzle said:

40 years old isn't that old, bud!

40 isn't that old but in the eyes of competitive sports its really old.

[johngould21]

1 hour ago, CanuckinEdm said:

40 isn't that old but in the eyes of competitive sports its really old.

I was a late entry to marathon running. I started training around the age of 35, and ran my first at 37. I ran 6 in about 4 years, the slowest in 3:15, and my pb was .01 below 3:03. My quickest half was 1:17. In distance running 30 to 40 year olds are in their prime at the elite level.

I trained in my mid 50’s for the Chicago Marathon and was 57 when I entered it, but my time was an hour slower.

[Forsy]

2 hours ago, CanuckinEdm said:

40 isn't that old but in the eyes of competitive sports its really old.

Eliod Kipchoge just smashed the marathon record again at 37. I think we're at the point where the physical peak may be 25, but:
i) the decrease in potential fitness is actually a fairly slow process, especially when the sport doesn't have competitors impacting each other. Most "old" athletes probably retire more because of injuries rather than the loss of fitness and mental game
ii) figuring things out like training, recovery, tactics/game sense usually takes a bit longer, so you can remain competitive at the top level until 35-40ish
So you'll get a bunch of older athletes who are slightly worse physical, but better mentally thus remaining competitive.

Of course, once the young ones start figuring everything out early enough and instead of simply racing and playing, we could see early-mid 20 year olds dominating everything (see cycling's Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel)

Edited September 26, 2022 by Forsy