The Nationals: The Women’s 10,000m Race that Wasn’t

Tara Quinn-Smith never expected to be the 5000m national champion. In fact, she was a last-minute entry into the event. Quinn-Smith, one of Canada’s top marathoners, had been gearing up to run the 10,000m at the Canadian track and field championships, held in June in Toronto. But less than a week before the meet, Athletics Canada informed Quinn-Smith that the 10,000m was being cancelled because only two women chose to enter. Officials asked her if she’d like to run the 5000m instead. She accepted the challenge: “I said, “Well, I’ll give it a go.’ Why not? It’s definitely a change of pace for me.”

Quinn-Smith, who trains in Toronto with the Brooks Canada Marathon Project, sprinted to victory in 15:50.35, two seconds ahead of silver medallist Kendra Schaaf of Craven, Sask. (15:52.74). Another Saskatchewan runner, Danette Doetzel of Regina, was third in 16:04.61.

The cancellation of the women’s 10,000m at the National Championships is evidence of a growing problem in the sport. There are fewer young women who are willing to take up the challenge of running one of the most gruelling races on the track, according to Alex Gardiner, head coach of Canada’s national track and field team. “It just seems to have disappeared,” Gardiner says.

Part of the reason, he says, is the growing trend to coddle pre-teens and teenagers when it comes to athletic pursuits. “Young kids don’t run long distances anymore. They’re being told it’s too far.”

While there are still healthy numbers of elementary and high school girls participating in cross-country races, Gardiner says they aren’t approaching the sport with the same competitiveness as before. He blames the increasing emphasis on participation, rather than competition, for this trend.

The 29-year-old Quinn-Smith is one of the exceptions. She remembers begging her college coach at South Florida to let her run the 10,000m during the outdoor track season. Now she’s hoping her success will help convince the younger generation to follow suit. “It has to be in your heart, and you have to really want to run the longer stuff. [Unfortunately], some people never do.”

As well, many of the women who do pursue the longer distances prefer doing so on the roads or cross-country courses – not the track. But in order to be competitive, you must be willing to tough it out on the 400m oval. The top long-distance runners in the world can compete at a high level in any race from 5000m to the marathon, Quinn-Smith says – the combination of speed and strength is necessary to achieve success.

But there is some hope. Quinn-Smith points to a rising crop of young Canadian distance runners coming up through the U.S. college system, such as Schaaf and Doetzel, who have both had great success in cross-country. “I think it’s great that women are working on their speed for a longer period of time because you do need the speed in order to run fast over the longer distance. But it would be great for the long-term development if we could get more of them to make the jump [to the 10,000m].”