Scrappy marathoners take to the Pan Am track

Gutsy performances have again given me a reason to write about the Pan Am Games. Last week was the women’s marathon and the grit it took for those athletes to push through a hot, humid race. This past week all the best qualities of marathoners were once again on display.

Props to all the men who raced under tough conditions in Saturday’s marathon, however that’s not the display of determination, scrappiness and grit I’m referring to. I’m talking about the women’s 10,000m on Thursday.

You may ask: “A track race? What kind of marathon strength and scrappiness was on show?” A lot. The two women who pushed the pace over the 10 kilometres were athletes who primarily focus on marathon racing — Lanni Marchant of Canada and Desiree Davila (Desiree Linden — her married name) of the USA.

These two pounded out 10 very fast kilometres amongst a field made of mostly track athletes focused on speed and strength over shorter distances, unlike marathoners who’s focus is on a combination of speed and endurance.

So there they were — two marathoners — both known for their scrappy racing style, taking control of the race around the midway point. It wasn’t entirely surprising as both have impressive PB’s at this distance. I think that’s part of what makes them both successful marathoners, they haven’t neglected speed training and are familiar with the pain of pushing through an uncomfortable pace. As a side note, Linden and Marchant trained together in Kenya a couple of years ago for about a six weeks.

From the dirt roads of Kenya to a track in Toronto, Linden and Marchant nearly held onto a one-two finish at the Pan Ams. I’m not sure who got the best of whom in Kenya and I’m sure that wasn’t the point. However, in Toronto Linden ended up pulling away from Marchant with about two laps to go. And in the end Brenda Flores of Mexico had a killer kick to take them both out in a time of 32:41:33. Linden crossed about three seconds later. Followed by Marchant only a few seconds behind her.

It was fitting to get to watch these speedsters go at it the past week, as the intensity of my own training has picked up. This means, among other adjustments, I’m training at faster speeds more frequently and pushing past a comfortable pace. It feels great to be at this point in training. It’s still a very controlled build, but that’s what it’s about — respecting the process. And, as I carry on I will remind myself of the many gusty performances of the 2015 Pan Am Games.