After Rio, Lucas Bruchet refocuses on the 5K Championships

Lucas Bruchet of Vancouver, B.C. represented Canada for the first time at the Rio Olympic Games. He ran the 5000m finishing in a time of 14:02 in the heats, which was not quite enough to advance onto the finals. Bruchet has a personal best of 13:24 which he ran earlier in 2016 and will no doubt be looking for a similar time on Sunday. We caught up with Bruchet ahead of the race.

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Canadian Running: You represented Canada at the recent Olympics in Rio. What was the experience like, what did you learn from it and how does Rio affect your future training and racing plans going forward?

Lucas Bruchet: Running at the Olympics was amazing, something I’ll never forget. It’s almost surreal walking on to the track with 25 of the world’s best athletes. It was by far the most high-stakes race I’ve ever been in and even though I wasn’t as competitive as I would have liked to be, it provided me with numerous learning experiences for the future. I think the way the race went in Rio left me a bit disappointed. I was able to improve my ranking but the pessimistic nature of elite runners always want more. I can say for sure it has lit the fire for the next four years.

Canadian Running: What are your goals and expectations ahead of the 5K Champs? How are you preparing/training between now and then?

Lucas Bruchet: It has been hard to keep the motivation going after Rio. It is such a high that I’ve built for the last couple of years and when it finished I kind of felt like ‘what’s the point of doing any other races?’ Although I officially ended my track season [after Rio], I wanted to come to Toronto and end the season on a high note. Any time you can compete against Canada’s best for a Canadian national title is always worth it. Training has been a little touch and go since Rio but I’m going to put my best foot forward these last few weeks and see what I can do. I want to come to Toronto ready to win and take down the course record. It’s time a Canadian held the fastest time on Canadian soil!

Canadian Running: What do you like about this event and about racing in Toronto?

Lucas Bruchet: I ran this race last year and was very pleased with the experience. Megan [Brown, the race director] and John [Lofranco of Athletics Canada] do a great job of hosting the elite athletes, not to mention the quality of athletes they bring in. The race organizers put on a great race, with a fast course.

Canadian Running: What are your training and racing plans following the 5K Champs?

Lucas Bruchet: Following the 5K champs I intend to take a much needed break. I’ve had a bit of a tough time dealing with the post Olympic timeline so I think taking a break and refreshing will be huge for next year. Once the break is over though I’ll be back gearing up for the Canadian Cross Country Championships [in late November].