Perfectly Imperfect

After her seventh-place finish at the 2016 New York City Marathon, it took Lanni Marchant, 37, five years to get back onto a marathon start line. At the 2021 New York City Marathon, she was underprepared and unsure of how she would perform. But for the first time in nearly eight years, she was truly excited about running. She loved every kilometre, and she finished eleventh, in 2:32 – the fastest time of any Canadian woman on the course that day. It’s a feeling she’d like to hold on to.

Marchant burst onto the Canadian elite scene in 2011, running the Ottawa Marathon in hopes of winning prize money to pay for law school. She finished in 2:49, and runners who finished in 2:50:00 and under won $2,500. Within a year, she’d run 19 minutes faster over 42.2K and was within striking distance of Olympic qualification. She wasn’t selected to represent Canada (no Canadian women were selected for the marathon in 2012). Four years later, she’d go on to qualify for two events, and in Rio, she ran both the 10,000m and the marathon.

Her impact on the Canadian running scene has been considerable. People know her not only for her running accomplishments, but also for speaking up about things that are important to her. She has publicly appealed Athletics Canada decisions. She has spoken openly and passionately about women’s rights in sports. And she’s unafraid to challenge the status quo when she sees inequality or injustice – even if it means challenging the structures that pay her bills. She has experienced troubling personal losses in the last five years. She’s tough – a self-proclaimed stubborn person who speaks frankly. But, as she enters 2022, she’s becoming more flexible.