Olympians top Canadian contingent at NACAC 10K Road Race Cup
See how Canada's Olympians Eric Gillis and Lanni Marchant, among others, fared at the NACAC 10K Road Race Cup on Sunday morning. (Photo: CRS.)
Four of Canada’s top distance runners were in Puerto Rico for the NACAC 10K Road Race Cup in an attempt to defend their team title from 2016. The quartet of Eric Gillis, Lanni Marchant, Luc Bruchet and Rachel Cliff raced the World’s Best 10K, an IAAF Gold Label event, which doubled as the North American, Central American and Caribbean Road Race Cup.
Marchant and Gillis were the top Canadians among the four placing eighth and 12th, respectively. Cliff also finished in the top-10 placing ninth and Bruchet was 13th in hot conditions on Sunday morning. Canadian Running is awaiting team results; the top finisher in the men’s and women’s races contributes to a cumulative team score.
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Based on preliminary results, the United States appears to have won the NACAC team title, though unofficially.
Canadian results
WOMEN
8. Lanni Marchant – 33:50
9. Rachel Cliff – 34:03
MEN
12. Eric Gillis – 30:06
13. Luc Bruchet – 30:41
“Felt good in the heat this morning (at) the World’s Best 10K (in Puerto Rico), just over 30 minutes,” Gillis, who will run the 2017 Boston Marathon, wrote on Twitter after the race. American Sam Chelanga (28:19) and Kenyan Mary Wacera (31:41) won the overall races.
RELATED: Rachel Hannah and Eric Gillis lining up with elites at 2017 Boston Marathon.
Partial results
Eric Gillis (@EricGillis42_2k) 12th & Luc Bruchet (@lucabruca) 13th at #WB10k. pic.twitter.com/t1unAx4iFH
— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) February 26, 2017
Results from the WB10K in San Juan Puerto Rico @IAAF Gold Label Event pic.twitter.com/vr2RQJt71P
— Luis Felipe Posso (@lfposso) February 26, 2017
It was the second consecutive year that Marchant finished as the top Canadian at the NACAC 10K Road Race Cup. She and Trevor Hofbauer won the team title among NACAC countries at the event in 2016. Three of the four runners Canada sent to Puerto Rico – Marchant, Gillis and Bruchet – competed at the 2016 Olympic Games while Cliff achieved the required time standard but did not make Rio.
@iaaforg president @sebcoe run the World's Best 10K in San Juan Puerto Rico ?? #WB10K pic.twitter.com/OI7nWxXfyi
— Luis Felipe Posso (@lfposso) February 26, 2017
IAAF president Sebastian Coe, a four-time Olympic medal winner during his professional athletics career, also ran the event on Sunday.
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