Cam Levins wants to break his own Canadian record in London
Cam Levins on his goals for 2019 and what he learned from his first marathon
Cam Levins is racing the 2019 London Marathon this spring. Levins is the Canadian Marathon record holder and one of Canada’s best-ever distance runners. The runner is lining up against world champions, world major winners and the marathon world record holder in three months time.
RELATED: Levins is running London
Racing a world record holder is a unique opportunity. Eliud Kipchoge moved the marathon ahead in the fall of 2018. He took the distance to a place that runners, spectators and fans of the sport had only theorized about. London is expected to be a fast race because it’s got a very strong field, but also because the marathon has a real inertia at the moment. What the goal post is moved, it makes people hungry.
Levins has been looking for a fast course since Toronto. “London is a good choice for my second marathon. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that it was finalized. I’m hoping to go out and run a faster time than I did in Toronto.”
When asked about what it will be like to race the world record holder, Levins jokes that it could feel like two different races. “I’m very excited to meet him, he’s an inspiration to marathoners everywhere, but if he goes out on world record pace I’d hardly even call it the same race.”
RELATED: Cam Levins was patient, and it paid off
Levins’ build for London will be a little different than Toronto. “I learned a lot from STWM. My biggest fear going into my debut was that I would encounter pain like I never had before. But the pain I encountered wasn’t something new, I wasn’t something that I hadn’t already experienced in practice. Going into London, I’m not as intimated as I was for my debut. I know what it feels like to run a marathon now.”
The confidence that comes from having completed his first 42.2K is carrying into his build for London and hopefully into his race as well. “I’ve taken the positives from my Toronto build and made a few changes that I believe will positively impact my race in London.”
Levins is currently in Portland where he will remain until March. Then he’ll head to Utah for the bulk of his build before leaving for Europe to race.
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