Genevieve Lalonde goes sub-16:00 in road 5K, breaks New Brunswick record

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Olympian and national 3,000m steeplechase record holder Genevieve Lalonde ran one of the year’s fastest 5Ks among Canadians in Moncton, N.B. on Oct. 22.

The 26-year-old clocked 15:58 at the Legs for Literacy 5K, the third-fastest road time for that distance in Canada for 2017. The personal best is a new provincial record, according to Athletics New Brunswick, breaking the previous mark of 16:01 from 1993. Lalonde won the 5K outright.

Lalonde finished 16th in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2016 Rio Olympics and went on to improve her own Canadian record in the event in London at the IAAF World Championships, finishing 13th in 9:29.99.

Thanks @legsforliteracy et @UNIcooperation for such a great event! New road 5km pb 15:57 et pleins de nouveaux amis!! #TeamNB @Speedriver

— Geneviève Lalonde (@lalongen) October 22, 2017

“This year London was pretty high-strung, and Rio too, the Olympics has so much hype,” Lalonde told Maritime Runner after the race. “Coming home, it’s just great to run with locals and have the people around the course knowing my name. It definitely helps, especially at the end.”

All Athletics lists Lalonde’s previous personal best as 16:34 from a 2016 race in Australia.

The Canadian 5K road record is 15:33 by Jessica O’Connell, according to Athletics Canada.

Also a @RunNB provincial record!

— ANB (@AthNB) October 22, 2017

The event’s half-marathon served as the provincial championships with Jean-Marc Dorion and Shelley Doucet being the winners in 1:13:17 and 1:19:45. Laura Dickinson set a new U20 provincial record in the half finishing third in 1:22:35, according to Run NB.