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Lanni Marchant recaps historic seventh-place finish at New York City Marathon

Lanni Marchant breaks down the fastest run ever by a Canadian woman at the New York City Marathon. She placed seventh on Sunday. (Photo via Instagram.)

Lanni Marchant
November 7, 2016
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Canadian Lanni Marchant had a race to remember on Sunday at the New York City Marathon. The 32-year-old national record holder in the marathon ran the fastest of any Canadian at the five-borough race and placed seventh in a deep field. The New York City Marathon is the largest race of its kind in the world.

RELATED: Race recap: Marchant finishes 7th, fastest-ever time by a Canadian woman at NYC Marathon.

Splitting 1:15:26 through the halfway point, at the time outside of the top-10, Marchant began picking women off and finished in 2:33:50. The previous best by a Canadian woman at the New York City Marathon was two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist Odette Lapierre’s 2:35:33 in 1986. The run comes less than three months after Marchant represented Canada at the Olympics in the marathon and 10,000m.

“We started uphill but that wasn’t the problem,” Lanni says. “We went out at seven-minute mile pace (4:20 per kilometre). The first mile was a jog. When we began going downhill, people started moving. At 10K, we really began clicking [but] I wasn’t running outside of myself. Because the course is hilly, one mile up, one mile down, we would run slow, then fast. There’s not really a part of the course where you can find your legs. Some women began pushing the pace at 15K and I didn’t think that was necessary [to go with them]. Then, near the end, bodies came back to me. The last 4K, I improved two or three spots.”

RELATED: Results of celebrities, notable participants at the New York City Marathon.

The day began as any race morning would. When Marchant woke up, her first thought was:”Right, I have to run a marathon.” She says she does best when she’s loose and regularly dances on the start line to keep the vibe fun. At 6:30 a.m. local time, athletes took a bus from Manhattan to an indoor track to warm up. The elites then went to the start line for the 9:20 a.m. start at Staten Island as the race is point-to-point, finishing in Central Park.

Finish video

Marchant, who has a lifetime marathon best of 2:28, won US$7,500 for her efforts on Sunday, crucial for funding her training and travel as Athletics Canada did not select her for financial assistance for 2017. If chosen, she would have received $1,500 per month. She has the choice to appeal.

That funding decision, came on the heels of Marchant’s appearance at the House of Commons where she spoke with members of parliament about issues that face women and girls in sport. These events meant that Marchant had lots on her mind in the weeks leading up to the race. “I do well with juggling a lot,” she says. “When I’ve tried to put all emotion into the race, I don’t do well. I hang out, have my chocolate, and disconnect emotionally with all the distractions.”

On course, Marchant says that she regularly heard her name and said that she got messages post-race from Canadians who were on course cheering her on. Athletes’ last names were printed on their bibs, which added to the on-course atmosphere. In light of speaking with Canada’s MPs in Ottawa (see backstory here), Marchant also says “If I ever doubted my role in speaking out, the messages, some from men and fathers, have proven my point: Women need to be vocal.”

Marchant’s mother and sister were in town and waited for her at the finish line. They watched the start of the race in the hotel and tracked her mid-race progress on the big screen at the finishing area. A post-race meal with family followed.

The London, Ont. native’s 2:33:50 does not qualify her for the 2017 World Championships. “I want to see how fast I can be. I can do that outside of Athletics Canada, I want to represent Canada but it has to be funded.”

Results

1 101 Mary Keitany 2:24:26 Kenya KEN
2 108 Sally Kipyego 2:28:01 OR United States KEN
3 111 Molly Huddle 2:28:13 RI United States USA
4 104 Joyce Chepkirui 2:29:08 Kenya KEN
5 106 Diane Nukuri 2:33:04 AZ United States BDI
6 102 Aselefech Mergia 2:33:28 Ethiopia ETH
7 110 Lanni Marchant 2:33:50 ON Canada CAN
8 115 Neely Gracey 2:34:55 CO United States USA
9 109 Sara Hall 2:36:12 CA United States USA
10 121 Ayantu Dakebo Hailemaryam 2:37:07 NY United States ETH

When asked if there were other notable runs by her competitors, Marchant gave shout-outs to American Molly Huddle, who made her marathon debut and finished third, temporary training partner Sally Kipyego and Diane Nukuri, who finished two spots ahead of Marchant.

Next for Marchant will be a Flagstaff, Ariz., where she has spent time this year training, to London road trip to bring her car back to southern Ontario. In terms of training, Marchant will take a week off and a couple more weeks of downtime.

Her and Natasha Wodak will then be travelling to Barbados for a Canada Running Series event. Then, she is off to Kenya in January for her annual training stint in East Africa.

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