Luc Bruchet leads four-man crew to PBs at BC Endurance Project 10,000m

The second event of the BC Endurance Project’s Saturday Night Lights Endurance Series took place in Burnaby, B.C., over the weekend. The lone race of the night was a 10,000m run that saw four men finish with PBs. Olympian Luc Bruchet won the race in 28:17.33, finishing just ahead of Kieran Lumb (28:17.55) and John Gay (28:18.10). Bruchet’s fellow 2016 Olympian Charles Philibert-Thiboutot finished in 28:45.42, just three seconds off the Quebec provincial 10,000m record. 

YEEEEEW new PB for this big dogg. 5.5 years is much too long https://t.co/5muIZrfeno

— Lucas Bruchet (@lucabruca) November 22, 2020

A night of PBs

Ahead of Saturday night’s run, Bruchet’s 10,000m best was 28:36.74, which he ran in April 2015. After a long five-year wait, he smashed that PB by almost 20 seconds, and his new best time puts him in the top 20 of all time among Canadians in the 10,000m. Former UBC teammates Lumb and Gay weren’t far behind, and they now occupy the 21st and 22nd spots on the all-time list. Lumb, the 2019 U Sports cross-country champion, also ran to second place on the Canadian U23 list, behind only Mohammed Ahmed‘s incredible time of 27:34.64 from 2012. 

RELATED: Charles Philibert-Thiboutot to run Track Meet, an elite 5,000m in Arizona

Philibert-Thiboutot was agonizingly close to breaking the Quebec 10,000m record of 28:42.4, set by Alain Bordeleau in 1984. Running with Bruchet, Lumb and Gay, he was on pace to smash the record for most of the race. He slowed significantly in the closing few laps, though, ultimately fading to his 28:45 finish. Still, he proved that he’s capable of running and holding record pace, and while Bordeleau still owns the title of fastest Quebecois for now, his record is in danger of being beaten in the coming months. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CH6XtkWHe5Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

After the race, Gay, who represented Canada at the 2019 world championships in the 3,000m steeplechase, posted on Instagram, writing, “I’m so stoked to come away with a big 10,000m PB of 28:18.10 … we made a plan, stuck to it and were rewarded with PBs all around. Nights like this are what I love most about my sport.”

RELATED: Kieran Lumb’s display of finish line sportsmanship in photos

Olympic qualifying 

None of the four men met the 10,000m Olympic qualifying standard of 27:28.00, but even if they had, it wouldn’t have helped them secure a spot on the Canadian team for Tokyo, as the window to qualify opens on December 1. World Athletics rankings are also frozen until the start of December. While their PBs won’t be counted toward Olympic qualification, each of the men will certainly be brimming with confidence moving forward. The third and final event of the Saturday Night Lights Endurance Series is set for December 5, and Bruchet, Lumb and Gay are all on the start list for the 5,000m race.