Natasha Wodak wins Canadian Marathon Championships

Canadian marathon record holder and two-time Olympian Natasha Wodak of Vancouver has won the Canadian Marathon Championships at Sunday’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Wodak broke the tape in 2:27:54, winning her first national title at this distance, finishing fifth overall and marking a triumphant return to the event where she made her marathon debut in 2013. This was Wodak’s fastest marathon since she set the Canadian record at the 2022 Berlin Marathon.

Leslie Sexton of Vancouver was the second athlete to mount the Canadian women’s podium, finishing seventh in 2:33:15, and Rachel Hannah of Port Elgin, Ont., was third (and ninth in the overall women’s results), in 2:34:33. Sexton won this event in 2017 and was second in both 2015 and 2018; Hannah was second in 2016 and fourth in 2018. 

Anne-Marie Comeau finished 10th in the overall women’s results, in 2:35:16. Erin Mawhinney finished 11th, in her debut marathon, in 2:36:14. Mawhinney won the Waterfront half-marathon in 2023.

Conditions were mild and sunny on the Toronto course on Sunday, about 8 C at the start and warming up to 15 C a few hours into the event, but the gusty winds proved challenging for runners.

Wodak’s splits

Wodak led the Canadian women almost from the start. Here are her recorded splits:

5 km: 17:13
10 km: 34:33
15 km: 51:54
20 km: 1:08:52
21.1 km: 1:13:02
30 km: 1:44:22
35 km: 2:02:05
40 km: 2:20:06
Finish: 2:27:54

Wodak, who is 42, has had a successful season at home this year, winning the Vancouver Half and the Under Armour Eastside 10K; at Friday’s pre-race press conference, she declared this championship victory as her goal. “Everyone wants to be a national champion,” she said. (Wodak has won the 5K national championships twice, the 10K three times and the half-marathon once.)

Natasha Wodak 🇨🇦 wins gold in the Canadian Marathon championships in 2:27:54 (unofficially).

What a comeback performance for @tasha_wodak #ChooseTORun

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) October 20, 2024

Wodak went into the race with a more relaxed mindset than she’d been able to muster over her last several marathons, when she was trying to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics; despite having set the Canadian record (2:23:12) at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, Wodak was unable to put down a qualifying time for the Olympics (2:26:50) in the three marathons she raced during the qualifying period (the 2023 Budapest World Championships, 2024 Houston Marathon and 2024 Hamburg Marathon; she scratched from the 2023 London Marathon after coming down with a stomach bug). 

At the post-race press conference, Wodak confirmed that the national title had been her A goal coming into the race. She also said she would welcome the chance to represent Canada again at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025, if she’s able to qualify; Sunday’s win confers valuable points toward that goal. “If you asked me at 35 km if I wanted to do another marathon anytime soon, it would be no,” she joked, “but yes, I would love to be back on the world stage.”

Wodak expressed some mild disappointment at not achieving a time that reflected her true fitness, and said she struggled with nausea during the race: “I felt like I was in 2:25 or 2:26 shape, but it was pretty windy out there, and I felt nauseous for much of the race. But that’s the marathon–you really need a perfect day to PB and show off that fitness. This was my fastest time since Berlin, and that’s a huge win for me, after the last two marathons went sideways.”

Justin Kent wins Canadian men’s championship

Justin Kent of Vancouver won the Canadian men’s national championship in 2:12:17 (a personal best), and was seventh overall. Lee Wesselius of Mountain, Ont., was second, in 2:13:47 (also a personal best); Wesselius was third here in 2022. Andrew Alexander was third, in 2:14:13–a successful debut for the Toronto runner. 

Kent and his wife, former 800m national champion Lindsey Butterworth (who ran the 5K on Saturday), became parents to a baby girl, Willa, just a few months ago.

“It felt great until we hit some windy stretches,” Kent said after the race. “It’s always hard from 33 km onward, I knew they were on my tail, and I tried to take it one kilometre at a time and stay as calm as I could. I’m ecstatic. There are veyr few times you can win a Canadian championship, and it was amazing to have good weather, good pacing, my friends and family and my daughter out here.” For more on Kent’s win, click here.

Women’s course record, Canadian soil record go down

Ethiopians swept the women’s race, with Waganesh Mekasha, who narrowly lost last year’s race, crossing the line in a new course record and Canadian soil record of 2:20:44. Her compatriot, Roza Dereje, finished second, in 2:21:26, and Afera Godfay was third, in 2:21:50–a personal best. (Godfay was third here last year also.) All three podium finishers went under the previous course record and Canadian soil record of 2:22:16, set in 2019.) For more on that story, click here. 

Mulugeta Uma of Ethiopia took the overall victory in the men’s race, breaking the tape in 2:07:16. Uma also won this year’s Paris Marathon. Dominic Ngeno of Kenya was second, in 2:07:23, and Noah Kipkemboi, also of Kenya, was third in 2:07:31. 

Cassidy wins wheelchair marathon

Josh Cassidy of Barrie, Ont., won Sunday’s wheelchair race, crossing the line in 1:38:09, a bit shy of his own course record, set last year at 1:36:37. Hermin Garic of Utica, N.Y. was second, in 1:48:53.

This was Cassidy’s third consecutive win here, having won the event’s very first wheelchair race in 2022; he won again last year with a course record. The athlete has had a very busy racing schedule this fall, lining up five marathons in seven weeks. He raced the Chicago Marathon last weekend and will race New York City in two weeks. “It’s been a lot of fun and great weather today,” Cassidy said after Sunday’s race, adding that he has raced better with each race.

Non-binary results

Joshua Shin of Hamilton won the non-binary category, with a marathon result of 3:32:09. Kyle Dech of Winnipeg was second, in 3:34:08, and Jordie Winn of Kawartha Lakes, Ont., was third, in 3:41:06.

For full results of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and associated races, click here.