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Virtual Canadian 10K Championships set for Canada Day

A group of Canadian elites will virtually face off next Wednesday

June 25, 2020
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The Canadian 10K Championships, which historically have taken place as part of Ottawa Race Weekend, have been moved to a virtual event for 2020. Registered runners will have a 12-hour window (from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time) to complete a 10K course of their choosing. The route must be an out and back. 

Dylan Wykes ad Rory Linkletter before STWM 2019 start. Photo: Maxine Gravina
 
“Our goal is to offer a fun and competitive racing environment for Canada’s best 10K runners during a time when no real races exist,” said Dylan Wykes, 2019 10K Canadian champion and Elite Athlete Coordinator for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. Wykes has seen almost every side of the running business. He’s been (and remains) an elite athlete, he co-founded one of Canada’s most successful coaching businesses, he’s worked in running retail and last winter he took on the position of the Ottawa Race Weekend’s elite athlete coordinator. 
 

Runners to watch for

This year’s race will include a strong field of Canadian elites. Ben Preisner  is the youngest of the bunch. The track-runner-turned-road-racer ran a 2:15 solo marathon earlier this spring and a 1:03 half-marathon last year. He’ll be racing in Kingston. Luc Bruchet and Justin Kent are representing on the west coast. Both runners are experienced 10K runners, with Bruchet running a PB in the distance on the track just last weekend. Bruchet will run in Fernie, B.C., and Kent in Langley. 

Bringing it back to Ontario, Phil Parrot-Migas will be running in London. After third place at last year’s Canadian 10K Championships, he’s had a great past season which included a 1:03 half-marathon. 

5K workout
Photo: Marathon Photos

On the women’s side, 2019 champion Natasha Wodak will face former Canadian marathon record-holder Rachel Cliff and 2019 World Championship competitor Melanie Myrand. Wodak will be running in Vancouver, Cliff in Langley and Myrand in St. Genevieve, Que. 

Beat the Champ

The Beat the Champ race, which will run through the month of July, invites runners to try to beat the national 10K champion at their own game. This open competition will invite runners to beat the 2020 winning time by running 10 x 1K intervals, and combining individual segments to beat the winning 2020 10K result. 
 
The top five runners in Wednesday’s race will receive prize money and Scotiabank will match their winnings in a donation to a charity of their choice. 
 

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