Interview: Toronto Yonge St. 10K winner Rachel Hannah

At this year’s Toronto Yonge Street 10K Krista DuChene seemed like a lock for the win. That all changed when former college track runner Rachel Hannah blew past her in the final kilometre for one of the biggest wins of her young running career. We reached out to Hannah to talk to her about her big win, her background and what’s next for this emerging Canadian star.

Age: 27

Club: UTTC

Coach: Ross Ristuccia and David Korell (water boy)

Personal Bests:

3,000m: 9:42

5,000m: 16:11

8K: 26:55

10K: 32:32 (downhill)

Half-marathon: 1:18:57

10 miles: 59:22

For our readers who may not know much about you, tell us a bit about yourself: where you are from, how you got into running, and what you do for a living, outside of winning road races!

I am from Barrie, Ontario and started running in grade 4 thanks to my teacher who loved the sport and would encourage us to run daily on a 200 metre gravel track. We would use Popsicle sticks to count our laps and we tracked the cumulative laps run by our classroom, which was enough to run around the world by the end of the year! From there my inner competitive fire was ignited. I was fortunate to get an athletic scholarship to Georgia State University where I completed my degree in nutrition. I was led by two incredible coaches and people: Jessica Raby and John Rowland. I have been working as a registered dietitian for over three years and I am grateful for my current full-time employment with the Medcan Clinic in Toronto, where I am a part of the Weight Management Program. It is a very positive and health promoting environment that is incredibly supportive of my running.

You’ve dabbled in road racing in the past, but this year you seem to be focusing on longer distance events. What’s your plan for the rest of 2014?

Year by year, my focus has been continuous improvement and we alter a few training variables every season to get stronger in new ways. In 2014, I hope to set new PB’s at every distance and keep getting closer to standards for big events. I love training and racing and it’s part of my lifestyle. I’m thankful to have training partners like Darren Lee who are always sources of positive spirit.

Winning Yonge Street is a pretty big deal. You beat one of Canada’s best distance runners, Krista DuChene, in a thrilling manner. Describe for us what you were thinking throughout that race, particularly in the final kilometre.

In the final kilometre at TYS10K I just kept pushing towards the finish and wanted to hold form through to the tape. It was exciting and happened really fast and I wanted to get my best time possible to help the East team win the team challenge.

What do you think the health is of competitive distance running in this country right now?

I think competitive distance running in Canada is healthy and improving. Athletes like Krista Duchene inspire me and show that if you have a good plan, good support network and stay consistent long enough, you can be really great. The more athletes with this mindset, the better Canadian distance running can be. Delayed gratification is something an athlete has to be content with.

How did you celebrate after your win yesterday?

Lunch at Fresh with David Korell followed by a walk in the park with my favourite dog (Tiger).

What was your pre-race workout this week?

Wednesday: 5x 1,500m with 1 minute rest and one kilometre at the end. Average pace for the 1,500m: 3:20/km and final kilometre: 3:14/km.
4 x 150 m hill sprints at the end .