Natasha Wodak to take one final shot at Canadian marathon team
"I know to get to Paris, it will probably be the most challenging six months of my life, but I need to try," said the Canadian women's marathon record holder
Photo by:
Claus Andersen/COC
The Canadian record holder in the women’s marathon, Natasha Wodak, wants one final shot at the Canadian Olympic marathon team for Paris 2024.
The 42-year-old was a guest on this week’s episode of The Shakeout Podcast with host David Stol, revealing her plan to give the Olympic standard another try after just missing the mark of 2:26:50 at the 2024 Houston Marathon, where she finished ninth.
“I do have a spring marathon planned,” revealed Wodak on the podcast. “I can’t reveal where I will be racing yet, but I know I have to try [to get to Paris].”
Wodak did not expect her Paris Olympic dreams to get to this point, but after a stomach flu kept her out of the 2023 London Marathon and warm conditions translated to a tactical race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Houston became her plan C. “I did not think there was any way I would not get the standard in Houston,” Wodak said.
A few weeks before Houston, Wodak had a hamstring issue, which altered her last few weeks of training. Despite the discomfort, she felt confident of her fitness. Things were fine in Houston, and she was on pace to run 2:25 through 30K. But with a flare-up around 35 km, she felt her Olympic hopes dwindle. She ended up finishing the race in 2:28:42, a minute and 52 seconds shy of her goal.
“After the race, I did not want to do this again—it’s hard to get fit for a marathon and do these builds,” Wodak shared. Encouragement from those close to her, including Tokyo Olympic marathon teammate Malindi Elmore, spurred her on. “She told me I can’t just give up, and that I deserve to be on that Paris team… It really resonated with me,” she said.
Wodak said she applied to four marathons that are before the April 30 Olympic qualification deadline; three of the four said they had a spot for her. “I know to get to Paris, it will probably be the most challenging six months of my life, but I need to try,” she Wodak.
For the full interview with Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak, tune in to this week’s episode of The Shakeout Podcast.
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