Outstanding and underwhelming performances from ACXC 2018

An evaluation of the performances at the ACXC 2018 championships

Canadian Running November 26, 2018

The Canadian Cross-Country Championships in Kingston, Ont. marked the finale of fall cross-country, as Fort Henry hosted nationals for the fourth consecutive year. Youth, junior, senior, masters and open runners competed across eight races in rainy, and subsequently muddy, conditions in eastern Ontario.

Below are Canadian Running’s graded performances from the championships, looking beyond (but also including) the champions.

Outstanding and underwhelming performances of ACXC 2018:

Gen Lalonde: The 2016 steeplechase Olympian and Canadian record holder dominated the field on Saturday, taking the win by nearly 20 seconds. The 2018 championship was Lalonde’s first time racing cross-country in five years and she handled the conditions and distance perfectly.

Luc Bruchet: Bruchet successfully defended his title on Saturday, taking the win 13 seconds ahead of Mike Tate. Bruchet had to sit out this summer due to an injury but came back strong this fall.

Crimps Cycling Club at ACXC 2018. Photo: Maxine Gravina

Crimps Cycling: Crimps Cycling Club is the group of men who are former national-class runners who switched to cycling, and then temporarily switched back to running. The team’s scorers averaged 33:36 for 10K, which is pretty impressive for guys who ride bikes.

Natalia Hawthorne: Hawthorne is the UBC runner who had a breakout performance in the senior women’s race. Hawthorne was dominant on the track in high school, and has taken her natural speed and turned herself into an extremely competitive distance runner. She went from placing 19th last year to fifth this year.

Kate Ayers: Kate Ayers is proof that you can’t forget about 1,500m runners in cross-country. After a great summer season, and huge personal best in the 1,500m, Ayers finished fourth yesterday behind three of Canada’s strongest distance runners. Ayers was 17th in 2017.

Tyler Dozzi U20 champion. Photo: Maxine Gravina.

Tyler Dozzi: Dozzi had a tough race at U Sports two weeks earlier, but he came back stronger than ever on Saturday taking the win in the U20 men’s race. Notably, Dozzi also took the time to shake the hand of every one of his competitors before exiting the corral.

Brogan MacDougall: MacDougall hasn’t lost a cross-country race all season. The 18-year-old finished off her rookie year as U Sports Athlete of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and now national champion.

Brogan MacDougall, U20 champion. Photo: Maxine Gravina.

Ehab El-Sandali: The Canadian indoor U20 5,000m record-holder ran a great race on Saturday, finishing fourth in the senior men’s race and qualifying for his first senior national team. El-Sandali was the champion of the 2016 junior championships but was absent from the 2017 race.

Meet the Fort Henry hairpin turn: pic.twitter.com/7r9HJhQ9eV

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) November 26, 2018

The mud: The mud at the hairpin turn reached new levels on Saturday, leaving some racers on the ground.

Leslie Sexton: Sexton, a two-time Canadian 10,000m champion, was 40th on Saturday.

Russell Pennock: The U Sports bronze medallist and leader of the collegiate championship team was 20th in Saturday’s race.

Blair Morgan: Morgan, who ran 2:18:29 at the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon, wiped out on Saturday, which caused him to fall from the front of the pack to 64th position.

Ben Flanagan at ACXC nationals 2018. Photo: Maxine Gravina

Ben Flanagan: Flanagan has had an amazing 2018, but admitted on Twitter post-race, “Sometimes she goes, sometimes she doesn’t go. That’s just the way she goes… Now back to it.” The NCAA champion was 7th, which is a very respectable placing, but likely not what Flanagan was looking for.