Strong field to race Modo Spring Run-Off

Eleven months ago Kelly Wiebe lay deathly ill in a Vancouver hospital bed, a blood clot in his groin. In an astonishing display of resilience the 25-year-old from Saskatchewan recovered and went on to claim the silver medal at the 2014 Canadian cross-country championship, just four seconds behind Chris Winter.

On March 22, Wiebe will defend his Modo Spring Run-Off 8K title in Vancouver’s Stanley Park against a field which includes Winter. The race kicks off the 2015 Canada Running Series.

Wiebe recently spent a month training in Australia and reckons his fitness is at a new level.

“The Modo 8K is just intended to get me sharp and race ready,” he explains. “I have only raced once since the national cross-country championships back in November, so I am just looking for that race stimulus that you can’t really get in training.

“It promises to be a competitive event this year. I expect there to be some good competition from Chris Winter and Lucas Bruchet, but at the same time I think all three of us are really just looking for something to break up training, and not really something to smash. The main goal is to walk away from the day feeling healthy and ready to tackle 12K at the world cross-country championships the following week.”

Neither Bruchet or Winter, the 2013 and 2014 national cross-country champions respectively, will be joining Wiebe at the world cross-country championships in Guiyang, China at the end of March.

Winter spent five years at the University of Oregon before joining Speed River Track Club in Guelph, Ontario. After three years in “The Royal City” he and his fiancee, Rachel Cliff, have moved back to B.C. He continues to receive his training program from Speed River coach, Dave Scott-Thomas.

The women’s race will pit Cliff, who will marry Winter on Sept. 11 of this year, against defending Modo 8K champion, Natasha Wodak. A year ago Wodak set a women’s event record with a brilliant 26:37.

“I don’t feel any pressure (to defend the Modo title). I just want to have some fun and enjoy the race,” says Wodak. “It’ll be great to have Rachel Cliff there again this year- we always have great battles. I’m feeling fit and ready to roll.”

But it’s 24-year-old Andrea Seccafien who could provide an upset if the other two think they can wait and kick. A member of Athletics Toronto, Seccafien is a training partner of Commonwealth 1,500m bronze medallist, Kate Van Buskirk and surprised many with her consistency over 5,000m on the track.

With one of the deepest fields ever assembled in both the men’s and women’s races there is no doubt it will be a battle to get on the podium.

Edited from a press release by Paul Gains.