Marchant and Wodak to take on NYC Half

Canada’s half-marathon record holder Lanni Marchant will take on the New York City Half this weekend alongside Natasha Wodak, another top Canadian elite. Both could put up impressive results in the race, stacked with strong elite competitors.

One year ago, Marchant set the Canadian record of 1:10:47 at a race in Nashville, Tenn. The race this weekend will be her first race of the 2015 season, setting her up for a year in which she hopes to race both the world championship marathon and the Pan American Games 10,000m. She recently returned from a stint of training at altitude in Iten, Kenya.

Wodak also seems poised for a strong performance in New York. In January she shattered her half-marathon personal best in Arizona, running 1:12:23, suggesting she’s back in top form after missing much of 2014 to injury. She’s also hoping to qualify for a spot racing the 10,000m at this summer’s Pan Am Games.

There are no Canadian elite men racing the event, but Wesley Korir, who has many Canadian connections and is a regular on the Canadian running scene, is one of the top seeds in the event. Korir, the focus of the running documentary Transcend, is the 2012 Boston Marathon champion and Kenyan member of parliament. He’s married to Canadian Tarah Korir (formerly McKay) who he met at the University of Louisville.