Canada’s Leslie Sexton, Erin Burrett at the marathon PB haven known as Rotterdam
Leslie Sexton and Erin Burrett are in the Netherlands for Sunday's Rotterdam Marathon, long considered an ideal destination for Canadians to run fast times.
The Rotterdam Marathon, despite its proximity to other notable events including Boston and London, both part of the world marathon majors, has long been a haven for Canadians in search of fast times. At this Sunday’s race in the Netherlands, Leslie Sexton and Erin Burrett look to continue that trend.
Start time: 10 a.m. local time, 4 a.m. EDT, 1 a.m. PDT (scroll down for information on the live stream).
Sexton, a London, Ont. resident, was one of Canadian running’s fall surprises as she took more than six minutes off her lifetime best thanks to a 2:33:20 performance at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
“At this point I’m looking to go faster and lower my personal best,” says Sexton when asked about her race goals and the possibility of an Olympic standard. “I have no interest in going out too fast at a pace I can’t sustain and blowing up. Over the shorter distances you can take more risks and chase standards because you get multiple attempts but in the marathon you only get two good attempts a year so there is much less room for error. My goal is to run the fastest time I am capable of on race day and to pace it as evenly as possible.”
Forecast for April 10 is calling for minimal wind, low chance of precipitation, and ideal temperatures for a marathon (between 8-11 C).
Below are just some of the many fine performances by Canadians over the past few years in Rotterdam:
Reid Coolsaet – 2:11:24 (2015)
Dylan Wykes – 2:10:47 (2012)
Krista Duchene – 2:29:38 (2015)
“The success of Canadians at the Rotterdam Marathon was definitely a big part of the decision to choose this race,” says Sexton. “Everyone I have talked to says this course is very fast and the weather is great for racing around this time of year. When I found out that Erin Burrett was racing it too, that pretty much sealed the deal. Having another Canadian to travel with has made this trip so much easier and taken away a lot of the stress of being in a foreign country. I hope I can add my name to the list of Canadians who have run fast in Rotterdam.”
Burrett is coming off a training stint in Flagstaff, Ariz. where many athletes from British Columbia and Ontario are currently situated. The city offers an ideal environment for long distance running because of its altitude and abundance of soft-surface trails.
The Nanaimo, B.C. resident ran 2:39:17 in October (Victoria) in her first ever attempt at the 42.2K distance. She ran 1:14:45 at the Houston Half-Marathon in January.
The Athletics Canada women’s marathon standard for the 2016 Olympic Games is 2:29:50. Lanni Marchant and Krista Duchene are the only two Canadian women who have hit standard so far in the buildup to the Rio Games.
Below is Burrett getting in one final workout before Sunday’s big race:
The event will be streamed live, for free, on Canadian Running, courtesy of Eversport. The stream can be found below:
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