The 2nd Annual Golden Shoe Awards

Reid Coolsaet: Canadian All-Star

By Michal Kapral

After two years of ups and downs, 2009 was a year of steady ups for Hamilton, Ont.’s Reid Coolsaet. First off, the 5000m and 10,000m track and cross-country racing specialist moved up to the marathon distance, running a 2:17:08 debut in Ottawa in May on limited training after he suffered a broken foot.

Coolsaet then went on to represent Canada in the marathon at the World Championships in Berlin and led the Canadian team with a new PB of 2:16:53 on a hot and humid day. Even more impressive than his time was a 25^th place overall and smart pacing strategy. Coolsaet went into the event ranked 85^th and went through 5K in 15:46 in 75^th place. Working together with teammate Dylan Wykes of Kingston, Ont., Coolsaet hit the half-marathon mark in 1:07:03, and picked off another 50 runners before the finish.

“Completing my first marathon was a new milestone in my running career and having a top 25 finish at Worlds with less than ideal preparation was a good confidence boost for future marathons,” Coolsaet says.

In June, Coolsaet won the Canadian 10,000m championships and placed second in the 10K road race championships in October, just behind Regina’s Simon Bairu. He demonstrated his versatility earlier in the month by winning the Run for the Toad 25K trail race near Cambridge, Ont.

In 2010, Coolsaet says he’s looking forward to running another quality 10,000m in the track, possibly topping his best time of 27:56, and concentrating on the marathon in 2011 and 2012.

“Having started the year on crutches and not able to walk, this ended up being my most satisfying year. In 2007, I had better performances based on times, but after having an injury plagued Olympic year, this was a huge step in the right direction.”

Reid Coolsaet blogs about his training and racing on his Canadian Running Magazine blog.

Reid’s Race Record, 2009:

May 24: Ottawa Marathon/ National Championships. 8th overall, 1st Canadian, debut time of 2:17:09.

June 27: Canadian Track and Field Championships 10,000m. 1st place.

July 12: Utica Boilermaker. 8th place, first North American in the top 10 in 15 years.

August 22: World Track and Field Championships marathon. 25^th place, PB 2:16:53.

October 3: Run for the Toad 25K. 1st place, course record 1:28:30.

October 17: Oasis Zoo Run, Toronto – National 10K Championships. 2nd place.