LIVE STREAM: 2016 New York City Marathon
Three Canadians, Lanni Marchant, Rob Watson and Marilyn Arsenault, are in the elite fields at the New York City Marathon, which begins Sunday.
The world’s largest marathon will have the running community’s attention on Sunday morning as the New York City Marathon gets underway with the women’s race at 9:20 a.m. local time. There will be three Canadian elites on the start line including an Olympian, a world championship marathoner and one of the nation’s top masters runners.
Stream (live as of 9 a.m. EST, provided by CBC Sports)
The professional men’s race begins at 9:50 a.m. local time.
See the Canadians to watch for on Sunday morning.
Lanni Marchant
The fastest woman in Canadian marathon history will be making her New York City Marathon debut on Sunday. The Olympian, who contested both the 10,000m and marathon in Rio, has a lifetime best of 2:28. Because the NYC course is rather challenging in terms of elevation, Marchant will likely be going for placing rather than a record-breaking time. The New York City Marathon runs through the five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.
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“New York has been on my bucket list, and it’s, from what I’ve been told, the best experience,” she says. “So I’m hoping to go out there and share that experience.”
“I took a full week off and just enjoyed Rio and watched my teammates compete, and then I went to Argentina for about five days,” Marchant says of her transition back to training after the Olympics. “So that was my introduction back into running. I just ran easy a couple of the days that I was there. And then by the third week, I was back to just running every day. And then by the fourth week, we introduced workouts and doubles again. So we took a good four weeks to really ramp it up.”
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The women’s field has a fascinating dynamic this year as there are a number of women who have run under 2:20. There are a number of Americans, notably Molly Huddle, who will be making their debuts at the distance. Olympic triathlon champion Gwen Jorgensen is also in the field and will be running her first marathon less than three months after Rio.
Kenya’s Mary Keitany will look to win her third consecutive New York City Marathon title on Sunday.
Rob Watson
Known as one of Canada’s most popular marathon runners, Rob Watson will be on the start line at a major marathon for the first time since London last April. He is aiming to run under 2:20, a time he has eclipsed many times in his career. He has run Chicago, London, Boston, paced Berlin, and will check off the New York City Marathon as he approaches running all six World Marathon Majors. The only one he has not participated in is Tokyo. (Though Watson may not count Berlin as he did not finish nor try to.)
“Gonna give it a go,” Watson tells Canadian Running. “2:19:59 or bust.” The 33-year-old has 10 times broken the 2:20 barrier in the marathon. Though he has scaled back his running slightly from past years, where he has represented Canada at the world championships, Watson wants to run 20 sub-2:20 marathons. He has a 2:13:29 lifetime best.
Defending New York City champion Stanley Biwott is one of the favourites to win and defend his title.
Marilyn Arsenault
One of the nation’s top masters runners, Marilyn Arsenault, is the third Canadian to watch for at the New York City Marathon on Sunday. She holds multiple Canadian masters records and has represented Canada at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships.
Among her records is the women’s 45-49 marathon record, a 2:40:20 clocking, her lifetime best, at the 2013 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. She’s 48 and resides in Victoria where she operates Mindful Strides, a coaching clinic for runners looking to improve their form.
Start list
NYC Marathon Stats (as reported by Frank Stebner)
Fastest Canadian women’s time at the New York City Marathon
– Odette Lapierre: 2:35:33, 1986 (6th)
Other notable top-10 Canadian women’s performances
– Lizanne Bussieres: 2:37:34, 1984 (4th)
– Jacqueline Gareau: 2:38:31, 1985 (9th)
– Jacqueline Gareau: 2:39:06, 1979 (3rd)
– Gayle Olinek: 2:41:32, 1980 (9th)
Fastest Canadian men’s time at the New York City Marathon
– Peter Maher: 2:11:55, 1991 (4th)
Other notable top-10 Canadian men’s performances
– Jerome Drayton: 2:13:52, 1977 (2nd)
– Peter Maher: 2:15:05, 1990 (6th)
– Richard Hughson: 2:16:10, 1976 (4th)
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