Wodak, Ahmed Win 10,000m Titles at Canadian Nationals

Natasha Wodak (formerly Fraser) and Mohammed Ahmed dominated their respective women’s and men’s 10,000m finals at the Canadian Track & Field Championships in Moncton, N.B., on Thursday evening.

Prince George, B.C.’s Wodak, our cover girl for the July issue of Canadian Running, was one of only two participants in the women’s race and easily took the crown in 33:21 over London, Ont.’s Leslie Sexton, who finished in 34:50. Wodak is jetting back to B.C. to run the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon on Sunday, so hopefully the 10,000m didn’t take too much zip out of her legs.

The men’s 10,000 saw a much tighter race between Niagara Olympic Club’s Mohammed Ahmed and a plucky Brandon Lord of Whistler, B.C. Ahmed was comfortable frontrunning the race lap after lap, with Lord tucked in behind. But with just over a lap to go, Ahmed lengthened out his smooth stride to create enough of a gap to ensure the victory, finishing in 29:22, just ahead of a happy-looking Lord.

These 10,000m finals at the Canadian nationals always offer a sobering contrast to mass participation road 10Ks like the Vancouver Sun Run, where tens of thousands of runners fill the streets. Still, it’s always fun to watch a live stream of Canada’s best runners hammering around the track with the national title up for grabs.

What to watch today

Day 2 action in Moncton will see a crazy-fast field in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, which could very well be the deepest field of any event at this year’s championships. Four of the men have the world championship standard but only three can punch their ticket to Moscow, so this promises to be one incredible battle over the barriers. Alex Genest of Lac-aux-Sables, Que., Chris Winter of Vancouver, B.C., Matt Hughes of Oshawa, Ont. and Taylor Milne of Guelph, Ont. will be fighting hard for both the championship win and a world championship selection. The race starts at 6:50pm AT (5:50 ET; 3:50 MT, 2:50 PT). Watch it live HERE.