VIDEO: Krista DuChene sees London as her “opportunity” in world-class field

Krista DuChene says all the support she’s received from runners in Canada and elsewhere will take her through the tough parts of the race on Sunday.

DuChene, 40, is referring to this weekend’s London Marathon. The 2016 Olympian in the marathon, who holds a 2:28:32 lifetime best, is the Canadian to watch for in what will be one of the most competitive Abbott World Marathon Majors in history. Canada Running Series race director, Alan Brookes, caught up with DuChene ahead of her London debut.

The 2016 Canadian marathon champion is coming off a training stint in Kenya where she trained at altitude in preparation for the spring and summer seasons. So far in 2017, DuChene has raced well including victories at the Chilly Half-Marathon in Burlington, Ont. and the Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8-miler in Waterloo, Ont. DuChene, who is often referred to as Canada’s marathon mom, is currently training under Dave Scott-Thomas.

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DuChene adds that she only has so many chances to peak and sees London as her opportunity. “Hopefully I will have a good one,” she says.

The women’s elite field features Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba and Mare Dibaba and Kenya’s Mary Keitany and Florence Kiplagat. (Those are just a few of the many names.) Several women in the field boast lifetime bests of sub-2:20 in the marathon, which rank them among the fastest in history. The quickness of the course, ideal weather and deep field bodes well for DuChene to threaten her personal best, 2:28:32, which ranks her second all-time among Canadian women.

The London Marathon, the third of the calendar year’s World Marathon Majors, gets underway at 4:15 a.m. EDT on Sunday morning (9:15 a.m. local time). The men’s race begins at 5 a.m. EDT, 10 a.m. local time. It should be noted that London will later this year host another major marathon, the IAAF World Championships in August.