{"id":72432,"date":"2020-06-01T13:29:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T17:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/?p=72432"},"modified":"2020-06-03T12:21:48","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T16:21:48","slug":"women-of-the-road-impressive-canadian-womens-marathon-performances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/the-scene\/women-of-the-road-impressive-canadian-womens-marathon-performances\/","title":{"rendered":"Women of the road: impressive Canadian women’s marathon performances"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Andrew McKay<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Malindi Elmore<\/strong> was having a moment.<\/p>\n

Actually, all of Canadian women\u2019s running was having a moment, and Elmore was suddenly at the centre of it. Elmore set a new Canadian record in the women\u2019s marathon in January, running 2:24:50 to cut more than two minutes off Rachel Cliff\u2019s<\/strong> previous mark<\/a>. Elmore\u2019s third-place finish in Houston had all but guaranteed her a spot on Canada\u2019s 2020 Olympic team, which is fitting when you consider the influence the 2004 Olympian had on so many of the women who were still aiming for a spot in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s surprising is how Elmore ended up in this position. By her own admission, the 1,500m specialist was \u201cpretty much done\u201d with competitive running after failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Without regret, she moved into triathlon and placed third at Ironman Arizona in 2016, finishing in under nine hours. But the birth of her second child meant the days of four- to six-hour weekend training rides were in the past, so she got back to running\u2013\u201cjust for fitness.\u201d Within four months, she went from trying to run an hour without stopping, to a 2:32 finish at the 2019 Houston Marathon (her debut at the distance). \u201cOnce we saw the Olympic criteria (2:29:30 for women) come out, that was the goal,\u201d says Elmore. \u201cThat was something that made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

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