On Saturday, a field of the top Canadian middle- and long-distance runners will convene in Hamilton for the Rebellion Elite 5K, an event known for producing very fast times. Two-time Olympian Lucia Stafford will toe the line; her own course record of 15:20 from 2022 sits just off the Canadian 5K road record of 15:16.
Stafford is a two-time Hamilton Marathon 5K champion; after running the second-fastest Canadian 5K in her first road race, she went on to win the 2023 race, with a time of 15:38. The 26-year-old made a last-minute entry into this year’s event, wanting to test her fitness after a European training camp. Stafford already holds the Canadian record in the outdoor 2,000m and the North American record in the indoor 1,000m.
The 2024 race, unlike the event two years ago, will be sanctioned by Athletics Canada–meaning a new, blistering time would show up on her World Athletics profile. (Her current official best is 15:38.)
Stafford will be joined by Olympians Julie-Anne Staehli, Erin Teschuk and Jean-Simon Desgagnés, along with Canada’s newest road-racing stars, Andrew Davies and Erin Mawhinney. The men’s course record holder, Jeremy Coughler, who clocked 13:55 (also in 2022), is also returning to better his time. The event offers a cash purse of $10,000, with $1,000 bonuses for breaking the course record.
Lucia Stafford comes within seconds of Canadian record in her first 5K race
The course is a single-loop flat and fast route along Hamilton’s Waterfront Trail, starting and finishing at Confederation Park. Saturday morning is forecast to be around 5 C and sunny, with little to no wind. The elite 5K begins at 9:30 a.m., with the open 5K and 10K races later that morning, and the half-marathon and marathon events on Sunday.
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