Four years ago, Paige Breedon of Barrie called herself a hobby jogger; now, the University of Waterloo athlete boasts a national cross-country silver medal and U Sports fourth-place finish. She surprised herself–and many others–with a breakout season on the Canadian cross-country scene, racing against the country’s top athletes and firmly establishing herself as a rising star.
“The race feels like redemption,” Breedon told Canadian Running after claiming second place at the ACXC national championships in London, Ont., last Sunday. The 22-year-old clocked 36:45 over the 10K course, finishing runner-up to esteemed Canadian marathoner Leslie Sexton. “At OUAs, I was in second with 500m to go, but my legs went lactic on the last hill. Today, I told myself my legs are not going lactic on that hill,” she laughed.
When asked about the changes that contributed to her notable fitness gains this year, Breedon admitted she hasn’t changed much–aside from her newfound passion for yoga. “I dont know if I should be revealing my secrets,” she joked. “My form isn’t great, but I started doing hot yoga, and I think it has really helped my form.”
The game-changing season
The past cross-country season marked Breedon’s second year racing for the Waterloo Warriors, and the fall months saw nothing but impressive performances from the optometry student. “When I got fourth at the first race, I was shocked,” she said about her opening run at September’s Western Invitational, which she followed with a second-place finish at the Don Mills Invitational in Waterloo.
Breedon captured her first collegiate victory at October’s 8-Kay Marauder Invitational, winning by a commanding margin of 24 seconds. “Everyone went out quick, but nobody seemed like they wanted to sustain that,” she said. “I just wanted to pick it up two kilometres in; I took the lead, and nobody went with me.” The result marked the first cross-country win for a Warrior athlete since 2019.
Breedon revealed that her goals for the remainder of the season were to medal at the conference and national collegiate championships–but OUAs fell during a heavy week of miderms. “I went into OUAs knowing I was tired and had stayed up later than I should’ve,” she said, but she still clinched a 10th-place finish.
“U Sports went a little better,” she said. Breedon narrowly missed the podium at the U Sports Championships in Kelowna, B.C., in early November, claiming fourth–a remarkable leap from her 28th-place finish in 2023. “Maybe I should’ve gone with the leaders, but it would’ve been risky. Now that I’ve gotten that fourth place, my next goal will be to go for it a little more.”
First steps as a runner
Breedon completed three years of her undergraduate degree in medical sciences at Western University before securing early acceptance to the University of Waterloo’s prestigious optometry program. The Mustangs cross-country team, which Breedon joined in her third year as a walk-on, was the first competitive running squad she trained with. “Making the Western team as a hobby jogger was a huge deal for me,” the athlete said. “I started running consistently during COVID in 2020, but was just doing easy runs. I probably progressed from 30-km to 50-km weeks over the span of two years.”
Before university, Breedon’s experiences running and racing included completing a half-marathon on her 16th birthday, and several years on the Innisdale Secondary School cross-country team, where she ran about 10 kilometres per week. She also played on the school’s hockey, rugby and flag football teams.
Next goals
Breedon is happy to take some downtime from racing before moving on the track season, where she’ll focus on the 1,500m, mile and 3,000m events. She has her sights set on finally breaking the 10-minute barrier in the 3,000m.
