An impressive field of athletes is set to take on the beautiful streets of Vancouver’s Gastown and Strathcona at the 11th annual Under Armour Eastside 10K on Sunday, Sept 22. More than 3,500 participants plan to toe the line–a record number–including Olympians, former champions, and course record-holders. In particular, it will be exciting to see two-time Olympian Geneviève Lalonde as she returns to competition for the first time in more than two years. (Lalonde gave birth to a baby girl in September 2023.)
Lalonde, 33, became an Olympic finalist both at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. In Tokyo, the Victoria native broke the national record twice on her way to earning a best-ever finish for a Canadian in the 3,000m steeplechase, taking 11th in 9:22.40. She also won the steeplechase title at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, and was a finalist at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. In 2022, Lalonde announced a break from track competitions to focus on strengthening her mental and physical wellbeing–she had been a national team member competing on the world stage since the age of 16.
London, UK August 4-13, 2017
Photo: Kevin Morris
On the men’s side, Andrew Davies of Sarnia, Ont., will be one to look out for. The 23-year-old seems to thrive more as the race distance increases; he took third over the 8K distance at both the 2022 and 2023 U Sports championships (representing McMaster and UBC, respectively) but now, having graduated out of the U Sports circuit, he will be a major threat on Canada’s road-racing scene. He has since taken on the 5K, 10K, and half-marathon distances, and boasts a 10K personal best of 29:25–the third fastest time in Canada this year.
Two-time Olympian Natasha Wodak holds the Canadian marathon record of 2:23:12, and once held the 10K national record before moving up to the marathon some years ago. She ran the fastest 10K time this year in May, clocking 33:21, and took home the win at the 2024 Vancouver Half Marathon. Rumour has it that she has eyes on the course record at Sunday’s UA 10K Eastside event as she prepares for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October.
2022 UA 10K Eastside record holder and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont., will be aiming to overtake reigning champion of the UA 10K Eastside (and 2023 Canadian Marathon Champion) Thomas Broatch of Vancouver.
The current course records stand at 29:20 for the men, run by Kelly Wiebe in 2014 and Preisner in 2022, and 32:37 for the women, set by Malindi Elmore in 2022.
Canada Running Series has partnered with five local charities: Promise Vancouver, Urban Native Youth Association, PHS Community Services Society, KidSport B.C. and Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. Along with a record-setting turnout of participants, the event is already on track to raising $50,000 to donate to these community organizations. Click here to donate.
More information about Vancouver’s Eastside 10K can be found here.
