On Saturday night at the 2024 Canadian 10K Championships at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, Malindi Elmore won her first national 10K title in 15 years, breaking the tape with a dominant time of 32 minutes and 50 seconds. (Her last 10K national title came in 2009.)
With uncertainty around the fitness of 2023 10K champion Natasha Wodak, who ran the Hamburg Marathon four weeks ago. It presented an opportunity for Elmore to push the pace from the start. The 44-year-old from Kelowna, B.C. was out on her own by 3K, opening up a near 20-second gap at the halfway point.
In a post-race interview, Elmore said the point of today was to hurt. “It hurt very much,” she laughed. “I was hoping people would come with me, but it didn’t happen.”
“The whole point of today was hurt with what’s ahead.”
– Malindi Elmore on winning the 🇨🇦 10K champs and her first title in 15 years pic.twitter.com/WpQSiQOWCp
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) May 25, 2024
Elmore’s winning time was only six seconds back of her 10K personal best of 32:44 from 2019. She came into the Ottawa 10K with the focus of using the race as a stepping stone in her Paris Olympic marathon build, 11 weeks from now.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” says Elmore on her Paris Olympic marathon build. “The key is to get the most out of yourself while staying healthy… It’s a fine line.”
Cleo Boyd finished second in 33:12 (a new personal best), with Vancouver’s Wodak third in 33:21. Notably, two of the top three finishers are master’s runners. (Elmore is 44 and Wodak is 42.)
Top 10 Women
- Malindi Elmore 32:50
- Cleo Boyd 33:12 PB
- Natasha Wodak 33:21
- Lanni Marchant 33:31
- Salome Nyirarukundo 33:59
- Caroline Pomerleau 34:01
- Sophia Jacobs-Townsley 34:08
- Makenna Fitzgerald 34:10
- Eliyah Brawdy 34:15
- Elissa Morin 34:17
Ben Flanagan breaks his national record at Canadian 10K Championships
For full results of the Canadian 10K Championships, click here.
