We are just days away from the 2024 Canadian Cross Country Championships in London, Ont., and UBC master’s student Kiana Gibson is one runner looking to break through against Canada’s best. However, winning isn’t what excites Gibson the most; the 25-year-old loves the sport and the running community.
The Ottawa native is fresh off an incredible collegiate career with the Guelph Gryphons and UBC Thunderbirds as a cross-country and track runner. Her final race was at May’s NAIA Outdoor Championships, where she claimed double gold in the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase. Last November, Gibson represented Team Canada for the first time at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, placing fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase.
“PanAms made me realize how much of an honour it is to represent our country,” Gibson told Canadian Running. “It’s something I never imagined was possible for me; I didn’t expect to feel so much pride in wearing the Canadian flag on an international stage.”
Heading into cross-country nationals, Gibson says her goal is to execute her race plan and not go out too hard. “This year, I want to have a race where I feel good for the first half and still feel like I’m able to progress in the second half,” she said. “I’ve learned that if you stretch yourself out too much in the first couple of kilometres, in the final kilometres, the hills are going to bite you.” She placed 10th at last year’s championships.
The small field of 42 racers in the women’s 10K doesn’t bother Gibson. (Last year’s championships had 67 entries.) “I still think it’s an awesome opportunity to race,” she said. “I don’t get to come to Ontario very often, so it’s exciting to see a lot of people.”
The athlete took a break from competing over the summer, where she spent a month in Ethiopia at altitude for program placement, and took advantage of the opportunity to train and do workouts with a local team. “I trained more behind them than actually with them,” Gibson laughs. Over three trips, she collected and donated 168 pairs of gently-used and new shoes to the Ethiopian running group.
“When you’re not in that collegiate atmosphere, you reflect more on if you want to do this and why you want to do this,” she added. “I’ve realized I truly love running, the people and the community. To do something like this for fun is such a privilege.”
Gibson returned to racing in October in Victoria, where she raced her second-ever half-marathon at the Royal Victoria Marathon event. She squeaked in a personal best by eight seconds, clocking 1:15:11 for second overall. “I wanted to dip under 1:15:00,” she said, revealing she was stuck in an elevator 15 minutes before the gun went off. “I had to tempo my way to the start line and weave my way to the elite section.”
After ACXC, Gibson plans to take some time off to recover and reset before travelling for a few months in 2025. “I’ll be training in a modified format during that time and leaning into running for the joy of it,” she said. She’ll return to work at Vancouver General Hospital as a clinical dietitian before shifting her focus to her outdoor track season.
Leslie Sexton, Rachel Hannah and Laura Desjardins will be among the athletes competing against Gibson for the podium on Sunday. The women’s 10K is set to begin at noon ET. A livestream will be available, here.
