Canada Track & Field and Cross Country News

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Canadian 5000m record holder Jeff Schiebler, is challenging all running related business to match his offer of donating $1000 to charity should fellow Canadian, Cameron Levins take down his record time of 13:13.96.

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The 2013 National Track League (#NTL2013) announced that 37 Olympians have confirmed their participation at the 3^rd annual Toronto International Track & Field Games (TITFG) on June 11 at the University of Toronto's Varsity Centre.

The Toronto competition serves as the second of five stops in NTL2013.  The series will crown champions in ten events and will feature some of the best athletes from Canada and around the world.

World class track and field will make its long awaited return to the University of Guelph next Tuesday May 28th at the Speed River Inferno. Entering its fourth year, the meet is ready to take a major step forward from previous installments. After spending the past three years at the St James track, the meet has moved to a permanent home at the newly redone Alumni Stadium. Along with a new location the meet has brought on corporate partner New Balance. These two factors have contributed to incredible fields and what promises to be an outstanding evening of track and field. Included in the fields will be athletes representing five countries as well as five Olympians.

Victoria’s marquee track meet, the 2013 edition of the annual Victoria Track Classic, is celebrating its 25^th year on Friday, July 5^th at the University of Victoria’s Centennial Stadium. One of the meet’s (and Canada’s) most talented veterans Gary Reed will be there, not as an athlete, but as a fan of the sport. “I will cherish my Victoria days forever," said Reed, upon reflection of his time in the city as an elite competitor. The main event and the finale will be the "Gary Reed 800m" race, to honour his accomplishments and dedication to the event.

Ottawa - Athletics Canada today nominated 56 athletes to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) 2013 Summer Universiade (FISU) team that will compete in Kazan, Russia.  The event takes place from July 6 to 17, athletics competition will take place July 7 to 12.

Athletics Canada's FISU nominees are highlighted by five 2012 Olympians:

OTTAWA - Athletics Canada is pleased to announce the Canadian communities which submitted letters of interest in hosting 2015-2018 Canadian Championship Series events. In total 26 organizations expressed interest to host Athletics Canada events.

Potential host communities have until September 30, 2013 to submit formal bid candidatures. Host cities will be announced in December 2013.  

John McDonnell coached forty NCAA Championship teams in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in thirty-six seasons at the University of Arkansas -- mentoring dozens of Olympians and hundreds of All-Americans during a career that is considered to be the most successful in any sport in American collegiate sports history. His biography was recently published by the University of Arkansas Press.

Five week out from OFSAA, Bill Cunliffe breaks down the top distance athletes in Ontario as of May 1st

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The 31-year-old resident of Port Moody, B.C. began the year with a stunning victory at the Harriers Pioneer 8k in Victoria. Her time of 25:28 smashed the course record, which had been held for 27 years by Canadian Olympian Debbie Scott and caused much chatter on running forums across the continent.

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The annual Times Colonist 10k took place today, Sunday, April 28th, on the streets of Victoria, BC, under mild and mostly sunny conditions with variable winds.

Kenyan, Paul Kumugul won the race in 29 minutes and 44 seconds over fellow countrymen and former two-time winners Kip Kangogo (29:48) and Willy Kimosop (30:02) as well as hometown favourite Geoff Martinson, who finished in a personal best time of 30:17.

OTTAWA - Eric Gillis of Antigonish, N.S., and Krista Duchene of Brampton, Ont., were crowned 2013 Canadian Half Marathon Champions today in Montreal, Quebec at the ScotiaBank 21k.

"I came to race for the win today", said Gillis. "Perfect weather and a flat course made it a big marathon workout. It felt good to compete in just my second race since the London Olympics, served as great preparation in my lead up to the Ottawa Marathon (May 26)." Gillis finished in a time of 1:05:56.

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Nicole Sifuentes is a Canadian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500m distance. She is originally from Winnipeg, Mantiboa however, attended the Univerisity of Michigan and competed in the NCAA division 1 for the Wolverines. Sifuentes continues to reside in Michigan.

She competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games and finished 19th. She is a four-time national 1500m medalist winning one silver (2010) and three bronze (2007, 2008, 2009).

Sifuentes will be competing in the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in the longer 5000m distance event and will continue to compete leading up to summer as she hopes to represent Canada at the 2013 IAAF World Track and Field Championships that take place in Moscow, Russia.

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Sunday, April 28^th the annual Times Colonist 10k race takes place on the downtown streets of Victoria, BC. This year hometown favourite Geoff Martinson is looking to break the streak of back-to-back leap-frogging Kenyan winners Willy Kimosop and Kip Kangogo, who have won twice each, every other year from 2009 to 2012. The previous hometown winner was Eric Kiauka in 2008 in the time of 30 minutes and 31 seconds. Before Kiauka, two-time Olympian Bruce Deacon won twice consecutively in the time of 30:08 in 1998 and 30:33 the following year. Deacon won one other time in 1993, breaking the 30 minute barrier by finishing in 29:42.

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The Canadian contingent of athletes competing in the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on April 28^th will be bolstered by a strong field of both men and women competing primarily in the middle distance events.

“My goal for Payton Jordan is to toe-the-line ready to hurt, and then hurt some more and beat as many people as I can in my section.”

In the men’s 800m race the University of Guelph’s Anthony Romaniw and the unattached Quin Ferguson lead the way, as they both have run under 1:48. Ferguson’s personal best of 1:47.11 is two years old though, where Romaniw ran his best during the 2012 season. Complementing the top two are a pair of University of Victoria Vikes, Adam Gaudes and Thomas Riva who own personal bests of 1:48.90 and 1:49.54, respectively. Also running are, Stuart Ellenwood, Travis Vugteveen and Cameron Proceviat, the latter three will be representing Simon Fraser University. The standards for making the Canadian team going to the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in the 800m are, “A” 1:45.40 and “B” 1:46.30.

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Video interview with 2013 Sooke River 10k winner, Nick Walker. The Sooke River 10k is the final road race of the Frontrunners Vancouver Island Race Series.

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Interview with 2013 Sooke River 10k, Sara Gross. This is a post-race interview. Sooke River 10k is the final race of the Frontrunners Vancouver Island Race Series.

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The Sooke River 10k is the eighth race of the Frontrunners Vancouver Island Race Series. The race video shows top finishers only - top top-three women.

Athletics Canada qualifying standards to compete in the 2013 Moscow, Russia, IAAF World Track and Field Championships.

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The inaugural Bob Reid's Magical Mile took place in Victoria, BC on April 13th on  nearby commuter trail. This race - one of several different age-groups featured the Univeristy of Victoria Vikes athletes as well as Clifford Childs and Geoff Martinson. The main feature of this race is the format of the start, which was done in a staggered format, fastest going first, slowest going last. The out and back course allowed athletes to see each other on the return.

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UFC’S Bruce Buffer Confirmed as official voice of EITC.

Jamaican Yohan Blake, the youngest 100m World Champion in history, has confirmed his return to the city for the Edmonton International Track Classic on June 29 at
Foote Field. Fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown will make her Canadian debut at the event. Both athletes are coming off successful London Olympic Games performances where
Blake won silver in the 100m and 200m sprints and gold in the 4x100m relay (world record), and Campbell-Brown took bronze in the 100m sprint and silver in the 4x100m relay. She is the
reigning World Champion in the 200m.

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Clifford Childs and Natasha Fraser continue to run well in advance of their goals to qualify for international competition. Childs wants to compete at the International University Sport Federation Championships (FISU), that take place in Kazan, Russia in July 2013. Fraser is seeking the qualification standard for the IAAF World Track and Field Championships that take place in Moscow, Russia from August 10th to the 18th. In terms of performance, both took a step closer to their goals Sunday, April 21^st at the Vancouver Sun Run.

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Lanni Marchant continues to prove that she is an international calibre long-distance runner, by crushing the field with her elite performance at the Yonge Street 10k Sunday, April 21^st in Toronto, Ontario.

Canadian Marchant, based in Chattanooga, TN ran an impressive new personal best time of 31 minutes and 56.5 seconds to place 16^th overall and first female. She led second place Toronto native, Rachel Hannah by over one and a half minutes, Hannah finished in a solid 33:38.2. Paul Wiltse from nearby Oakville finished third and first master (over 40) while competing in the 45-49 age-category. Her time was 34:56.0.

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Colleen Goodwyn-Ryan

Vancouver Sun Run

Vancouver, BC (April 21, 2013) –   With many sporting colours of blue and yellow in honour of the Boston Marathon, the 2013 Vancouver Sun Run was another jubilant celebration of health, fitness and community spirit with 48,196 registered.  From start to finish, participants gave it their all while enjoying the spectacular beauty of running the largest 10K in Canada.

Paul Kimugul from Kenya claimed the victory in the Men’s Overall Division with a time of 29:04. Finishing second overall was Ian Burrell of Tucson, Arizona with a time of 29:17. Officially placing third overall was Edwin Kaitany of Kenya clocking 29:36.  Clifford Childs of Victoria claimed the Top Canadian Male spot with 30:09.

The 2013 Virgin London Marathon is expected to be the most prolific marathon ever - at least at the top-end of the field, which includes five of the recent World Marathon Major winners. Here is a slick video promoting the event.

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Dave Campbell of Victoria, BC by way of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was an international level middle-distance athlete during the 1980s and 1990s. He competed in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, as well as the1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland and Auckland, New Zealand, respectively. He won a bronze medal in Edinburgh in the 1500m distance. Campbell also won the Vancouver Sun Run in 1990 setting his 10 kilometre best time of 28:54.

Campbell began running seriously in high school for the Mount Doug Rams in Victoria and followed that up by competing in the CIAU (CIS) at the University of Victoria. He also won the 1500m national title three consecutive years.

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by Paul Gains 

A year ago Ruth Wanjiru turned up to the Ottawa Marathon in fine form with victory and the winner’s purse of $20,000 USD on her mind. But midway through the race she tripped and fell to the pavement injuring her knee. She struggled home a disappointed third.

The 31-year-old Kenyan returns to this IAAF Silver Label race May 26th ready to battle with a world-class field and to capture the title she believes should have been hers in 2012. She puts the catastrophe down as a valuable learning experience and just another of the struggles she has overcome in her journey through international sport.

From Douglas Clement/Harry Jerome Track Classic

 Justin Rodhe

Justin Rodhe of Athletics Canada’s National throws Centre in Kamloops had his first competition yeterday at the Kansas Relays and came third with a personal best of 21.12. Rodhe has been training strong all year and looking forward to the competitive season. Ryan Whiting, Olympic athlete and the World Indoor Champion came first edging Reece Hoffa on his last throw with a toss of 21.65. Hoffa threw 21.60.

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Two explosions happened near the four hour mark at the finish line of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon on Memorial Day, Monday, April 15th. Several reports indicate that the explosion came from the media tent area from garbage cans. Reports of anywhere from a handful to up to fifty people may have been injured. Emergency crews are on the scene.