Natasha Wodak and Justin Kent cruised to their first Canadian marathon titles on Sunday in Toronto.
Wodak, the 42-year-old Canadian women’s record holder, strode to victory in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a time of two hours 27 minutes 54 seconds. It marked the first time the Surrey, B.C., native competed in the event since 2013 and her fifth overall national title.
Kent, the 32-year-old also from Surrey, crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 2:12:17.
Ethiopia’s Mulugeta Uma claimed the men’s overall championship in a time of 2:07.16, his second career title after winning the Paris Marathon earlier this year.
Meanwhile, fellow Ethiopian Waganesh Mekasha earned some redemption, winning the women’s title in a runaway, course-record time of 2:20:44 after losing out by one second in a sprint finish last year.
Wodak said Friday her main goals for the race were to add the title of Canadian champion to her decorated resumé and to have fun.
She accomplished the former easily, beating second-place Leslie Sexton by over five minutes.
And it seems as though the latter could also be deemed a success as Wodak ran the final 100 metres with a smile on her face and her arms raised, encouraging the crowd to cheer her on.
Kent, who placed 30th at the 2023 world championships, raced solo across most of the 42.4-kilometre course through city streets. Around the halfway point, it appeared as though Kent could be passed as the chase pack narrowed its gap to around 10 seconds.
But the University of British Columbia graduate responded by finding his second wind, pulling away once again and leaving no room for doubt through the final stretch.
Three-time Paralympian Josh Cassidy won his third straight Canadian and overall title in the wheelchair race, crossing the finish line in 1:38.09.
Organizers said nearly 30,000 runners from 70 countries participated in the weekend’s events, which included a five-kilometre race on Saturday and the marathon, wheelchair marathon and half marathon on Sunday.
Weather conditions were ideal for running as the temperature steadily rose from around 7 to 14 degrees C throughout the race.