TORONTO — Natasha Wodak already owns four Canadian titles in four different events.
On Sunday at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the 42-year-old from Surrey, B.C., will aim to add a fifth.
Wodak is set to race among a strong field at the 35th edition of the event through the streets of Toronto. The marathon and half-marathon each begin Sunday at 8 a.m. ET near Nathan Phillips Square.
Over the last 18 months, Wodak — who owns previous Canadian titles in the 5k, 10k (road and track) and half-marathon — endured four marathon builds and raced three times in pursuit of the Olympic qualifying standard for Paris. However, she fell short in each instance.
Now, she’s set to make her first appearance in Toronto since 2013.
“I think my decision to come here was … I wanted to have fun and really enjoy what I was doing. And originally, I was going to do (the Valencia Marathon in December), and the idea of chasing a really fast time and putting pressure on myself to run a certain time and fly over to Europe again just seemed really daunting," Wodak said on Friday.
"I thought coming here and going for a national title would be just a lot more fun."
Still, Wodak enters Sunday’s race with a race goal in mind beyond simply having a good time. The veteran runner said she’s aiming for a top-three finish overall.
She said her race plan will see her remain "somewhat conservative" over the first 20 kilometres before picking up the pace with hopes of reeling in the fast starters over the back half.
And then there’s the national title, an accolade she’s chasing to pair with her status as Canadian-record holder. Wodak set the mark in 2022 at two hours 23 minutes 12 seconds.
"I’m the national record holder, so I would like to also be the national champion as well," Wodak said.
Wodak’s Canadian competition includes 37-year-old Leslie Sexton, the 2017 champion coming off a personal best time of 2:28.14 at the Houston Marathon in January.
The veterans will also have to contend with a pair of 28-year-olds in Erin Mawhinney, a rookie who won the half-marathon last year, and Anne-Marie Comeau, who competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics as a cross-country skier before switching to running.
In her Toronto debut last year, Comeau led all Canadians with 100 metres to go before being passed in a sprint finish by fellow Quebec native Caroline Pomerleau.
"I wasn’t able to sprint the last 100 metres. So this year I have the approach to start maybe a bit slower and not go too hard the first half. Try not to struggle so much on the last 10k because last year was very terrible. I slowed down so much," Comeau said.
Also, Ethiopia’s Waganesh Mekasha, who lost out on the women’s overall title last year by one one-hundredth of a second, returns to Toronto alongside fellow countrywoman Roza Dejere, who owns the lowest personal best in the field at 2:18.30.
Meanwhile, Thomas Broatch is looking for his second consecutive Canadian men’s title after winning his debut marathon in Toronto last year.
Broatch, a 25-year-old from Vancouver, crossed the finish line in 2:16.25, then crushed that mark a few months later in Houston by crossing the finish line there in 2:11.54.
"I think the race last year went really well. Obviously the marathon is a big step up from the half-marathon so the fact that the first one was a positive experience was great," Broatch said.
Andrew Alexander, the reigning half-marathon champion, will experience just that on Sunday. The 25-year-old, who won the 10k national title earlier this year, is set for his marathon debut and has his sights set on victory.
Alexander, from Toronto, said he sees his lack of experience as an advantage.
"If it goes bad tomorrow, it goes bad," he said. "I don’t have a time to my name or anything. It’s one of those things where I’m kind of going into the unknown. I have no idea what it feels like to be running a marathon. I have no idea what it feels like to be running that pace after 30k.
“But I’m ready for it, I’m ready to be in a world of pain for two hours, and if I feel better than that it’ll be a happy accident or coincidence.”
Canadian Tristan Woodfine, who set a personal best in Houston, withdrew from the race Friday with illness.
But Broatch and Alexander will still face a fierce international field including reigning champion Elvis Cheboi of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Mulugeta Uma, whose personal best time of 2:05.33 from earlier this year is tops among all competitors.
As the Toronto Waterfront Marathon celebrates its 35th anniversary, organizers said there would be 35 cheer sites along the course. For the first time, the 5k will be held on Saturday, creating a full weekend’s worth of events.
Ideal racing conditions are expected for Sunday, with temperatures forecasted to rise from 10 to 19 degrees C and minimal wind predicted over the course of the marathon.
Labelled as an elite race by World Athletics, competitors can earn qualification points toward the 2025 world championships in Tokyo through their placement in Toronto.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press