2009 Men’s 10km Canadian Championship shaping up to feature World Class fieldThursday, October 01, 2009 OTTAWA – Athletics Canada in partnership with Canada Running Series is excited to confirm a strong group of elites today who will compete at the 2009 Canadian 10km Road Race Championships in Toronto on October 17th. The 2009 Championships are taking place as part of the Oasis Zoo Run and include the Timex National Road Race Series Finale.Elites at the line Simon Bairu from Regina, Saskatchewan is the defending 10km road race champ and also held the 2006 title. At the 2009 Track and Field Championships he took gold in the 5000 metres; in 2007 he travelled to Osaka, Japan to compete against the world’s best at the World Championships. Bairu’s personal best in the 10km is 28 minutes 29 seconds set in 2007 at the Nordion 10K in Ottawa. From Hamilton, Ontario, Reid Coolsaet recently took part in the marathon at the 2009 World Championships held in Berlin, Germany where he set a personal best mark. Coolsaet qualified for Worlds by winning the Canadian Marathon Championship earlier this year in his first ever marathon. He was 5th at the 2006 10km Championships; at the Track & Field Championships in June he placed first in the 10 000 metres. Malindi Elmore, from Calgary, Alberta, is the reigning 1500 metres champion and was second this year at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. She also placed second at the inaugural Festival of Excellence in Toronto in the mile. Ryan McKenzie from Windsor, Ontario will not only challenge for the men’s Canadian title but is also a member of British Columbia’s provincial Timex National Road Race Series team which will be looking to earn a provincial title. McKenzie competed in the 2006 10km Championships finishing 6th, he’s the 2007 Canadian 1500 metres champion and placed 3rd earlier this year at the Times Colonist 10K in Victoria, BC. Guelph, Ontario’s Taylor Milne is competing in his third Canadian 10km Championship where he captured silver in 2007 and finished 7th in 2008. At the 2009 Festival of Excellence in Toronto he won silver in the mile; in 2008 he competed in the 1500 metres at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Dylan Wykes, from Kingston, Ontario is the 2007 10km Champion and was a marathon teammate of Coolsaet at the World Championships in Berlin. He established a new personal best this year over the 10km distance, placing second in 29 minutes and 12 seconds at the Vancouver Sun Run. Prizing & Champions Canadian titles will not be the only ones on the line on October 17; masters, age category champions and Timex Series Individual and Provincial Team Champions will all be gunning for prizing at the Zoo. A fundraiser for the Toronto Zoo, the race will take place on the roads surrounding the zoo and loop through the zoo grounds. For more information regarding the Canadian 10km Road Race Championships please visit www.athletics.ca/10k. For all Oasis Zoo Run information see www.canadarunningseries.com/zoorun/index.htm. -AC- |