Adedokun Waliyu 
Amid the heat in the air and the pain in the body, the mind can’t help but wander over the course of the 42.2-kilometre marathon distance. During her brilliant run on Tamarack Race Weekend Sunday morning, Canadian Olympian Malindi Elmore acknowledges having to fight off the doubts that crept in.
“I’m looking forward to some ice cream, a beer, putting my feet up,” said Elmore, who made a final sprint to secure second spot in the women’s marathon behind winner Waganesh Mekasha of Ethiopia with a time of two hours, 24 minutes and 27 seconds.
Elmore, who authored a remarkable comeback story before finishing ninth in the marathon at the 2021 Olympics, offered the fans lining the finish something special again on Sunday.
She raced past Melat Kejeta in the final stretch to secure the silver.
“Mid-marathon, sometimes, you think, ‘why do I do this to myself?’ It’s really, really hard. I’m 43, do I have to be doing this still? But then, when I get to the finish, I’m like ‘wow, that was so worth it.’ In the last 500 (metres), I had to go as hard as I could to come in second.
“There was a point where I didn’t really want to pick it up, because you’re already really hurting, but I just thought, you have to at least try. I would be okay if I don’t catch her, but I would be disappointed if I didn’t try.”
The rewards were many. As Elmore got her senses back following the race, her soon to be five-year-old son, Oliver, showed up to offer congratulations.
Malindi Elmore, top Canadian female to finish the marathon and second female over all, gives her son, soon to be five-year-old Oliver a squeeze at the finish line, Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.
“It’s so special being able to share this with my kids,” she said. “When I ran the Toronto Marathon in the fall, I had my older son (Charlie) with me and it was time to bring the younger one out (Sunday). I hope they grow up and see their parents working really hard and following their dreams and they’re inspired to following their dreams in whatever they do.”
Elmore began the race aiming to secure the Olympic qualifying time of 2:26:50, but she was also strategic in running a conservative first half of the race, recognizing the heat would kick in. As it turned out, the field came back to her, allowing her to reel in Kejeta, much to the delight of the crowd lining the finish.
“At about 30 kilometres, I heard from people on the course that two women were coming back to me, but I still had to be patient, not get too excited and go too hard,” she said. “Just stay in rhythm and pass people when you can. There are some strategies and tactics in the sport. It’s 42 kilometres. It’s a long way.”
While she didn’t make the automatic Olympic qualifying time standard, finishing second could provide her an alternative route to the 2024 Olympics in that she picked up valuable world ranking points.
If Elmore makes it to Paris, it would be 20 years after her first appearance at the Games. She qualified in the 1,500 metres at the 2004 Olympics, but after failing to make the cut in 2008 and 2014, she gave up the sport.
Nine years later, she ran her first competitive marathon. In 2020, she set the Canadian marathon record of 2:24:50. That mark has since been broken by good friend Natasha Wodak, who won her third consecutive Ottawa 10 k race here on Saturday.
Without question, heat played a significant role in both the men’s and women’s marathons, where the pace of the leaders slowed in the latter stretches.
From left: Malindi Elmore, Waganesh Mekasha, and Melat Kejeta, the top three women in the marathon, Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.
Mekesha, who was aided by pacer Cam Levins for the opening 35 kilometres, was originally aiming to hit the 2:22 mark.
It was also quite a remarkable showing for Levins, who finished second in Saturday night’s men’s 10 k.
Levins, who holds the Canadian men’s marathon record of 2:05:36, also competed for Canada at the 2021 Olympics.
“I felt pretty good doing it,” he said of the being a pacer, with only five hours sleep after his own highly-competitive race Saturday. “But, yeah, after I finished, I was like, ‘oh, yeah, that’s a lot of running for the weekend.’” I’m looking forward to a bit of a break, for sure.”
In the men’s marathon, Yihunilign Adane led an Ethiopian sweep of the top three spots, winning in 2:08:21. After Adane made his break from the field at the 30 kilometre mark, he didn’t look back. Gebretsadik Abraha was second in 2:09:13 and Abdi Ali Gelchu took third in 2:10:38.
