Posted: May 28, 2023:  

Athletics: Natasha Wodak and Moh Ahmed win top spots at Canadian 10K Championships

Rejeanne Fairhead, 96, set a new 5K World Record Ottawa, ON, May 27, 2023 – More than 6,400 runners took part in the 2023 Ottawa 10K, presented by Otto’s Ottawa. The race attracted some of the best professional runners in Canada as well as thousands of participants from across the National Capital Region and the country. Once again this year, Ottawa played host to the Canadian 10K Championships. In the women’s category, 41-year-old Natasha Wodak of Vancouver completed the 10K in 32:51, winning the Canadian Championship for the third year in a row. Wodak took an early lead, leaving Leslie Sexton to take 2nd place, in 33:13. Montreal’s Caroline Pomerleau captured 3rd in 33:16. Mohammed Ahmed took first place in the men’s category, with a time of 28:21. For most of the race, the St. Catherine’s runner ran neck and neck with Cam Levins, of Black Creek, British Columbia. But Ahmed was able to pull away in the final stretch, leaving Levins to take second in a time of 28:39. Jeremy Coughler, of London, Ontario, took third place in 29:31. Starting at Ottawa City Hall, the 10K course took runners along the famous Rideau Canal before heading across the Pretoria Bridge to an exciting finish in front of thousands of cheering spectators on Queen Elizabeth Drive. But the heat posed a challenge for many runners, as it was 28 degrees Celsius when the race started. Complete race results can be found here: Results from Sportstas: Women, Men. Photos (credit Victah Sailer) 96-year-old Ottawa woman sets new 5K World Record Ottawa’s Rejeanne Fairhead, 96, set a new 5K World Record for the 95-99 category today. Her time of 51:09:01 beat the previous record of 55:48, set by American Betty Lindberg in 2022. Last year, Fairhead finished the Ottawa 5K in 58:52 minutes, setting a Canadian Record for her age category—her first time running a road race. About Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is Canada's largest running and walking festival with six races, including the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon, Ottawa Half Marathon presented by Desjardins, Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa, Ottawa 5K & Ottawa 2K presented by Runkeeper, and Ottawa Kids Marathon, as well as three multi-event challenges. In 2022, runners and walkers in the event raised a record-breaking $1,067,612.00 for local and national charities through the Desjardins Charity Challenge. The 2023 edition of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will take place May 27-28. Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is the only running event in Canada to host a World Athletics Elite label marathon, and is host to Athletics Canada's Canadian 10K Championships. The weekend was named Event of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Tourism Awards, and in 2020, its title sponsor Tamarack Homes won Sport Tourism Canada’s Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year Award. For more information or to register: RunOttawa.ca. Check out our FrontPage for all the latest running and triathlon news. Facebook Twitter