December 27, 2025

A bevy of Canadian runners headed to Chandler, Arizona, to run in the Marathon Project on December 21, 2025, in a last attempt to run a marathon before the end of 2025. Thomas Fafard, a 2024 Olympian in the 5,000m from Quebec, running his first marathon, was the first Canadian to finish, in 2:10:29. He became the third-fastest Canadian marathoner this year, behind Rory Linkletter and Justin Kent. His time was also the third-fastest marathon debut by a Canadian male and shattered the Quebec marathon record set by Alain Bordeleau of 2:14:18 in 1984.

Thomas Nobbs improved on his marathon PB by three minutes, running 2:12:27. Thomas Broatch, in his third marathon of the year, finished in 2:13:43. Thomas Toth, running his only race this year, finished in 2:17:00. Chris Taylor, running his first marathon, completed the race in 2:25:46.

Rachel Hannah, crowned the 2025 Canadian Marathon Champion in Toronto on October 19, running her fourth marathon this year, finished in 2:41:49. Emily Andrews, running her third marathon this year, finished in 2:43:03. Leanne Klassen rounded out the Canadian elites, finishing in 2:45:26.

Canadian Elite Men

Thomas Fafard - 2:10:29

Thomas Nobbs - 2:12:27

Thomas Broatch - 2:13:43

Thomas Toth - 2:17:00

Chris Taylor - 2:25:46

Canadian Elite Women

Rachel Hannah - 2:41:49

Emily Andrews - 2:43:03

Leanne Klassen - 2:45:26

December 7, 2025

Malindi Elmore from BC and Élissa Legault from Quebec ran as elites in the Valencia Marathon in Spain on December 7, 2025. Under slightly warm conditions, Elmore placed 12th in a very competitive field with a time of 2:24:53, while Legault finished in 23rd in a time of 2:29:05. Both women set records for those performances.

Elmore's performance was the 4th-fastest Canadian female marathon time, beaten only by two of her previous marathon times and by Natasha Wodak's Canadian record of 2:23:12. Elmore now has six of the top 10 Canadian female marathon times. Elmore, who is 45 and still competing at the international level, eclipsed the Canadian W45 age-group marathon record previously held by Krista Duchene (2:38:53, set in 2023) and the World Masters Athletics W45 record (2:29:00, set by Tatyana Pozdnyakova in 2002).

In the case of Legault, her time put her in the special sub-2:30 category and broke the Quebec female record, which had stood since 1985, when Jacqueline Gareau ran a 2:29:32.

October 15, 2025

Dressed in his purple Puma top, black shorts, white socks, and Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 running shoes,  Rory Linkletter lined up on the first row of the 2025 Chicago Marathon with Jacob Kiplimo and Conner Mantz on his right. At 7:30 am under cool 12 °C temperatures, the gun went off. Linkletter sped down the road with the other 23 elite runners. The pace was aggressive from the start, and within 5K, the field was split into three groups with Linkletter in the second group, averaging 4:39 min/mile, representing a 2:02 marathon. This pace was much faster than required for Linkletter to break the Canadian marathon record of 2:05:36, which he had publicly stated he was chasing.

Within 10K, Linkletter's pace settled to a 2:04 marathon, which is more in line with his expectations. He was part of the chase pack about a minute behind the leaders. Linkletter reached the halfway point in 1:02:20, still on pace for breaking the Canadian marathon record. His position fluctuated between 15th and 17th until he reached the 25K mark, where he began to move up. Although he slowed down minutely around the 30K mark, he still progressed through the field, moving into 14th by the 30K point, 13th by the 35K, and 11th by 40K. Linkletter pushed himself at the end to finish 9th in a personal best time of 2:06:49, the second fastest marathon time by a Canadian. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won the race in a time of 2:02:23, while Conner Mantz set the USA marathon record in a time of 2:04:43.

This performance was a great end of the season for Linkletter, who ran a half-marathon PB in February in Japan, finished 6th at the Boston Marathon in April with a time of 2:07:02, placed 2nd at the Ottawa Marathon in May with a time of 2:08:31, and won the Canadian Half-Marathon Championships in August.

October 6, 2025

Although there will be no repeat of last year's winners at the 2025 Canadian Marathon Championships, top Canadians, past champions, and elite Canadian marathon novices are expected to run in the streets of Toronto on Sunday, October 19th. Here are some elite runners vying for the win:

Ben Flanagan

Ben Flanagan, a three-time Canadian 10K Champion, a 2024 Paris Olympian in the 5,000m, and the 2022 Canadian 5K Road Champion, will attempt to become the Canadian marathon champion as he makes his marathon debut in Toronto. Thirty-year-old Flanagan, who currently resides in Cape Cod, USA, holds the Canadian 5K Road Record at 13:26 and has personal bests of 28:09 for the 10K and 1:01:00 for the half-marathon.

Rachel Hannah

Rachel Hannah has been running competitively since 2007. She was the 2014 Canadian Half-Marathon Champion, the 2016 10,000m Canadian Champion, and the bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan Am Games marathon in Toronto. Hannah, who is 39 and from Ontario, has a marathon PB of 2:32:09 that she set in Houston in 2016. She ran the Boston Marathon in the spring in a time of 2:34:42 and was third last year in Toronto at the Canadian Marathon Championships in 2:34:33. This year, she aims to break her PB by going under 2:32.

John Gay

John Gay, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the steeplechase, will also be making his marathon debut in Toronto. Although the 28-year-old from BC has little experience on the roads, he was the 2021 and 2022 Canadian Steeplechase Champion and the 2021 Canadian Cross-country Champion. Gay is now looking to add another championship to his achievements. He hopes that training with Rory Linkletter in Flagstaff, AZ, under John Green will be fruitful.

Dayna Pidhoresky

Dayna Pidhoresky tasted glory in 2019 when she ran a 2:29:03 in Toronto to become the Canadian Marathon Champion, which qualified her for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The 38-year-old from Ontario has seen her share of successes on the roads, having won the 2023 and 2025 Vancouver Marathons and the famous Hamilton Around the Bay 30K four times. She was also the 2011 Canadian 10K Champion.

Thomas Broatch

Although Thomas Broatch, the 26-year-old from BC, is the youngest of the elites participating in the Toronto Marathon, he has the credentials to repeat as the Canadian Marathon Champion when he won the 2023 Canadian Marathon Championships in Toronto in his first marathon in a time of 2:16:25. Since then, he has improved his marathon time to 2:10:35 which he did early in the year at the Houston Marathon. The next logical progression for Broatch is to go under the 2:10 barrier.

September 18, 2025

Canada sent a team of four marathoners to compete in the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships. Both races were held in hot and humid temperatures (26-29°C), which created a race of attrition. The women's race was held on September 14, with the Canadian marathon record holder Natasha Wodak being the sole Canadian female runner. Her experience showed as she adhered to her game plan and ran according to the conditions. Although she was down to 36th place in the first half of the race, she rallied and finished in 31st place in a time of 2:36:02. This was Wodak's second appearance at the World Athletics Championships in the marathon, as she previously competed in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023. With such a long and illustrious athletics career spanning over 20 years, she wonders at the age of 43 if she will be competing in future World Athletics Marathons.

In the men's race, held on September 15, three experienced runners represented Canada: Cam Levins, Justin Kent, and Ben Preisner. Levins stayed quietly at the back of the lead pack for most of the race, taking on water, nutrition, and trying to keep cool with ice packs. The leading group of runners was composed of about 40 athletes, but with the heat and humidity of Tokyo, runners kept falling off the back. Twice during the later stages of the race between 30 and 35K, Levins fell back, but rallied and rejoined the lead pack. At 39K, a gap started to appear as the front runners pushed the pace to reach the finish line. Levins hung on to finish 12th in a time of 2:11:07. This was Levins' second World Athletics Marathon Championship, as he participated in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, where he placed 4th.

Kent and Preisner ran together either in a pack or by themselves for most of the race. Kent managed to put a bit of distance from Preisner at the end of the race with Kent finishing in 35th place in a time of 2:17:12, while Preisner ended in 36th place with a time of 2:17:32. These results were similar to when they raced in the last World Athletics Championships marathon in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023, where they finished close together with Preisner in 27th and Kent in 29th, less than 30 seconds apart.

Kent thought it was a tough race with pretty brutal conditions. He says he "dealt with some scary hamstring cramping around 30k that forced me to slow down for a few km, but seemed to rally back the last 7km. I think I went from 51st to 35th."  He felt it was an "unreal experience finishing in the stadium".

Preisner had this to say after the race: "I’d say the race was a decent showing yesterday. I think I executed my race plan well through the first half and found a good group to work with. I was feeling confident going into the last 7k but I guess bit off more than I could chew and paid the price. All in all, it’s always an honour to represent Canada and be able to compete against the best in the world. Looking forward to using this as a learning experience."

August 29, 2025

After winning the Canadian 10K Championships in May while setting a national record of 28:06, you might think that Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (CPT) from Quebec City is at the top of his game and ready to continue setting great performances. He will certainly do that as he has been selected to compete in the 2025 Tokyo World Track and Field Championships in September. However, after racing for the last 15 years, CPT is ready to hang up his competitive running shoes. But not before taking one last opportunity to enjoy himself on the roads of New York City in November. On August 19, 2025, the New York Road Runners announced their roster of elite athletes for the NYC Marathon, which included CPT as a first-time marathoner.

Philibert-Thiboutot has been running competitively since 2010, when he completed a 10K race in Quebec in 32:36. His focus has been on the track, with the 1,500m being his main event, representing Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He has been the Canadian Champion at that distance four times. He also won the 2023 Pan American Games 1,500m in Santiago, Chile. He has dabbled in road races, as evidenced by his 2016 and 2024 Canadian 5K Championships and his recent 10K Championship. He completed a half-marathon in Toronto in 2018 with a time of 1:09:15, which is not indicative of his current capabilities.

In choosing the New York City Marathon, CPT mentions: "I've been told several times that it's the most interesting marathon with the best atmosphere. I want a great experience for my last race ever, so the time is secondary." After the marathon, Philibert-Thiboutot plans to rest and run for the joy of it. He will also be starting a full-time job in the new year.

August 18, 2025

A sunny and cool 12°C greeted the runners as they lined up for the start of the 2025 Edmonton Half-Marathon, which took place on Sunday, August 17, 2025. The race served as the Canadian Half-Marathon Championships, and over $10,000 was on the line for the elite runners competing to be named Canadian Half-Marathon Champion. The cool temperatures and the relatively flat course provided almost perfect conditions for fast times.

Top female runners on the start line included Natasha Wodak, Leslie Sexton, Lanni Marchant, Florence Caron, Maria Zambrano, and Lauren McNeil from England. By the mid-point of the race, McNeil was leading, followed closely by Caron, then Wodak and Marchant. By the time they reached the finish, McNeil had secured the win in a time of 1:11:25. Wodak was able to overtake Caron to claim the 2025 Canadian Half-Marathon Championships in a time of 1:11:40. Caron came in third in a time of 1:11:57, while Lanni Marchant was fourth, and Zambrano fifth.

Wodak, being the first Canadian, added another Canadian Championships title to her resume, and also earned $3,000 for her placing. Her next major race will be the World Track and Field Championships Marathon in Tokyo in September. Caron, who was crowned the 2025 Canadian 10,000m champion in June, was the second Canadian and won $1,750 for her efforts. Lanni Marchant, 10,000m bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, ON, was the third Canadian and took home $750 for her efforts.

In the men's race, Canada's top marathoners lined up to race the Half-Marathon Championships with Cam Levins, Rory Linkletter, Ben Preisner, and Andrew Alexander leading the charge. All four were running together at the mid-point of the race. As the runners made their way to the finish line, Alexander was the first to fall back, followed by Preisner. As the end approached, Levins and Linkletter were neck to neck in a fierce battle for the title of Canadian Half-Marathon Champion. With the finish line in sight, Linkletter put on a surge that left Levins a few meters and one second behind by the time Linkletter broke the tape in 1:03:00. As Linkletter told CBC regarding the sprint finish with Levins, it was "super fun to battle with him and it took everything to get to the line first."

Preisner came a few seconds after Levins in 1:03:15 to round out the podium finishers. For their efforts, Linkletter earned $3,500, while Levins and Preisner won $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. The next major race for Linkletter will be the Chicago Marathon in October, while Levins and Preisner will be representing Canada at the World Track and Field Championships Marathon in Tokyo in September.

2025 Edmonton Half-Marathon Top Finishers

August 15, 2025

Ben Flanagan, a three-time Canadian 10K Champion, a 2024 Paris Olympian in the 5,000m, and the 2022 Canadian 5K Road Champion, will make his marathon debut at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 19. He will have the opportunity to become a Canadian champion at the marathon distance.

Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, Flanagan currently resides in Cape Cod, USA, with his wife and daughter. He is sponsored by On Running and trains under coach Jon Green, who also coaches Rory Linkletter.

Flanagan holds the Canadian 5K Road Record at 13:26 and has personal bests of 28:09 for the 10K and 1:01:00 for the half-marathon. He is well-prepared to run a fast time at the Canadian Championships. Flanagan views his first marathon as a stepping stone toward ultimately qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon.

For more details, read the press release on Ben Flanagan from the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

 Flanagan leading the 2022 Canadian 5K Championships in Moncton, NB. (Photo: Norman Marcotte)