Lucia Stafford comes within seconds of Canadian record in first 5K race

Saturday morning in Hamilton, Ontario, three men ran in less than 14 minutes at a local road 5K race, part of the Hamilton Road2Hope marathon weekend. Lucia Stafford In her first road race, she runs within four seconds of the Canadian 5K record of 15:16.

It was Stafford’s first 5K race, so she had little expectations. She followed her Canadian record pace of 3:03/km set by . Alex Silset the pace for Canada’s 5K champion Julie Ann Sturley. Stafford was sitting right behind Staehli when he reached the 3km mark at around 9:10. Stafford lunged to take the lead with 2km to go and didn’t look back, scoring the Endorphin Elite 5K in 15:20.

Stafford earned $2,000 for the win, plus another $1,000 for being the first female finisher in under 16 minutes. Stafford was just four seconds behind her. Emily Mondor Canada’s 15:16 5K record stands for 18 years. Staehli finished second in 15:44 and the steeplechase Erin Teschuk I was 3rd at 16:13.

In a post-race interview with Stafford, she claimed she was surprised by her fast times and hopes to do more road races in the future.

The men’s race is well known Charles Philibert-Thibout When Ben Flanagan, three up-and-coming Canadian elites fought to the end. The pace was a 14 flat 5K pace to 2km with seven or eight men in front. With less than 1 kilometer remaining, Jeremy Koffler When connor black of London, Ontario Andrew AlexanderKoffler beat his Bandits teammate by a second at 13:55 and sprinted to the finish line. Alexander crossed his line as he finished in 3rd place in 13:59, putting him seven seconds off the Canadian 5K Championships in September.

The course was a flat, fast 5K route with a single loop along Hamilton’s Waterfront Trail, starting and finishing at Confederation Park. The temperature on Saturday morning was 18 degrees for him, summer like conditions for an elite racer.

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