Championship distance runners took to the pavement for virtual 10 kilometres runs along the Fraser River in North 91原创 and Abbotsford to mark the nation鈥檚 birthday.

Virtual races by elite athletes took place in communities across Canada in a special event organized by Run Ottawa. COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of sports competitions.

鈥淐OVID鈥檚 certainly been tough, we all miss competing a lot but the virtual 10k champs were a fun opportunity to be competitive in a socially distance appropriate manner,鈥� said Rachel Cliff.

Now that the elite athletes have had their turn, Run Ottawa would like other Canadians to lace up in the . This open competition invites runners to beat the 2020 Canadian 10K Champions鈥� times: Justin Kent with 28:52 (for the men) and Natasha Wodak with 32:41 (in the women鈥檚 run).

The women鈥檚 winner was Surrey-born Wodak who ran in North 91原创 and Abbotsford on July 1. She won the 2020 IAAF World Championships in the 10,000 metre race in January and the same distance race at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Peru.

Also running in 91原创 was Rachel Cliff who came in second among the women taking part. She鈥檚 ranked 30th in the world in the women鈥檚 10,000k and is on the national team.

She was pleased to be able to run competitively.

鈥淢y last competitive race was the Houston half marathon back in January,鈥� she explained.

The runners are no strangers to 91原创 streets.

鈥淲e ran along the river in 91原创, because it鈥檚 a nice flat course with minimal traffic. I typically focus on the marathon鈥� and my coach holds some of our long workouts in 91原创 鈥� nice open roads that are ideal for locking into a pace. You can go for miles uninterrupted: we don鈥檛 have much like that in Vancouver,鈥� she said.

Gave it a go. 28:52- 10k pb*. A privilege to be able to 鈥榬ace鈥� during these times. Thank you for the opportunity

鈥� Justin Kent (@jkent_)

Justin Kent was another nationally ranked athlete who took the top spot in the 2019 Vancouver Sun Run and decided to do his run along the banks of the Fraser River through 91原创.

鈥滱 privilege to be able to 鈥榬ace鈥� during these times,鈥� he posted after achieving a personal best time, despite the slippery wet road conditions.

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