Nationals Recap

I haven’t updated this in awhile but I have just returned from my first trip to Senior nationals. Since my last post I have lowered my PR to 1:55.97 at the Victoria International Track Classic 2 weeks ago. Going into Senior Nationals in Toronto this weekend, I was optimistic hoping to dip under 1:55 and finish in the top 20. Entering the competition I was ranked 31st and was eager to experience this new level of competition.

We traveled to Toronto Wednesday afternoon arriving late. Thursday we worked out in the muggy heat and then watched Jamie attempt his 5000m he has been having a lot of foot issues lately and it didn’t go as he was hoping. After Jamie and I went and saw the new transformers movie to get his mind off of the disappointment and to keep mine from the nervousness I was feeling about the race.

I drew the 3rd heat of 4 and was racing a few of the countries best runners with at least 2 former junior champions in my heat. It was still very hot and I was having trouble handling the heat but was excited to race. We ended up being a little late but after the mess of the Kajaks meet in Richmond (an extra hour of warming up behind) a few minutes didn’t bother me. My starting box ended up being Adam Currie, Darren Mazzie, and Olivier Collin… all of whom had previously broken 1:50 so I was timid off the line and tucked in behind them. Coming off the bend I ended up at the back of the heat and in hindsight should have been a little more aggressive. I split 27 for the first 200 pretty close to where I wanted to be but I made the mistake of relaxing a little bit and came through 400 in 57 way too slow. The next 200m was where I later learned experience would have helped as I hit the 500m mark in the race and was promptly dropped losing contact in a bit of a surge by the pack. I tried to push to pick up but had trouble coming through 600 in 1:26 again too slow. I kicked and saw Darren coming back so I worked on gaining on him but my last 200 wasn’t there and ended up being 31 seconds. I was very upset with my final time of 1:57.07 as I felt that this was the race that I could prove my fitness and racing skills.

I later saw the replay of my race (below) and realized that the leaders had split exactly what I was hoping to split 26, 55, 1:23. It was just a case of nerves and letting the whole atmosphere get into my head. I ended up 29th with my saving grace being that I finished higher than I was initially ranked. However It was great experience and I look forward to coming back next year fitter, faster, and smarter. Being in the finals will be my new goal.


My teammates ran great also with Brian and Jaden coming 3,4 in the final both having PR's of 1:48.89 and 1:49.11. Nicole ran a PR of 2:11.59, and Alana and Hayley both learned lots and gained experience that they will likely put to good use when they go after their Junior titles in 2 weeks.





2009 Canadian Track & Field Championships
Championnats canadiens d'athlétisme 2009
Toronto,ON - 6/25/2009 to 6/28/2009

Event 16 Men 800 Meter Run
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Championship: ! 1:45.34 2004 Gary Reed
Name Year Team Prelims
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Preliminaries
1 Harris, Geoffrey Halifax Tigers 1:50.37Q
2 Reed, Gary T. Pacific Athletics 1:50.98Q
3 Currie, Adam Athletisme Montréal 1:51.61Q
4 Roppelt, Brian Edmonton Thunder 1:51.70Q
5 Ostapowich, Jaden Edmonton Thunder 1:50.47q
6 Collin, Olivier Vaudreuil-Dorion 1:51.69q
7 Rae, Jeremy Niagara Regi 1:51.90q
8 Laporte, Charles-Olivier Rouge ET OR 1:51.92q
9 Del Monte, Michael University O 1:51.93
10 Smith, Kyle Phoenix Athl 1:52.04
11 Tome, Mitchell Windsor Legi 1:52.57
12 Saizew, Michael Caltaf Athle 1:52.76
13 Finn, Ryan Phoenix Athl 1:53.31
14 Gamble, Dustin Speed River 1:53.34
15 Simair, Chris Queen City Striders 1:53.70
16 Langridge, Jordan Durham Drago 1:54.37
17 Theriault, Madison Caltaf Athle 1:54.42
18 Mccormick, Iain Queen City Striders 1:54.48
19 Young, Sean Ottawa Lions T.F.C. 1:55.06
20 Brennan, Kevin Ottawa Lions T.F.C. 1:55.23
21 Russell, Ryan Calgary Inte 1:55.39
22 Carlos, Shane Unattached-OTFA 1:55.41
23 Gravel, Benjamin Cirrus 1:55.51
24 Raymond, Mathieu Club D'Athlé 1:55.78
25 Laan, Brandon London Runne 1:55.80
26 Nishiyama, Michael Leduc Track 1:55.86
27 Lecours, Tommy Sherbrooke 1:56.70
28 Mazzei, Darren Queen City Striders 1:56.75
29 Carroll, Rory Edmonton Thunder 1:57.07
30 Dib, Abdelkader Caltaf Athle 1:57.36
31 Abbott, Larry Harbour Track 1:57.48
32 Klaus, Anders Harbour Track 1:57.73
33 Fleming, Noah Harbour Track 1:57.91
34 Azzi, Sofiane Cirrus 1:59.37
35 Anderson, Travis Brantford T.F.C. 1:59.77