Ben Flanagan breaks Canadian 10K record at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend
Malindi Elmore take top spot the 10K women’s race
Ottawa, May 25, 2024 – Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend got off to great start today with the Kids Marathon, 2K, 5K and 10K events. It’s all part of Run Ottawa’s two-day 50th anniversary celebrations marking the inaugural Ottawa marathon held in 1975.
Almost 6,900 runners took to the streets for the 2024 Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa. The race attracted some of the best professional runners from Canada as well as thousands of recreational runners from across the National Capital Region and the country. Once again this year, Ottawa played host to the Canadian 10K Championships.
Benjamin Flanagan took first place in the men’s category, with a time of 28:09, setting a new Canadian Championship record. Rory Linkletter came second with a personal best of 28:40 and Jeremy Coughler finished third with a time of 28:55.
In the women’s category, Malindi Elmore took top spot, completing the 10K in 32:50. The 44-year-old took the lead early on, running on her own for much of the race. Second place went to Cleo Boyd with a time of 33:12. Natasha Wodak, last year’s 10K winner, finished third in 33:21.
Starting at Ottawa City Hall, the 10K course took runners along the famous Rideau Canal, around Dow’s Lake and back up Colonel By Drive before heading across the Pretoria Bridge to an exciting finish in front of thousands of cheering spectators on Queen Elizabeth Drive.
A weekend of celebration
Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend’s 50th anniversary celebrations kicked off Saturday afternoon with the Ottawa Kids Marathon presented by Maverick’s Donuts. More than 1,600 young runners from 28 schools around the region took part in the event. But before the kids hit the course, five local mascots battled it out in a 100 metre dash for fun. OC’s Transpo’s OC Owl and Camp Misquah’s Misquah Moose were the two fastest mascots of the day, beating out the Ottawa Titans’ Cappy, Ottawa Redblacks’ Big Joe, and Ottawa 67s’ Riley.
Long-time Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend announcer Alain Cyr is doing the play-by-play for all the weekend’s events. He’s sharing the microphone with award-winning Canadian producer and television host Sabine Daniel. Former Canadian Marathon and 10K Champion Tania Jones joined Cyr and Daniel to help commentate for the 10K race.
Team Ashbury College was back once again with more than 400 participants fundraising for The Ottawa Hospital and BGC Ottawa had over 100 Walk this Way team members this year.
Complete race results can be found here:
In person participation numbers
- Ottawa Kids Marathon: 1,431
- Ottawa 2K presented by ASICS Runkeeper: 3,322
- Ottawa 5K presented by ASICS Runkeeper: 7,399
- Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa: 6,897
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 and 2K presented by Runkeeper, and Ottawa Kids Marathon, as well as three multi-event challenges. In 2023, runners and walkers in the event raised a record-breaking $1,126,273.66. for local and national charities through the Desjardins Charity Challenge.
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. In 2020, its title sponsor Tamarack Homes won Sport Tourism Canada’s Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year Award.
Media relations contact:
Lisa Georges
lisa.georges@runottawa.ca