Canadian Kinsey Middleton wins women’s marathon; Ethiopian Andualem Shiferaw sets course record

Desjardins Charity Challenge raises more than $975,000

Ottawa, May 29, 2022 – Kinsey Middleton took top prize at today’s Tartan Ottawa International Marathon with a time of 2:30:09 – the first Canadian woman to do so since 2007. 

In the men’s race, Ethiopian Andualem Shiferaw set a new marathon course record with 2:06:04, the fastest time set on North American soil in 2022. The previous Ottawa course record was set by fellow Ethiopian Yemane Tsegay in 2014, in a time of 2:06:54.

Noteworthy is that the top 2 finishers in the women’s category were Canadian. 

“Today’s outstanding performances by our winners is rewarding on so many levels,” said Dylan Wykes, Elite Athlete Coordinator for the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. “The Ottawa course delivered great results for elite athletes, who continue to make Ottawa a highly competitive race destination. It’s especially thrilling to see our Canadian athletes shine so bright in an international competition.”

Top three in the men’s and women’s categories are:

Men

  1. Andualem Shiferaw (ETH) 2:06:04
  2. Abdi Ali Gelchu (BHR) 2:09:24
  3. Yuta Shimoda (JPN) 2:09:50

Women

  1. Kinsey Middleton (CAN) 2:30:09
  2. Elissa Legault (CAN) 2:33:27
  3. Katja Goldring (USA) 2:33:58

 

Full results are available at:

Women: Sportstats | Results

Men: Sportstats | Results

 

Race prizes

For her efforts today, Kinsey Middleton will take home $32,000 ($24,000 for placing first,  $5,000 for first Canadian finisher, and $3,000 for running sub-2:32:00). Andualem Shiferaw will receive a total of $34,000 ($24,000 for placing first and $10,000 for setting a new course record).

Open prize awards for the first, second and third place women and men finishers receive $24,000, $13,500 and $8,000 respectively. Canadian prizes are $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for the top three women and men finishers. 

Charity total

More than 2,500 runners took part in the Desjardins Charity Challenge raising more than $975,000 for 61 participating charities. The charity program will remain open until June 20th for online donations at www.runottawa.ca

“After two years of virtual races, Run Ottawa was thrilled to stage a return to live racing at this year’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend,” said Ian Fraser, Executive Director of Run Ottawa and Race Director of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. “We were equally proud to host a strong field of elite athletes and to hold six race events for close to 25,700 participants. We also want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who raised funds for charities and to the more than 2,500 volunteers who helped make this weekend’s events a great success.”

 

Participation numbers

Ottawa Kids Marathon 547

Ottawa 2K presented by ASICS Runkeeper  1,679

Ottawa 5K presented by ASICS Runkeeper  5,043

Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa 5,993

Ottawa Half-Marathon presented by Desjardins  8,226

Tartan Ottawa International Marathon  3,274

 

Virtual events

Ottawa Kids Marathon  26

Ottawa 2K presented by ASICS Runkeeper  132

Ottawa 5K presented by ASICS Runkeeper  254

Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa 263

Ottawa Half-Marathon presented by Desjardins  187

Tartan Ottawa International Marathon  59

TOTAL 25,683

 

Related information

 

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, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, 2K and Kids Marathon, as well as the Lumberjack, Voyageur or Bytown distance challenges. In 2021, runners and walkers in the virtual event raised a record-breaking $1,064,163.58 for local and national charities through the Charity Challenge. The 2023 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will take place May 27-28, 2022.  

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend was named Event of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Tourism Awards, and in 2020, its title sponsor Tamarack Homes won the Sport Tourism Canada’s Canadian Sport Event Sponsorship Initiative of the Year Award. The event is one of only two running events in Canada to host a World Athletics Gold label marathon, and is host to Athletics Canada’s Canadian 10K Championships. For more information or to register: www.runottawa.ca.

 

About Desjardins Ontario Credit Union  

Desjardins Ontario Credit Union serves 132,000 active members mainly in the private, commercial, real estate and agricultural sectors and has 48 branches. It has a business volume of more than $18.92 billion and assets of more than $9.86 billion. This strong, high-performing organization, with rich and diverse expertise, has 750 employees, making them a major employer in Ontario. It is governed by a board of directors consisting of 17 elected directors and 2 young intern directors. This new credit union ranks 2nd among Ontario caisses populaires and credit unions according to assets and business volume.