The Terminal Mile

You want action? Drama? Well, you’ve got it. Pre-Olympic team selection storylines are running at a fever pitch right now, with multiple events currently boasting more qualified athletes than spots. One of my favorites right now is the men’s 5,000...and keep in mind, by the time you listen to this, everything could have changed, but right now you have 3 athletes with the qualifying time standard in Moh Ahmed and his 12:58 leading the charge of Justyn Knight and Matt Hughes. Now Hughes is likely to focus on the steeple, meaning there is still a spot open, and right now you have the next fastest runner with quota, Ben Flanagan, as well as the slightly slower, but higher ranked Keiran Lumb...now to make things extra spicy, between the two of them time wise, there the currently out of rankings Luc Bruchet, and still a bit of time before a team is announced, with fast European, domestic and American races on the table, as well as a huge points opportunity at the national championships. What we’re about to watch is strategy, guesswork and a lot of pure guts racing, and as an athletics fan, I’m here for it.

In that vein, we’re joined by one of those runners in contention, Ben FLanagan, Boston Reebok TC, 2018 NCAA 10,000m CHamp joins us to chat learning the secrets of the 5k, a look to a longer future, alternate universes where he isn’t the NCAA champion, and a sneak peak at the inner workings of teammate Justyn Knights season.

Matt Hughes, you probably know the accolades by now, National Record Holder in the steeple with an 8:11, multiple time world championship finalist, Pan Am gold medalist, Olympic finalist, 2x NCAA Champion. In 2019 he made a bold move, he left the biggest track and field group in the world of his own accord. Citing the reason that he had fallen out of love with the sport, he picked up, moved to Toronto and started training with Dave Reid, and a mix of blue collar runners, like Kyle Wyatt and Paddy Birch. Things appear to be working for him, as he’s since run PBs in the 5, an indoor 13:13, and the 15. Matt’s picking up and getting ready to make a big splash at the Tokyo games this year with a run of races and a stint at altitude in Europe, and we caught him just hours before he took off.

Director Paul Kemp’s film Nike’s Big Bet: Alberto Salazar and the Fine Line of Sport premiered at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival and has been catching the eyes of running fans. In the Film, Kemp takes a look at the good and the bad of Alberto Salzar’s work with the Nike Oregon Project, with focus on Salzar’s Doping violation suspension, Mary Cain’s New York Times piece on her time with the Project, and oddly enough, super shoes.

Joined by the silver medalist at the 1997 ITU World Duathlon Championships, and a CCAA Cross Country Coach of the year who saw the Fanshawe Falcons Cross Country teams to a great amount of perennial success, John Loney, we review the film and discuss the good and the bad, as well as how it stacks up against the gold standard of running films, Without Limits.

Sergio Ráez Villanueva, or simply Sergio as he’s known by many, really came into the consciousness of the running nation when as a student at McMaster he won the 2018 10,000m Canadian Championship in an all out sprint finish, qualifying him for the NACAC games. But shortly after the Peruvian-born Canadian ran at those NACAC games, he all but disappeared, with only a few out of character races sprinkled in. Flash forward to last month though, and out of nowhere, word came that Sergio had run an unofficial 63:57 debut half marathon time trial, with next to no taper or specific training. Of course, we had to follow up, and that’s what we do on this week’s episode

So let’s say you have this dream of making it to the Olympic Games, but it's been months since you’ve raced, and with the world shut down, there's not a whole lot going on in your neighborhood. So what do you do? Well, if you’re Julie-Anne Staehli, you hop the border, relocate to New Mexico with fellow hopeful Charlotte Prouse, toe the line with an absolute legend of the sport, get a national record, a couple new PBs, and find yourself in a better place than when you left in the hunt for a ticket to Tokyo 2021. This week Julie-Anne tells us that story.

You don’t get to be a 7x All American in the 800 without a ton of consistency; years and years of injury free training and properly executed racing strategy. What happens when that consistency gets interrupted though? Robert Heppenstall found out when he tackled his first real injury as an athlete, keeping him on the sidelines for nearly 2 years. Robert is back though, soloing a 2:24 1,000m a couple weeks ago, and he’s recently moved stateside from his hometown Hamilton to join the District Track Club as an Under Armour athlete. This is a pivotal time for Robert, not only coming back from an injury but making the transition from collegiate to pro athlete, and this week, we talk about all those things.

With Eric Gillis and Jerome Drayton selected in Pt. 1, it's time to pick the second half of our Canadian Marathoner's Rushmore. For this task we brought in 10th fastest Canadian marathoner and runner up at the 2019 Olympic Trials, Emily Setlack. Who fills out Rushmore? Is it Marchant? Ruegger? Elmore?

Youtube channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RfDsxVKIZA1_UsZ233Img

For years Natasha has been seen as someone who found their stride in the 10,000; making 3 World Championship teams, winning Pan Am gold in 2019 and owning the national event record since 2015. That's why it came as a bit of a surprise that when the start list for last December’s Marathon Project came out, Wodak’s name was on that list. Nevertheless, when December rolled around, Wodak showed up in Arizona and knocked nearly 9 minutes off her only other attempt at the event, running 2:26:19; good enough for 5th and the second fastest Canadian Marathon of all time,far surpassing the Olympic qualifying time. We caught up with Natasha earlier this week and it was all on the table, including growth as an athlete and a human being and what the future for Natasha might hold.

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RfDsxVKIZA1_UsZ233Img

Who deserves a spot on the Canadian Marathoner's Mt. Rushmore?

Is it the dominant Jerome Drayton? The legendary Tom Longboat? The fastest man at the distance, Cam Levins? Or the consistent, and clutch performer, Eric Gillis?

On this week's show the boys narrow a short list of 6 of the greatest of all time down to 2 men with the help of 2x Olympic Marathoner, @reidcoolsaet , in this first part of 2 episodes to determine who makes the Canadian Marathoner's Mt. Rushmore. Did the boys get it right?

13:22.

The time of the 10th fastest 5,000m all-time by a Canadian, and 2nd fastest by a Quebecois. Even with 2020 being a dessert for track racing, Charles Philibert, coached by his collegiate coach Felix Lapointe and sponsored by Asics, ran an impressive 5,000m that sets him up nicely for a fast 2021, and we caught up with him on this week's show!