Gladys Cherono Sets Ottawa 10K Record

May 23, 2015 – Ottawa – For
the second consecutive year in the 10 km event at the  Tamarack Ottawa
Race Weekend, a Kenyan woman was the first to cross the finish line and
go on to break the course record.(Photo by Victah/photorun.net)

Thirty-two
year-old Gladys Cherono’s time of 30 minutes 56 seconds was 25 seconds
faster last year’s course record set by fellow Kenyan Mary Keitany. She
also beat her personal best time of 30 minutes, 57 seconds set in 2012.

At
the Ottawa 10 km race, elite women are given a time advance on their
male counterparts for a chance to win a $2,000 gender competition
bonus. This year’s 3 minute, 25 second lead was calibrated based on an
assessment of participating athletes.

Second
place finisher was Peres Jepchirchir, 21, also of Kenya, whose time of
31 minutes 18 seconds was enough to keep her ahead of the first male to
reach the finish line.  Jepchirchir also beat her personal best time of
31 minutes 34 seconds. Rounding out the top three women was Canadian
Lanni Marchant, 31, with a time of 31 minutes 49 seconds.

“Tonight’s
great performances validate the Gold Label standard we have earned for
the first time this year from the International Association of
Athletics Federation for this event,” says Manny Rodrigues, Elite Race
Coordinator.  The Ottawa 10 km race is the only one in Canada to hold
the IAAF gold label and only one of four races in the world with this
designation.

Kenyan
Nicholas Bor, 28, was the first man to finish with a time of 27 minutes
55 seconds – not fast enough to beat the course record of 27:24 set in
2009 by Ethiopian Deriba Merga. He was followed by two fellow Kenyans:
Simon Cheprot, 25, with a time of 27 minutes 57 seconds; and David
Kogei, 30, who ran in at 28 minutes 16 seconds.

10 km Canadian Championships

The
Ottawa 10 km race was the site this year for Athletic Canada’s 10 km
Canadian Championships. Eric Gillis, 35, ran a 28 minute 58 second
race, placing 7^th overall. Lanni Marchant faced stiff
competition but held on to a strong lead. She was followed by
33-year-old Vancouver based Natasha Wodak, who ran 31 minutes 59
seconds.

“The
Canadian Championships were a resounding success,” says Rodrigues. “At
an IAAF Gold Label event, having two Canadian women among the top five
finishers and three Canadian men place in the top 10 is unprecedented.”

Top 10 finishers – men and women