Fresh from her most rigorous marathon training yet, Malindi Elmore achieved a new Canadian masters record for women aged 45-49 by completing the Valencia Marathon in two hours, 24 minutes, and 54 seconds on a sunny Sunday in Spain. Her performance landed her in 12th place, improving on last year’s time by one minute and 21 seconds, and surpassing the previous masters record set by Krista DuChene from Brantford, Ont., on March 5, 2023, by 14 minutes.
This marked the third-fastest time in Elmore’s career, just three seconds shy of her 2020 Houston run and behind her personal best of 2:23:30 in Berlin on September 24, 2023. Natasha Wodak, the national record holder at 2:23:12 since September 2022, is a close friend and occasional training partner of Elmore.
Reflecting on her achievement, Elmore shared in an Instagram post, “Today was another solid marathon for me. Running consistently in the 2:23-2:28 range yearly for six years now feels special, especially at 45.75 years old. Every race is a mix of challenges and triumphs.”
Despite withdrawing from her World Athletics Championships debut due to injury in September, Elmore strived for a personal best in Valencia. However, unexpected high temperatures and wind posed challenges during the race. She faced a tough 10-kilometer stretch between 25-35 km before regaining momentum for the final seven kilometers, ultimately achieving a sub 2:25 finish with six seconds to spare.
In the race, Joyciline Jepkosgei from Kenya clinched victory with a time of 2:14:00, setting a new course record in what is considered one of the world’s fastest marathons and the fourth quickest women’s marathon in history.
Elmore, hailing from Kelowna, B.C., struggled with posterior tibial tendonitis in her right foot during the Canadian 10K Road Running Championships on May 24 in Ottawa and faced setbacks during crucial pre-world championships training in July.
In her Olympic debut at the 2021 Games, Elmore conquered the intense heat in Sapporo, Japan, finishing ninth with a time of 2:30:59, the highest Olympic marathon placement by a Canadian woman in non-boycotted Games. Additionally, in October 2022, she secured her first Canadian marathon title and claimed fourth place overall at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
Another elite Canadian runner in the Valencia Marathon, Élissa Legault, achieved a personal best time of 2:29:05, setting a Quebec record and improving by over four minutes from her previous best. The 31-year-old athlete from Île-Perrot, Que., expressed her excitement about reaching this milestone she had aimed for over several years.
Legault shared her race experience, saying, “The energy of the crowd and the competitive field motivated me. I maintained a good pace throughout and accelerated around the halfway mark. It got tough around kilometer 27-28, but when I heard the projected time of 2:29:18, I knew it was my moment to shine.”
