Posted: May 26, 2005

Athletics: Canadian Marathon Champions To Be Crowned At National Capital Race Weekend

Ottawa, May 26, 2005 – Once again, the National Capital Race Weekend is serving as the Canadian Marathon Championships, as designated by Athletics Canada, the national governing body for track and field and road running.

With a national title at stake, and as a final opportunity to qualify for the marathon event at the World Championships August 5th through 14th in Helsinki, Finland, the Ottawa Marathon event on Sunday, May 29th continues to signify a key competition for Canada’s very best road runners.

“The National Capital Race Weekend is an outstanding competitive opportunity for our elite marathon runners,” says Martin Goulet, director of endurance programs for Athletics Canada. “This event is a natural fit for us since the organizing committee has consistently been able to put together a tremendous weekend of road running events. In the recent past, it has been able to provide very significant support and genuine care to our Canadian elite athletes.”

The end of the qualification period for the 2005 World Championships of Athletics is on May 29th. This puts a huge amount of importance on the ING Ottawa Marathon for Canada’s elite marathoners. In order to qualify for the Canadian team, athletes must meet the following A-standards during the qualifying period of January 1, 2004 to May 29, 2005: 2:14.20 for men and 2:31:00 for women up to a maximum of three athletes per event. If no athletes meet the A-standard, Athletics Canada is able to enter one athlete per event on the condition that they have met a B-standard (2:18:00 for men, 2:42:00 for women) and have fulfilled the conditions under the “rising star” category of the Athletics Canada world championship selection criteria.

“The 2005 world championships are at the beginning of the four year road leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games. The selection criteria to make the Helsinki team for the marathon event is consistent with our high performance mandate but also recognizes athletes who are showing progressive, up and coming results that will translate into true world-level performances,” adds Goulet.

As the national sport governing body for track and field, cross country running and road running, Athletics Canada’s mission is to provide leadership, development and competition that ensures world-level performance in athletics. Athletics Canada is a not-for-profit, charitable organization operating under a board of directors elected by provincial / territorial members.

The National Capital Race Weekend originally started as just a marathon event, but has since developed into a premier national event featuring races of various distances for athletes of all levels, from leisure to elite. Ottawa will host the event during the last weekend of May, from the 27th to the 29th.

Race website: www.ncm.ca,
Athletics Canada: www.athletics.ca.