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October 8th 2006, OTTAWA - Runners Simon Bairu of Regina and Lucy Smith of Victoria won the men’s and women’s Trans Canada 10 kilometre championships, the Canadian championship road race competition at the distance, this weekend.
In the men’s race, Bairu, a two-time NCAA cross country running champion, won a battle to the finish against Ryan Hayden of Vancouver clocking 29 minutes and 12 seconds. Hayden followed in 29:33 And Jerry Ziak of Victoria was third in 29:39.
Joel Bourgeois of Grande-Digue, N.B., was fourth in 29:49 and Reid Coolsaet of Guelph, Ont., fifth in 30:10.
In the women’s race, Smith gained an early lead and took the title in 33:52. Marathoner Nicole Stevenson of Toronto was second in 34:06 and Andrea Grove of Winnipeg third in 34:14.
Smith, 39, was competing at her 18th national championship (combining cross country, road, duathlon and track). She won a silver medal earlier this year at the world duathlon championships in Corner Brook, N.L.
Lisa Harvey of Calgary was fourth in 34:40 and Lauren King of Toronto fifth in 34:49.
The competition was also part of the TIMEX National Road Race Series Final. Developed in 1989 in conjunction with the provincial branch associations of Athletics Canada, the Timex Road Race Series holds over 110 races with in excess of 140,000 participants per year. It is Canada’s only National Road Race Series, encompassing nine series in all provinces.
As well as crowning a male and female Canadian champion, 11 age group category champions were crowned on Saturday.
A special ceremony preceded the race, honouring Olympian Émilie Mondor who died tragically on September 9th in a car accident. Mondor was registered to race this weekend, continuing her comeback from career-threatening injuries.
For full event results and to view more pictures from Saturday please visit www.transcanada10km.ca.
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