December 2nd, VANCOUVER - Simon Bairu of Regina earned his fifth consecutive men’s title on Saturday at the 2006 Canadian Cross Country Running Championships held in frigid conditions at Jericho Beach Park while Malindi Elmore of Calgary won the women’s race.
In the men’s 10 kilometre race, Bairu clocked 31 minutes and 37.7 seconds to also earn his second national title this year. In October he won the gold at the TransCanada National 10 Kilometre Championships in Ottawa.
Reid Coolsaet of Geulph, Ont., was second in 31:52.00 and Jerry Ziak of Richmond, B.C., third in 31:55.6. Cristiano Mauricio of Windsor, Ont., was fourth in 32:04.4 and veteran Joel Bourgeois of Grande-Digue, N.B., fifth in 32:11.2.
In the women’s six kilometre race, Elmore took the title in 20:54.00 after coming close the past three years. She was third in 2005 and the runner-up in 2003 and 2004. Megan Brown of Newmarket, Ont., was second in 21:18.6 and Elizabeth Wightman of Toronto third in 21:48.9. Lisa Harvey of Calgary was fourth in 22:00.2 and Rebecca Stallwood of Burlington, Ont., the 2004 champion, was fifth in 22:01.4.
In the junior women’s five kilometre, Danelle Woods of Ottawa was first in 18:08.9 with Kendra Schaaf of Regina second in 18:09.7 and Jessica O’Connell of Calgary third in 18:20.4. Genevieve Lalonde of Moncton, N.B., was fourth in 18:22.9 and Rachel Cliff of Vancouver fifth in 18:31.9.
In the men’s junior eight kilometre, Justin Marpole-Bird of Vancouver took top spot in 25:55.2. Matt Leeder of Brockville, Ont., was second in 25:59.2 and Matthew Brunsting of Guelph third in 26:06.2. Mathew Hughes of Toronto was fourth in 26:22.2 and Sean Fleming of Regina, last year’s winner, fifth in 26:25.9.
Saturday’s race also served as trials for the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships set for Mombasa, Kenya in March. The top finishers in both the men’s and women’s junior and senior races will also be eligible for selection to the Canadian team at the 2007 NACAC Cross Country Championships in Clermont, Florida.
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