Natasha Wodak, 36, Vancouver
“You know it’s just about fun for me I really want to enjoy the race.”
The Toronto Waterfront 10k defending champion, Natasha Wodak is the Canadian 10,000m record holder (31:41.59) and represented Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games.
How Natasha prepares for the race:
“Generally when I come to Toronto the races are in the morning so it’s a little tricky with it being three hours time difference. Usually I am getting only 5 or 6 hours sleep. I will go to bed at midnight and get up at 5:30 a.m. and that works fine me
I like to be at the start an hour and ten minutes before, to get settled and begin my warm up. If I am away I will usually have a coffee and a chocolate chip/coconut energy bar. I try to aim for 250 calories before a 5 or 10k. If I am at home or a place where it’s available, I will have a piece of multigrain toast with peanut butter and banana. But I need that two hours before the race.”
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Reid Coolsaet, 34, Hamilton
“I haven’t looked closely at the competition, but I’d be going for the win.”
Reid Coolsaet is a two time Canadian Olympic marathoner and father of two. Coolsaet is the second fastest marathoner in Canadian history with a personal best of 2:10:28.
How Reid prepares for the race:
“Waterfront 10k morning is going to be an early morning. I usually eat oatmeal then an energy gel thirty minutes before the race and a sports drink throughout the morning.
Even if I’ve had a bad sleep, once I drink a couple of cups of tea with caffeine before the race, I am never tired for the race. For Waterfront 10k I will wake up at 4:30 a.m. Hopefully I can fall asleep at 9:30 p.m.”
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Sasha Gollish, 35, Toronto
“A fun time and a good race, because really you cannot ask for much more than that, right!?”
Sasha Gollish is an extremely versatile distance runner. She has a 1,500m personal best of 4:07.08 and claimed the 1,500m bronze medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games.
How Sasha prepares for the race:
“I will probably get up somewhere around 4:30 a.m. to make sure I can get a proper breakfast in. I’ll likely stick with what I eat on ‘tempo saturdays’ which is a bowl of greek yogurt and some berries. And of course, coffee with a splash of milk.
In all honesty, I’ll probably go to bed when I feel tired. Recovery after the race will be really important, so I’ll be sure to go to bed early the night of race day. I am not worried if I don’t get a good night sleep before a race, as long as the sleep before that night has been sufficient I know I’m going to be ok.”
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Krista DuChene, 41, Brantford
“I will not be running any super fast personal best times. So something around 35 minutes I will be happy with.”
Krista DuChene, a Brantford, Ontario mother of three ran the second fastest marathon ever by a Canadian with her 2:28:32 at the 2013 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. She represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
How Krista prepares for the race:
“I am used to running early in the morning so that is not something that would concern me. I would plan to have an early dinner the night before, be finished by 6 and get to bed early between 9 and 10 p.m.
It depends on when we are catching a bus to the start. I will probably wake up 5 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. have my usual bagel with honey, a few coffees drink some sports drink. That would work for me.”
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