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Sami Jibril Archives - Canada Running Series

Oct 22 2017
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Rono Sets Canadian All Comers’ Record

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By Paul Gains

Kenya’s Philemon Rono won the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon for the second consecutive year today in a Canadian All Comer’s record of 2:06:52.

A tremendous surge at 34 kilometres saw him put daylight between him and favoured countryman, Dickson Chumba, a past winner of the Chicago and Tokyo Marathons, which he extended to the finish. Indeed, his winning margin in this IAAF Gold Label race was over two minutes as Chumba came home in 2:09:11. Ethiopia’s Solomon Deksisa took third in 2:11:27.

“The first thing I came here for was to defend,” a smiling Rono said afterwards.  “I was expecting the time will come automatically. Today the time came because I was pushing with Chumba.  When I went in front I said ‘I will not reduce the pace and let me maintain my constant pace.’”

Ethiopian pride was partially recovered with the 1-2 finish of Marta Megra (2:28:20) and Sutume Asefa (2:29:26) in the women’s race.

Asefa and Megra train together in Ethiopia and shared tactics as well as the occasional water bottle during the race.  After an opening half in 71:01 the pace slowed considerably with all the combatants struggling as they crossed the line totally spent.

“The first part is very easy,” Megra said of the course, “but the second part is very challenging especially after 30 kilometres I had sickness problem after 30km. I felt pain, real pain.

“I am very happy to win Toronto the first time I came here. I am happy but my plan was to run under 2:23 and I did not succeed. So I am upset about the time.”

The event also served as the 2017 Canadian Marathon Championship. Trevor Hofbauer a member of Guelph’s Speed River Track Club emerged victorious in his debut marathon with a time of 2:18:06. Asked how he felt about winning a Canadian Championships the affable Calgarian offered a smile.

“I think I am the Trevor Hofbauer champion I just did my best,” said the winner. “The Canadian championships is cool and all but I just wanted to be the best version of me. I laid everything out out there and I just wanted to give the best version of me; and the time is decent. There is going to be more to come I know over the years I can improve Today was a good starting point. So I can’t complain.”

Toronto’s Sami Jabril was second in 2:22:04 with Aaron Cooper  of Camlachie, ontario claiming bronze in 2:24:42.

Meanwhile the women’s race saw Leslie Sexton come close to her best time with a 2:35:47 performance to win the crown. The London native was delighted to finish 5th overall.

“I picked a pace that I thought I could handle,” she revealed. ‘I was actually hoping  that the front group would get aggressive because then you just get carnage. People drop and you pass  a few people. I think I moved up into 5th or 6th with a few kilometres etc go. The one I passed was just wobbling. I was hoping they would make mistakes so I could run them down.”

Behind her the Canadian silver medal went to Toronto elementary school teacher, Lyndsey Tessier in a time of 2:36:55 and the bronze to Melanie Myrand of Pierrefonds, Quebec 2:39:10.

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Oct 19 2017
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Canadian Marathoners to Watch at STWM

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There is a strong contingency of Canadian athletes toeing the line at the 2017 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  From athletes making their debuts, to runners hoping to break master’s records, it’ll be a race worth watching.  Here are a few Canadians to look out for:

Sami Jibril

A local athlete who has Toronto as his hometown, Sami Jibril is no stranger to this race.  Not only does he have home course advantage, Jibril has been a pacer for STWM in previous years.  A member of the Canadian World Cross Country Championships team, Jibril is a force to be reckoned with on any cross-country course, and will undoubtedly be one on the marathon course.

Leslie Sexton

With a blazing personal best of 2:33, Leslie Sexton is a mileage hound who is inspiring to follow on Strava.  Running upwards of 200km per week, Sexton is no stranger to high mileage.  Slowly building up her tolerance to running these distances, she’s a workhorse that’s perfect for the marathon.  Don’t be fooled, even with that amount of mileage in her legs, Sexton has the speed that placed her in 2nd at the 2017 Under Armour Eastside 10k this September.

Kevin Coffey

Relatively new to the elite marathon world, Kevin Coffey has shown that he belongs there.  Having the cheeriest demeanour, it’s hard to find a race where there isn’t a photo of Coffey’s infectious grin plastered across his face.  Finding a balance between coaching with Vancouver’s Mile2Marathon, and running up a storm, Coffey has the same marathon goal almost every runner has: to beat his personal best.

Catherine Watkins

Faster as a master.  Catherine Watkins has shown the running world that age doesn’t slow you down.  Having represented Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto in the marathon, her continual success in every race distance is awe-inspiring.  A mother of two girls, Watkins has found a balance between family and being an elite runner.  Like anything, at times it can be hard, but with her family’s, coach’s, and running community’s unwavering support, we have high hopes for this master to break some records at STWM.

Trevor Hofbauer

Giving up on his hoop dream of being an NBA star, Trevor Hofbauer has found stardom in distance running.  Initially he was training mostly on his own, Hofbauer made a big move from Calgary to Guelph to run with some of Canada’s top runners.  Representing Canada at the World Cross Country Championships, and at the World Half Marathon Championships, Hofbauer has shown he has strength in every distance.  Debuting at STWM has been much anticipated and we look forward to seeing what this young star will do.

Natasha LeBeaud Anzures

Originally from Kelowna, Natasha LeBeaud Anzures now calls San Diego home.  Running since she was a young girl, she’s made it her life not only in racing competitively, but in the non-profit organization she and her husband founded, 2nd Recess.  Ranging from 1500m to the marathon, Natasha’s natural speed is a benefit even in the gruelling 42.2km of a marathon.  In the hopes of hitting a new personal best, LeBeaud’s high-humidity training could give her an advantage when running through the potentially cool streets of Toronto.

Oct 06 2017
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What Elite Athletes Eat: Marathon Edition

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For anyone racing a marathon, either for their first or fiftieth time, the pre-race dinner is always a hot topic.

What should you eat?

What should you avoid?

Is carb-loading really all it’s cracked up to be?

We may not have the exact answers, but what we’ve learned over time is that it’s best to eat what you’re used to, and that a carbohydrate-rich meal is a go-to for most runners.  There is a large Canadian elite contingent coming to race at the Canadian Marathon Championships at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, so we took the chance to ask them what fuels their fire the night before a big race.

Sami Jibril: When I’m out of town, maintaining a routine diet has its challenges. I personally try to pack at least one meal and snacks for long out of town races but when its not possible, and I am stuck in an airport with limited food options, I need to be flexible. I understand unhealthy food is better than no food, but healthy food (good fuel) is even better.

The most important factors I consider for selecting meals is food that is high in carbohydrates and easy to digest. The simpler the foods the better, and nothing unfamiliar.

Living in the Toronto and running STWM I have the luxury to eat a personal homemade meal the night before my race. I typically eat a heavy meatless pasta/spaghetti dinner with lots of veggies and I binge on fruits for dessert.

Leslie Sexton: My go-to meal before long runs and workouts when I’m at home is usually beef or chicken kabobs with grilled vegetables (splashed with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar) and linguine with pesto sauce. I love cooking on the BBQ during the summer because it adds a bit of flavour and usually requires less clean-up. And of course some chocolate for dessert!

Kevin Coffey:  The last supper isn’t much of a change from the usual meal before a focused long run. I never experiment with new foods and I try to keep the fibre as low as I can.  For my last meal before a big race, I will have Thai gluten free stir fry rice noodles with a simple tomato sauce and half a serving of chicken (60g-75g of carbohydrate) with a refreshing glass of sports drink (30g carbohydrate). I have found gluten free pasta works best for my stomach and it often has less fibre than whole wheat.

Catherine Watkins: My favourite pre-race food is simply chicken or salmon with brown rice and veggies. For the marathon, I’ll go heavier on the rice and lighter on the veggies!  If it’s a shorter race and out of town I find sushi is a great pre-race food. Usually a salmon roll, tuna roll, and avocado roll.

Natasha LeBeaud Anzures: Before a race, I love to have a giant veggie-packed salad topped with my all-time favorite food: beets.  I love a big serving of brown race pasta (I have Celiac disease, so I cannot have any gluten) with marinara sauce and a side of salmon.

Trevor Hofbauer: My pre-race meal while traveling is pasta with a cream sauce and chicken. Regular pasta with a tomato sauce is an appropriate alternative as well.  For STWM, I’m actually bringing my pre-race dinner with me from Guelph. It will be my staple carbohydrate meal; cornmeal, sweet potato, chicken breast.

John Mason: The night and even through the week leading up to the race I eat a lot of bread.  I eat a lot of bread in general, but even more in the last few days heading into a marathon.  In 2015 before STWM I ate 4 loaves of bread in the last 36 hours leading into the race, an entire loaf of bread for dinner as I was strolling the streets of Toronto.  Bread and butter really is my marathon “bread and butter”.

Sep 22 2015
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Canadians Chasing Medals and Prize Money at Toronto Waterfront Marathon. By Paul Gains

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TORONTO September 22nd 2015. History will be made at this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 18th as the event will serve as the Canadian Marathon Championships for the very first time.

The race has also been honoured with IAAF Gold Label status joining Boston, New York and Chicago as the only marathons to enjoy such stature in The Americas.

Canadian citizens will be eligible for Canadian Championship prize money with the first domestic male and female runner earning $5,000 each – in addition to the open prize money. Medals are also at stake.

The fields are superb and with several athletes eyeing the Rio Olympic standards the Canadians are likely to battle each other while offering the foreign contingent all they can handle.

_NGE7361Leading the Canadian women is Lanni Marchant who set a national record of 2:28:00 here two years ago. She was third overall on that occasion earning $8,000 for her position and another $28,000 bonus for beating Sylvia Ruegger’s 28 year old record. Scotiabank has put up another $30,000 for a new record this year.

The 31 year old Marchant, who works part time as a criminal lawyer in Chattanooga, Tennessee, needs to run under 2:29:50 in order to be eligible for the Rio Olympics.

At present only Krista DuChene of Brantford, Ontario has the standard having raced to a 2:29:38 clocking at the Rotterdam Marathon this past April 12th. Unfortunately, DuChene will not be running Toronto having suffered an acute fracture of a metatarsal bone. She will, however, be on site as part of the “live” broadcast team for the race.

Marchant, who earned a Pan Am Games bronze medal in the 10,000m and also finished 18th in the IAAF World Championships 10,000m in Beijing announced her participation at a Toronto press luncheon earlier this month. She noted the strength of Canadian women’s distance running which has surged since 2012 when she and DuChene narrowly missed the Olympic standard.

“I don’t think Krista or I ever expected that we would help ignite a spark in women’s marathoning in Canada when we lined up at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon,” she said. “We had some great ladies before us – obviously Sylvia but also Nicole Stephenson and Tara Quinn-smith. But women on the road hadn’t really gained the same following the men had.

“Now, just looking back over these years since 2012 we have seen more and more women line up and debut with some pretty amazing marathon performances. I think right now is the best time to be part of the Canadian running scene as there is such a charge of Canadian women absolutely killing it on the roads and I’m excited to see what will happen next.”

Marchant also said she doesn’t expect her record to stand nearly as long as Ruegger’s did. That record lasted twenty-eight years until Marchant and DuChene bettered it in Toronto. DuChene, a Brantford, Ontario resident, ran her personal best that day with 2:28:32.

Amongst those expected to challenge for medals are two female marathon debutants who have excelled on the roads in the Canada Running Series, Tarah McKay-Korir and Dayna Pidhoresky. The latter is finally healthy after several injuries and appears ready to perform to her potential. After all she ran an excellent 1:11:46 half marathon in 2011.

Another promising talent is Natasha Labeaud who debuted on the streets of Toronto a year ago finishing in 2:35:33. That earned her 8th place overall. She focused on 5,000m this past summer finishing 8th at the Pan Am Games.

Not to be forgotten is the 2014 Canadian marathon champion, Rhiannon Johns who, at the age of 23, ran cautiously to a 2:40:24 debut in Birmingham, Alabama. The fight for medal podium places is sure to be epic.

Thirty-five year old Eric Gillis will also be seeking the Rio Olympic standard and a berth on what could be his third Olympic team. The men’s standard is 2:12:50. Gillis represented Canada in the 10,000m in Beijing eight years ago and in the marathon in 2012. A year ago he raced to a new personal best of 2:11:21 in this race earning 9th place.

If everything goes according to plan Gillis will follow specially assigned pacemakers through 30 kilometres and defend the Canadian title he won a year ago in Ottawa. But should he falter both Kip Kangogo (2:15:35 PB) a Kenyan born resident of Lethbridge, Alberta, who acquired Canadian citizenship just a year ago, and Toronto’s Matt Loiselle could be there to claim his medal.

Though Loiselle’s personal best is just 2:16:01 he is determined to produce a great race when it counts.

“I have got up to about 30k at 2:12 pace. Both times that I ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon I got to 30k at 2:12 flat pace. That’s when the pacemaker dropped out,” says Loiselle.

_NGE7011“If you look at my best half marathon time, which is under 1:04, I think it’s doable. I just believe in myself and I believe we will get good training in. And, it will help having Sami there too.”

Loiselle’s training partner, Sami Jibril is making his marathon debut in Toronto. The 26 year old works the 3pm to 11pm shift installing and repairing street car lines for the Toronto Transit Commission.

“I am definitely aware of the Olympic standard,” says Jibril. “However, my goal for Toronto Waterfront, in my debut, is to run the best race I can and the rest will take care of itself.

“Matt and I do train three days a week when we can but not always, due to shift changes mainly on my part. However, we both have to do what we have to do in terms of getting miles in the legs. There is no short cut to a marathon.”

Competitive fields and a fast course await the entrants and when it is over will two new Canadian champions be crowned? The prospects of a memorable day are immense.

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For more information and to run with Canada’s best marathoners:

http://www.stwm.ca

Jun 28 2015
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Reid Coolsaet and Lanni Marchant take convincing wins in Scotiabank Vancouver Half-marathon.

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VANCOUVER. June 28th. Reid Coolsaet and Lanni Marchant both cruised to comfortable wins on a hot morning at the 17th annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half-marathon, in 65:40 and 71:08, respectively. Temperatures were between 20 and 25 celsius under bright blue, sunny skies for the 4,400 runners who took off from UBC to run the 21k down to Stanley Park, along the Pacific shores, in one of the world’s most-scenic urban road races. Another 2,150 ran the accompanying 5K that was held entirely within the park, around Lost Lagoon and the stunning Stanley Park Seawall. Combined, the 6,500 participants were drawn from 8 Canadian provinces and 29 countries.

The men’s race got off to an ambitious start with the first ScotiaHalf Blog Reidkilometre covered in 2:55, and the second in 2:59. A group of four broke away immediately; Matt Loiselle and Sami Jibril from Newmarket Huskies High Performance group in the Greater Toronto Area pushing the pace, with Kenyan Bernard Ngeno and Reid Coolsaet of Guelph’s Speed River TFC tucked in behind. After settling into a couple of 3:08 kilometres, the pace began to slip. Reid Coolsaet moved to the front to pick things up, and Ngeno and Jibril were immediately detached. Coolsaet and Loiselle then ran together out of the UBC campus area, and down to Spanish Banks, passing 10k in 30:26. In a 2:55 12th kilometre, Coolsaet broke clear. He extended his lead after the sharp hill up from Jericho to West 4th, and cruised for home.

“I felt good and am happy with my race,” said Coolsaet. “It seemed a little quick at the start. I mixed it up in the pack for a bit. Matt and I ran together ‘til about 10k, then I pushed on. It was hard on my own, but I wanted to go hard. It was a hot one! I’m just glad there was no-one pushing me on the Burrard Bridge hill today!”    

ij_svhm15_1259

The battle for the places was perhaps a little more interesting as Loiselle faded to 3rd (66:58), with 21-year old American collegiate runner Arya Bahreini from Edmond, Oklahoma finishing strong to take 2nd in 66:34. Jibril kept going for 4th (67:14), with Rob Watson the first Vancouver man home in 69:02 for 5th. Watson is putting in some 200 km weeks currently, in preparation for the Men’s marathon at the PanAm Games in Toronto on July 25th, where he will race for Canada. “It was hot, the legs were tired, and the body took a beating,” said Watson.

ScotiaHalf Blog LanniThe women’s race featured two intriguing contests: Lanni Marchant, the country’s #1 ranked marathoner and Natasha Wodak; and top Masters’ athletes Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Toronto (still the Course Record Holder with her 70:50 from 2003) and Catherine Watkins of Vancouver’s BC Endurance Project. Wodak bested her friend and sometime Asics training partner Marchant, 31:41 to 31:46, to set a new Canadian 10,000m track record at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May. Since then, the road-race specialist Marchant has got the better of Wodak at the National 10K Road Championships in Ottawa and the National Half-marathon Championships in Calgary. Like Watson, Watkins will also be representing Canada in the PanAm Games, in the women’s marathon on July 18th.  With Wodak also running for the VOKRA cat rescue charity, wearing cat-like face make-up, the duel with Marchant was also billed as the “Catfight in Vancouver”!  ij_svhm15_8384

“Natasha and I were together for about 12k,” said Marchant. “She was more aggressive on the downhills. My hips don’t like the big downhills! I knew if I just stayed with her and relaxed, once we started climbing (at 12k and 18k), I’d be ok.” Lanni was ok, and retained her road supremacy, crossing the line in a very impressive 71:08, given the conditions. Natasha was 2nd (72:31), while Lioudmila won the Masters battle taking 3rd overall in 77:33, with Catherine Watkins 4th in 79:04. Both Marchant and Wodak will also represent Canada in the 10,000m in the PanAms next month, and then go on to race the same distance at the World Championships in Beijing in August.

While the warm weather proved a challenge for racing, it was conducive to a great post-race party in Stanley Park, with March Hare playing “live” on stage. And 83 Vancouver area charities went home smiling! Impressively, some 30% of the 6,500 participants ran for one of the official charities in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, raising almost $1 million for the community.

ScotiaHalf Blog CharityFull results available at http://www.canadarunningseries.com/svhm/svhmRESULT.htm        

Jun 18 2015
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Marchant and Wodak Continue Rivalry in Vancouver. By Paul Gains

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VANCOUVER June 18th 2015. A star studded field has been assembled for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon, June 28th but all eyes will be on the dazzling duo of Natasha Wodak and Lanni Marchant.

The pair have battled all Spring on the roads and on the track with a 2-2 score. Vancouver will be a deciding race.

Wodak, the 33 year old Vancouver resident set a new Canadian 10,000m record at the Payton Jordan Invitational May 2nd with a time of 31:41.59  getting the better of her friend and rival whose tenacity was rewarded with a personal best of 31:46.94, the third fastest time ever run by a Canadian. Wodak also beat Marchant at the United Airlines New York Half Marathon in March.

It was a different story at the Ottawa 10k May 24th when LanniMarchant, a criminal defense lawyer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee,  finished 3rd in a very strong field with a time of 31:49. Wodak was 4th ten seconds later. The two were heavily applauded for those performances in the IAAF Gold Label race as they beat many strong East African athletes.

Most recently they raced at the Calgary Half Marathon where Marchant put more than a minute on her rival winning in 1:12:17 to claim the National Half-Marathon Championship.

A year ago Marchant easily won in Vancouver. On the day her task was simply to show the folks at Athletics Canada that she was fit enough to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games marathon. Her 4th place in Glasgow was proof they had chosen well. This year she knows it will be a more competitive race.

“Natasha and I have had a ‘back and forth’ all season,” says Marchant, who is also the Canadian women’s marathon record holder at 2:28:00. “I don’t think that will change for this race. She is running on her home course and I am defending my title on this course. We both have things at stake but that’s how good competition comes about. I think we we’ll see how it goes towards the end of the race.

“I don’t think I can run away from her – like a bad habit – and I will do my best to not let her do that to me. So I think it will be us next to each other or close to each other for a lot of the race before one of us makes a move.”

NatashaUp until last week Marchant had stayed with Wodak at her Vancouver apartment before Wodak flew to New York to compete in the NY Mini 10k and Marchant went south to California. The pair are friends when they are not competing.

“We have tons in common,” Wodak reveals. “We enjoy doing the same things; we like to go out and have a glass of wine or have a beer.  We are actually friends, we don’t just run together, we do other things. We get along very well.”

Wodak will approach the race from a different perspective. Both she and Marchant will represent Canada at the Pan Am Games and then the IAAF World Championships in Beijing. They will run the 10,000m at these championships. In order to be in peak fitness for Beijing she and her coach, Richard Lee,                                                              adjusted her training program going forward.

“Richard and I sat down and decided June would be a good time for me to sort of take a step back in my training,” she explains. “It’s so that I could have a little bit of a rest from racing hard. I have the Pan Am 10,000m in July but my ‘goal race’ is 10,000m in Beijing at the end of August. So for me to be able to peak at the end of August we decided it was important to take a step, basically, off the track in June. This month is not about racing hard it’s going back to basics getting in some longer runs and tempo runs.”

Among those who have been following the rivalry is 2012 ReidCanadian Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet. The Guelph, Ontario resident will also be racing Vancouver and acknowledges the focus has switched to the two ladies when it is usually upon the Canadian Olympic marathon men.

“I don’t really think there’s a difference in performance so much – I qualified for the 2016 Olympics,” Coolsaet says of seeing the tables turned. “The difference is just that they have a good head to head competition going. They’ve gone one for one in half marathon and then the 10k which makes it more exciting than myself running a race, while other Canadians like (two time Olympian) Eric (Gillis) are running the 10k championships and me running the half marathon championship.

“I think that is the big thing; they are running well and they are going back and forth. You don’t know who is going to win each race. I think that is what is exciting about it. It’s cool. Chasing times is not that exciting unless you hit them. A big competition is always cool to see.”

Coolsaet suffered a rare loss on the roads at the Calgary Half Marathon finishing eleven seconds behind Kip Kangogo, the Kenyan born Canadian citizen. He says he will be ready for the Vancouver race.

“After the Rotterdam marathon I took a couple of weeks off and I have just completed six weeks of base training,” he reports. “So the Calgary half marathon was kind of really early in my build up. Since Calgary, my workouts have picked up and, starting this week, I am going to have a 10k focus. I will be in better shape for a half marathon in Vancouver at the end of June than I was for Calgary.”

Coolsaet will face Canadian international Rob Watson and the up and coming Sami Jibril among others.

For a complete Start List click here: https://canadarunningseries.com/blog/2015/06/svhm-elite/

 

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Jun 08 2015
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Toronto Duo Hoping to Earn Tickets to Rio. By Paul Gains

By | Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon | No Comments

TORONTO June 8th 2015. Canada sent three male marathoners to the 2012 Olympics and with the qualifying period for Rio 2016 having opened in January there is speculation that three men will toe the line in Rio next year.

Just who will wear the maple leaf, however, is the big question.

The standard of 2 hours 12 minutes 50 seconds will take some doing. Two members of the Newmarket Huskies have made the commitment to achieving it and to realising a dream of representing Canada at the highest level.

Matt Loiselle and his training partner Sami Jibril will begin their buildup towards the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon next month. They both feel that Canada’s pre eminent marathon, which is the country’s only IAAF Gold Label marathon, is the venue to produce their lofty goal.

Matt Loiselle 2 ResizedLoiselle has a best of 2:16:01 from the 2011 Toronto event. A professional coach when he’s not putting in the miles, he understands that this time is a far cry from the standard. Nevertheless, he believes it is possible.

“I think so,” he declares. “I have got up to about 30k at 2:12 pace. Both times that I ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon I got to 30k at 2:12 flat pace. That’s when the pacemaker dropped out.

“I know the things I need to work on now and I will talk to (Coach) Hugh (Cameron) about it and make some adjustments and compare to previous buildups. If you look at my best half marathon time, which is under 1:04, I think it’s doable. I just believe in myself and I believe we will get good training in. And, it will help having Sami there too. If I didn’t believe it was possible I wouldn’t be really going for it. It has always been the goal.”

The 30 year old has represented Canada twice before, most recently at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon championships where he placed 55th in 1:04:59. He is fully aware that he and Jibril might well be fighting for one place.

Already Reid Coolsaet, a 2012 Olympian at this distance, has achieved the standard by running 2:11:24 in Rotterdam this past April. And Eric Gillis ran a personal best in Toronto last October with 2:11:21, albeit before the qualifying period.  Both he and Coolsaet are good bets to return to the Olympic race and, with only three to qualify, it leaves the Newmarket Huskies pair chasing one place.

“I totally expect that, actually,” Loiselle continues. “I think it will similar to what it was in 2012 probably under 2:12 (will be required). Look at Gillis. He is running as well as he ever has. Reid had a good one in Rotterdam.  And you can never really count Dylan (Wykes) out. Who knows who might be able to come out and surprise? I would be surprised if 2:12:50 did get you in actually.”

And this leads to the question what if he makes the team and Jibril is left behind? How would he feel about that?

“Yes, if I knocked him off the team it would hurt him and if he knocks me off the team it would hurt me,” he says laughing.  “It’s 42.2k and we have the same goal. Obviously if he makes the team and I didn’t I would be happy for him.”

“It’s kind of funny. I had a talk to a group of grade sixes yesterday. One guy asked me ‘Are all the guys you’re running against enemies?’ And I said ‘Well I guess when you start on the line you are enemies and then afterwards you respect each another and you can be friends. But we all have the same goals. We want to beat each other.’”

Sami Jibril Resized

Jibril, now 25, first came to national attention when he won the 2013 Harry’s Spring Run Off in Toronto’s High Park. That victory surprised many. At the time he was more attuned to running on the track and used road racing to break up the routine of winter training. Since then he has become a consistent road racer. A year ago he took the silver medal at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, hanging on to Eric Gillis for most of the race.

“That is a tactic that I do once in a while, ‘dying to success’ as Coach Hugh calls it,” Jibril reveals. “Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but in that race I had one option to run with Eric or separate early. I committed and it was a good run. I ran a huge personal best by 90 seconds. I definitely got good results off of that.”

“I think that was a perfect tactic. I don’t think I could have run faster if I didn’t go with Eric. The way he runs helped me out because he goes out so evenly paced, and conservative. He definitely helped me over 15 or 16k, however far we went together. It was obvious more than three quarters of the race.”

Born in Rome, Jibril is the son of Somali-Ethiopian parents who fled the strife in that region of East Africa.  He was a mediocre runner at Heart Lake Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario but under Hugh Cameron’s guidance has developed well these past three years. Loiselle speaks highly of their partnership.

“When I first met him he barely said a word,” Loiselle says with a laugh. “I thought he was pretty shy. So I had to gradually try to get him out of his shell.  Now he will actually come and hang out. We have a group of friends who will go out for a drink or for dinner and so we are starting to socialize more.”

“At least three times a week we train together. We do our intervals Tuesday and Friday and a long run on Sunday. Today I ran into him on our easy day – we run the same places. He is a great guy to train with.  No ‘BS’, we get along and we talk about anything really when we are running. I enjoy training with him.”

For his part Jibril points out that when he first began training with Loiselle he was working the graveyard shift at the Toronto Transit Commission as a mechanic and barely had any time to socialise. Now he works the 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift and has weekends off. The pair train at 7:00 a.m. usually.

This year the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is also the official Athletics Canada National Championship Marathon so there is added incentive for the top Canadians to contest the race. Both Jibril and Loiselle hope they run fast enough to earn a place on the Rio bound Olympic team, for that would be a dream come true.

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