Runner-turned-triathlete-turned-runner Malindi Elmore shatters Canadian marathon record

Kelowna, B.C.’s Malindi Elmore has virtually guaranteed herself another trip to the Olympics after chopping two minutes off the Canadian marathon record in Houston this weekend with her 2:24:50. Many might not realize, though, that in her short-lived triathlon career she was a sub-9 hour Ironman competitor.

 

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Where do I even begin to thank everyone who was with me today – in my heart and on the course – while I was able to do something I love and achieve something that, until recently, was never on my radar? I can’t believe my run today in Houston was a Canadian Marathon record! I always identified with being a middle distance runner and not a (crazy) distance runner…until I realize how fun training and racing is, and how fun it is to seek new challenges. Needless to say, I am now hooked 🙂 I am so incredibly grateful to the amazing community of runners, friends and family who have been part of this journey. Most of all @grahamthehood who never gave up on me and nailed the coaching for me this last year with our family first philosophy. So awesome to be greeted at the line by so many of my Canadian running friends, including @tashawodak who broke the Canadian half marathon record today – and who is someone I raced against 20+ years ago in high school!! full circle! And of course, to the amazing Silvia Ruegger, @lannimarchant, @raecliff, @kristaduchene, @daynapid whose own marathon exploits in Canada have inspired me. Feeling grateful and incredibly fortunate to do something I love.

A post shared by Malindi Elmore (@malindielmore) on Jan 19, 2020 at 11:57am PST

In 2004 Elmore represented Canada at the Olympics as a 1,500 m runner. She retired from the track in 2012 after representing Canada at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Pan Ams.

After having her first child she turned to swimming and biking to stay fit and it wasn’t long before she turned to triathlon. Her race results were impressive – she won the Great White North triathlon in 2015 and took second at Ironman 70.3 Calgary that year, too. In 2016 she was second at Ironman 70.3 Victoria and Augusta, then went a blazing 8:57 for third at Ironman Arizona. The list of Canadian women faster than Elmore over the full-distance is short – Jen Annett, Lori Bowden, Angela Naeth and Sara Gross.

Triathlon Magazine Canada caught up with Elmore to talk about her move to triathlon in 2016.

Elmore raced twice in 2017 – at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, where she finished ninth and then at Ironman Texas, where she finished eighth, then took the rest of the year off due to pregnancy. After giving birth to her son in June, 2018, she returned to competitive running with a pair of running wins, including a 1:12 half-marathon win in San Diego.

That set up her marathon debut last year in Houston, where she went an impressive 2:32. She took the Canadian Half-Marathon Championship in 1:11, which set her up nicely for the Canadian Olympic trials at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last October, but a strained hamstring forced her to pull out of the race.

The run in Houston, though, should nail her another spot to the Olympics – unless someone breaks her new Canadian record she should be a shoe-in for the Canadian team for Tokyo, joining Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront winner Dayna Pidhoresky.