Wodak

We knew Natasha Wodak was great over 10,000 metres on the track and up to 21 kilometres on the road. But no one knew she had a 2:26:19 marathon in her.

In just the second marathon of her career, and first in more than seven years, Wodak laced up for The Marathon Project on Dec. 20, 2020, jumping at the opportunity to race in a year that saw virtually every road race cancelled due to the global pandemic.

She felt great from the start and tucked in behind the two pacers for the 2:26 group, which turned out to be just her in a field of more than 100 marathoners. Comfortable through the first 32 kilometres, Wodak admitted that the last seven kilometres of the race were arguably the toughest of her career. Her left hamstring started to cramp up and she felt nauseous. She could feel the “wheels start to come off”. She knew it was going to hurt and was prepared for the pain. Wodak stayed positive and kept checking her form, taking it one kilometre at a time. She stuck with the pacers through the final stretch of the race, crossing the finish line in 2:26:19 – the second fastest marathon by a Canadian woman, moving herself into the third sport on the three-person marathon team bound for the Olympic Games.

As part of her marathon training, Wodak ran the Fierce Half Marathon that November in Langley, B.C., with the hopes of reclaiming her national record at that distance. She fell just shy of Andrea Seccafien’s 1:09:38, stopping the clock at 1:10:02. Earlier in 2020, Wodak became the first Canadian woman to complete a half marathon in less than 70 minutes, and now owns two out of the three fastest times in the Canadian record books.

Wodak was on a tear in 2019. She racked up five first-place finishes before the end of June, including two Canadian titles – one in the 10-kilometre road race, the other in the 10,000 metres – a gold medal at the Pan American Games and a 17th-place finish at the World Championships, both over 10,000 metres. Her mark of 31:55.17 at the Pan American Games proved to be a new Pan Am record.

Some might say that 2015 was a break-out year for the distance runner. After missing almost an entire year of racing due to plantar fasciitis and peroneal tendonitis, Wodak set the Canadian record in the 10,000 metres at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, California, in May, running 31:41.59 (since surpassed by Andrea Seccafien). It was her first track race in almost two years, and she had no idea she was on national record pace until the bell lap. She then finished second at the Canadian 10km Championships with a personal best time of 31:59 and turned in a silver-medal performance at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, a distance in which she had achieved a personal best in New York City that March. But just before flying to Toronto for the 2015 Pan American Games, Wodak was struck by illness, leaving her unable to eat much, which led to a weight drop. Feeling weak and unfocused, she competed anyways and finished seventh. She then grinded through her first 10,000-metre race at an IAAF World Championships, forcing herself to finish rather than drop out with nine laps to go. Looking to end her season on a high, Wodak won the Canadian 5km Championships.

In late January 2016, Wodak was diagnosed with a stress reaction in her foot, which was followed by another bout of illness that left her unable to race until May. But she was able to make her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, finishing 22nd in the 10,000 metres. She returned to the World Championships in 2017, where she placed 16th in a time of 31:55.47, and then competed at her first Commonwealth Games in 2018 crossing the finish line in seventh.

Wodak has been named to Team Canada on 17 occasions and currently holds the national record over 8 kilometres.