Tate Looking to Fend off Strong Field, Teammates at ACXC 2021  

Related: https://athletics.ca/2021-canadian-cross-country-championships-one-week-away/ 

Mike Tate does not have to venture farther than his own living room to remember that defending his national ACXC title will be no walk in the park. 

Two years have now passed since the Antigonish, N.S. native sprinted past Vancouver’s Luc Bruchet, mustached and muddy-legged, to capture his first ever national cross-country title in Abbotsford, B.C. 

Tate expects Bruchet to be back with a vengeance this year in Ottawa region’s Wesley Clover Parks. Yet, the 26-year-old wonders if his roommates Connor Black or Phil Parrot-Migas, or another teammate like Jeremy Coughler or Jack Sheffar, all members of the London Western Track Club, pose the greatest threat to his title. After all, Black and Coughler got the best of him at the Athletics Ontario Championship in October. 

Tate lived in Guelph, and represented Speed River when he won gold in 2019, but now runs with Bandits Elite, a team of post-collegiate distance runners who train under coach Dave Mills and represent LWTC. The group is making ACXC its fall priority, and has gathered several times per week on the hilly trails and grass loops of London for fiery workouts for months now. 

“We’ve had 4-5 guys side by side in every workout,” said Tate. “It does gets competitive – guys definitely want to be the top dog. If you have an off day it’s going to be a long one because the guys aren’t going to take it easy on you.” 

The competitive workouts have done little to hurt Tate’s confidence. 

“I feel a bit ahead of where I was in 2019 at this time... and feel much better since (the Athletics Ontario Championship)” he said. “For whatever reason, I always find myself in good shape at the end of November. I think it’s just not worrying about the splits and training on feel.” 

The individual title promises to be hotly contested between not only London Western athletes, but by another two-time champion in Luc Bruchet, a 1,500m specialist in Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, and the reinging B.C. cross-country champion and Olympic steeplechaser John Gay, among others.  

Philibert-Thiboutot will lead a CAUL team that will also comprise U SPORTS silver and bronze medalists Thomas Fafard and Jean-Simon Desgagnés, as well as varsity All-Canadian Jonathan Tedeschi. John Gay will headline a Vancouver Thunderbirds team comprising young stars Tyler Dozzi, Thomas Nobbs as well as XC veterans Thomas Broatch and Christian Gravel. The three teams have already formed a rivalry that has transcended the domain of Instagram memes, but their banter is doing little to hurt Tate’s confidence in his squad. 

“I don’t think we’re losing. I don’t think it’s going to be as close as Laval and the Thunderbirds think it’s going to be.” 

Tate said the team title is top of mind for London Western. Yet, when the race starts, all bets will be off. 

“I want all the guys to do well and I’m rooting for them, but at the end of the day I’m trying to win.” 

Zooming in on the contenders:  

Mike Tate – London Western (LWTF):  

The 2019 ACXC champion is a gamer and cross-country specialist, but has trailed teammate Jeremy Coughler in the two major fall races so far: the Canadian 10k championships and the Athletics Ontario championship. 

Luc Bruchet - Mile 2 Marathon (MI2M):   

The two-time Olympian has figured on every ACXC podium since 2016, claiming the 2017 and 2018 titles in the process. His second place finish at the Canadian 10k championships in 28:49 was the best result by an athlete on the ACXC start list.   

Jeremy Coughler - London Western (LWTF):  

The former Indiana University athlete is quietly having a banner year. He raced to a 10k PB at the Canadian 10k championships in October and gapped the field at the AO championship by eight seconds on route to a gold medal.   

John Gay - Vancouver Thunderbirds (TBIR) 

The 25-year-old Vancouver runner won the B.C. cross-country championship this year, besting Thomas Nobbs by 11 seconds and running 23:26. Gay is also coming off a breakout summer, in which he ran 8:16.99 in the 3,000m steeplechase in his first ever Olympic final. 

Connor Black – London Western (LWTF)  

The 2019 ACXC bronze medalist narrowly lost to Tate at the Canadian 10k championships and finished eighth in 29:20. Since then, he has trended upwards, finishing second to Coughler at the Athletics Ontario championship. 

Dark Horse: Charles Philibert-Thiboutot – Club Athlétisme de l’Université Laval (CAUL) 

The Quebec expat now living in Edmonton ran the 1,500m or the mile 13 times in the summer of 2021, and came away from it with a near-personal best of 3:34.43. He has laid low since then, but occasional eye-popping Strava posts and the odd photo of his workouts with Luc Bruchet suggest he has properly transitioned into XC mode.  

Team Title: 

CAUL and The Bandits will likely battle for gold, with each team having at four runners capable of finishing in the top ten, and at least seven athletes on the start line. The Vancouver Thunderbirds could complicate things, but with only five men registered, their depth is questionable.  

How to watch: RunnerSpace+ members can watch the entire day of racing on AthleticsCanada.TV. Race coverage starts at 8:20 a.m. ET before diving right into the first races of the day.