By: Jonathan Yue
We have reached the second week of December, as snow has become a mainstay outside and many athletes have moved their training indoors, started braving the cooler temperatures, or are searching for that extra mile down south.
These past weeks also marked the beginning of the indoor season, with many athletes either looking to bring strong outdoor seasons inside or start fresh. For Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, he is healthy and ran in his first competition since a foot injury took him out for 13-months and the entirety of the 2019 season so far.
His long awaited return was worth the wait, as Philibert-Thiboutot crossed the finish line at the Boston University season opener with a personal best time of 13:30.13, for third place overall. His time would also set a new Quebec indoor record previously held by Alain Bordeleau in 2006 at 13:56.59. The 28-year-old now holds the Quebec record in the 1,000-, 1,500-, mile, 3,000-, and 5,000-metre events.
✅ 1st race in 13 months
— Charles P.-T. (@Chuck_PT) December 8, 2019
✅ 3rd place in 13:30.79 in the 5000 at the BU season opener
✅ 🇲🇶 Quebec indoor record by 26 seconds
✅ 🇨🇦 4th all-time indoors in Canada
Feels good to be back to racing after 6 months of no running.A small victory, but lots of work ahead for #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/GmVtvY7IVd
Sticking with the BU meet, U Sports cross country champion Kieran Lumb got his season started as well with a time of 13:54.44, while 2019 Canadian 5,000-metre bronze medallist, Thomas Fafard lower his own personal best in the men’s 5,000-metre race. Clocking 13:57.77, the 21-year-old broke the U23 Quebec record set in 2015 by Antoine Thibeault with his time of 14:05.10. Brampton-native Joshua De Souza of Iona University set a new U20 Canadian record in the men's as well, stopping the clock at 14:09.03 to break the previous record of 14:18.92 by Tyler Dozzi last year.
At the Greg Page Relays at Cornell University, a pair of Canadians were named Athletes of the Meet. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues duo of Jack Berkshire and Jasmine Lew took the honours after winning their respective competitions in the men's 300-metres (35.35), 500-metres (1:04.07), and women's long jump (6.02 metres).
Getting away from all the cold to chase some more fast times and great results, Natasha Wodak and Yves Skubwabo put on dominant performances in the Barbados 10K. Only a week after her strong finish for fourth at the 2019 Canadian Cross Country Championships in Abbotsford, BC., Wodak was back to her winning ways, breaking the tape in Barbados with a time of 36:08.
Coming in as the reigning champion, Skubwabo defended his title, winning both the 10-kilometre and half-marathon titles with times of 32:16 and 1:13:09, respectively.
Ben Flanagan was back on the roads at the Manchester Road Race, where he finished eighth overall with a time of 22:16 as the top Canadian in the field. Fellow Canadian Thomas Toth was next with a time of 23:58.
Back in Caledon, Ont., two-time reigning cross country champion Genevieve Lalonde was also back on the course to brave the snowy weather, winning as the top women’s competitor at the 2019 Nuvo Iron Eggnog Jog.
Look out for more big results in the coming weeks as the Canadian weather gets colder, the action for the indoor season heats up before the holidays.
