As an Ontario Olympic runner sets off in a marathon tomorrow, he’ll have some extra confidence thanks to a record-setting run in Collingwood two weeks ago.
Redi Coolsaet, a two-time Olympic marathoner, ran in the 10-km race at the Living Water Resorts Collingwood Half-Marathon event on Oct. 3, and did so in 30 minutes and nine seconds, which is a few seconds faster than the current Canadian Masters record in the M40 age group of 30 minutes, 12 seconds, set in 1990.
“My training has gone really well lately and I knew I could get the record with the right course,” said the Hamilton-based runner, who ran for his first time in Collingwood. “The Collingwood course was challenging but having the first half mainly uphill and the second half mainly downhill helped chase a fast time. The weather was really good for race day, maybe a bit cool but nothing to complain about.”
In August, Coolsaet was named the Canadian Masters Athlete of the Month. He surpassed the Canadian M40 best time for the 10-mile road race in Flint, Michigan before coming to Collingwood to earn the best time in the 10-km race as well.
Coolsaet said he started taking running seriously while attending University of Guelph. He made the world championships in 2005 and has been sponsored by New Balance for 10 years.
He said the Collingwood race was well-organized. He enjoyed the scenery along the run route, and it was important to him that the race course was certified by Athletics Canada.
He will be running in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday (Oct. 20). He’s pleased he was able to “test his speed” in Collingwood at the right time and is heading into the marathon with optimism. He’s aiming to use his Sunday race as his qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Marathon.
Nick Brindisi, the race organizer and a competitive ultra runner himself, called the event “tremendously successful.”
He was proud to announce Coolsaet’s record-setting run.
“I was walking on a cloud all week just thinking about him taking part in our race,” said Brindisi in a news release. “And a new Canadian record. In Collingwood. Wow!”
He said there were approximately 400 adults participating in a half-marathon, 10-km, and 43 kids participating in the 2-km kid’s race.
Brindisi said about 80 to 85 per cent of the participants came to Collingwood from out of town, and the participants included four Kenyan elite runners, two from the Netherlands, one from the Czech Republic, and one from Costa Rica.
There were 100 volunteers, and 16 OPP officers involved in
The seventh-annual event included a fundraising component for My Friend’s House. Brindisi said a percentage of every participant’s registration fee was donated to the charity.
For full race results and more details from the event, visit http://www.runcollingwood.ca/.
