It’s been a big year for running — both globally and in Saskatchewan. Locally, many runners chased big goals, including making their first Olympic teams and working toward the coveted Six Star medal. Internationally, many of the world’s biggest names in running competed at the Paris Olympics.
As 2024 draws to a close, we take a look at some of the most notable moments in running from the past 12 months.
What was your favourite running moment of the year? Drop me a line at andrea@brainsport.ca.
Saskatoon marathoners chip away at Six Star goals
One of the most coveted pieces of hardware for a marathoner is the Six Star medal, which is awarded to runners who complete six Abbott World Marathon Majors (the Tokyo, London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York City marathons). Training and racing is only part of the challenge; to get into the races, runners must hit tough qualifying standards, test their luck in lotteries or fundraise huge sums through charity bibs.
One Saskatoon marathoner who made progress toward her Six Star medal this year was Cyndi Jeffrey, who ran both the London and New York City Marathons in 2024. The pull of her Six Star medal kept her going during the London Marathon when developed a nasty nosebleed at the 15-km mark. “I was dizzy and disoriented. But I said: ‘I’m getting my third star so I have to run this race,’ so I did … even though it was a horrible experience, those are the ones that are more memorable. I love the tough stories.”
This fall, World Marathon Majors announced the Sydney Marathon as the newest member of the race series starting in 2025, but the Six Star medal will still be awarded to people who join the original six events.
Saskatchewan Marathon women’s record goes down — again
For the second time in as many years, the Saskatchewan Marathon women’s record fell in May. Eriko Soma of Vancouver, then 42 years old, won the 42.2-km race in two hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds, taking more than four minutes off the previous women’s marathon record of 2:54:04 set the previous year by Victoria lawyer and runner Christine Bant.
Though Soma ran as a youth and during her teenage years, she took a two-decade break from running before rediscovering the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was self-coached leading into the Saskatchewan Marathon. “Basically I come up with my own workouts and train myself. It can be hard at times but I really enjoy training through trial and error. I’m not young anymore, so I train while paying close attention to recovery,” she said after the race.
Kip Kangogo of Lethbridge, Alta. won the men’s race for the second year in a row, clocking 2:28:23.
Saskatchewan athletes represent at Olympics and Paralympics
Three Saskatchewan athletes were named to the national athletics for the Paris Olympics this summer: 100-m hurdler Michelle Harrison of Saskatoon and 400-m hurdler Savannah Sutherland of Borden made their Olympic debuts while pole vaulter Anicka Newell, a dual Canadian-American citizen who trains in the U.S., competed at her third Games.
Harrison was sadly one of a handful of Canadian athletes battling a stomach bug in the days before track and field events got underway and did not qualify for the semifinals in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Sutherland finished seventh in the women’s 400m hurdle finals in a race where American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her own world record. Sutherland also ran the second leg of the women’s 4x400m relay, in which the Canucks finished sixth.
Newell finished 13th in heats of the women’s pole vault and did not advance to the final.
At the Paralympics, Ashlyn Renneberg of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club finished seventh in the F13 Javelin. Former track and field athlete Nikita Ens, who now competes in paraswimming, failed to advance out of the heats in the 50m backstroke-S3 and 100m freestyle-S3.
And elite athletes weren’t the only ones competing in Paris; Paris Olympic organizers welcomed some 40,000 recreational runners to the marathon start line to tackle the race (or a shorter 10-km distance). Saskatoon’s Jacquie Yourk was one of the runners to travel to Paris for the unique event where she ran the 10-km race. “I just tell people: I’m an Olympian, I’m running the Olympic course,” she said.
Huskie women capture sixth straight Can West track title
Competing in Edmonton, the University of Saskatchewan women’s track and field team won their sixth straight Canada West title in February, surpassing the Huskies’ previous conference record of five-straight from 1997-2001. The U of S men placed fifth.
The women’s team went on to finish fourth at the U Sports championships in Winnipeg the following month while the men’s team tied for 12th.
Huskie men reach Can West podium in XC for first time in 22 years
In October, the Huskie men captured team bronze at the Canada West cross country championships in Camrose, Alta., marking their first podium appearance since 2002. The women’s team finished just off the podium in fourth place.
At the U Sports cross country championships in Kelowna the following month, the men’s and women’s teams both finished 13th.
And a look at some other notable running moments from around the globe
- A number of world records went down:
- On the roads:
- Men: Road mile (Elliot Giles); half marathon (Yomif Kejelcha)
- Women: 5km (Agnes Ngetich); 10km (Agnes Ngetich); marathon (Ruth Chepng’etich)
- On the track:
- Men: 3,000m (Jakob Ingebrigtsen); distance medley relay (USA)
- Women: 1,500m (Faith Kipyegon), 2,000m (Jessica Hull), 10,000m (Beatrice Chebet), 400mH (Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone), 4x200m relay (mixed team),
- Mixed: 4x400m mixed relay (USA)
- On the indoor track:
- Men: 60mH (Grant Holloway)
- Women: 60mH (Devynne Charlton); 400mH (Femke Bol)
- On the roads:
- Canada took home five medals in athletics events at the Paris Olympics:
- Gold: Men’s 4x100m relay; men’s hammer throw (Ethan Katzberg); women’s hammer throw (Camryn Rogers)
- Silver: Men’s 800m (Marco Arop)
- Bronze: Women’s pole vault (Alysha Newman)
- Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya died in a vehicle accident in February at the age of 24.
- Marathon great Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya registered his first ever marathon DNF at the Paris Olympics after suffering back pain during the race. He walked for two kilometres before leaving the course around the 30-kilometre mark and gave his shirt, socks, shoes and race number to some of the hundreds of spectators who walked along beside him.
- Parkrun — a free, weekly timed 5K event with events across Canada including in Saskatoon — celebrated its 20th anniversary in October. The Mendel Riverbank parkrun in Saskatoon, which started in 2020, hosted its 185th event over the weekend.
