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Canadian Track and Field Championships: Men’s 5,000m preview

July 2, 2015

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The Canadian Track and Field Championship’s men’s 5,000-metre event will be a race between two men: Cameron Levins and Mohammed Ahmed. The rest of the field will be looking to take the third spot in a time that will qualify them for the 2015 IAAF Beijing World Track and Field Championships. The race takes place Thursday, June 2^nd at 7:55 PM PST and can be viewed live at AthleticsCanada.tv.

Levins owns the second fastest time in Canadian history with his best from 2013, which is 13:15.19. It appears that he is capable of much more than that as he has run a 10,000m race in 27:07.51 this spring – a new Canadian record and a much better performance. It is doubtful that he will be pushed to a record time; however, he has a kick that can scatter an entire field in his wake, regardless of the pace. It might just be fun to view what he does in the race and how he unleashes his patented kick.

Levins remarked about his 1500m effort at nationals, “I am just looking to work on my speed and be competitive over the last lap.”

Ahmed is one of the all-time fastest Canadians at the distance with his 13:18.88. He is third all-time in Canada behind Jeff Scheibler with his 13:13.96 and Levins.

Ahmed was a four-time Canadian junior 5,000m champion and twice finished in the top 10 at the world junior championships. He earned seven NCAA All-American honours. Ahmed competed in the 10,000m event at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Luc Bruchet is the third seed entering the race fresh off of a season best performance at the Portland Track Classic two weeks ago. His personal best is from the 2014 Payton Jordan Invitational at 13:33.20. The IAAF World Track and Field Championships qualification standard is 13:23.00. It is not a stretch to image that Bruchet, if in a race that suits his style, he may be able to run that fast. However, Geoff Martinson, who owns a personal best just a little back of Bruchet, also happens to possess speed, as he is a converted 1500m runner.

Martinson didn’t just move up from the 1500m event, he moved back into running after semi-retiring for nearly two years. He has recommitted himself to training for an attempt to make Team Canada for the worlds and or 2015 Rio Olympics. He competed in the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Track and Field Championships. His personal best in the 1500m is 3:37.56, while his 5,000m best is 13:43.45. His comeback has been steady to the point now where he has run as fast as 13:48.36, which he pulled off at the Speed River Inferno on May 30^th proving he has gotten close to where he left off when he retired. Again, like Bruchet, if the pace suits Martinson, he may perform close to the qualifying standard. He may outkick a few people in the final lap.

Peter Corrigan is a runner who has been around for a while and who has made a noticeable improvement during 2015. His best is a ways out from the top guns, but he is inching closer and he is right there with Bruchet and Martinson. During 2015, he improved his 5,000m time down to 13:46.01at the May 2^nd Payton Jordan Invitational. During 2014, he set six new personal best times. He is another runner who could surprise. “I am really excited for tomorrow. I’ve never run the 5,000m at nationals before. It’s going to be strange to only have to run once and then be done for the weekend! Despite not being able to run until January, I’ve definitely put in the best and most consistent spring/summer of training I’ve ever had. I’ve been in shape to run a big PB for a long time. I went out ambitiously in Portland to try and run really fast. As far as running that big PB tomorrow, it really depends on how the race goes!”

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Corrigan is confident enough in his current fitness that he will continue to work on his performances by heading over to Europe to get into fast races.

“For tomorrow, I’m prepared for it to go out at 13:20 or 15:20. You never know what will happen in a championship race situation. If a PB comes tomorrow, that would be awesome. But it’s more about getting a medal,” shared the Toronto based athlete.

Declan White is one athlete that appears to be on the outside looking in; however, the 23-year-old has improved rapidly in 2015 with at least seven new personal best times, if you include a 4 x 800m relay team effort. He ran an 8:11.47 3,000m on May 30^th in Victoria, BC and his 5,000m best of 14:07.56 took place on June 14^th in Portland. Although he is a longshot to finish under 13:23, he may just surprise and finish well under 14:00, taking his next step towards international running calibre.

White suggested that he will run just under 14:00. “I don’t expect the race to go out fast, but I am feeling fresh and ready to run a quick time.”

Full list:

3 1804 Levins, Cameron 89 Unattached B 13:15.38

4 1756 Hubers, Ben 88 Unattached – 14:20.60

5 1389 Noel-Hodge, Ryan 89 McGill Olymp NT

6 1610 Britt, Barry 90 Speed River 13:52.70

7 1488 Hunt, Theo 88 Point Grey T 14:28.35

8 1406 Ahmed, Mohammed 91 Niagara Olym 13:18.88

9 1483 Morgan, Blair 93 Physi-Kult K 14:20.10

10 1159 Shamsi, Bilal 93 Coastal Trac 15:14.98

11 1235 Cook, Jack 67 Fast Trax Ru 17:49.75

12 1486 Bruchet, Lucas 91 Point Grey T 13:33.20