By Paul Gains
It was a case of third time’s a charm for Rwanda’s Salome Nyirarukundo as the 27-year-old claimed the women’s division winner’s crown at the 2025 Under Armour Toronto 10k.
Her winning time of 34:05 bettered her performance in the past two years when she was second on both occasions. And, considering the record 8,500 runners faced a stiff headwind as they returned to the finish along the shores of Lake Ontario, this result was even more impressive.
Nyirarukundo, a resident of Ottawa for the past five years, didn’t have an easy time of it either. Rachel Hannah, the 2015 Pan Am Games marathon bronze medallist, tried over the final two kilometres to close the gap between them. She finished second in 34:17 with Teagan Robertson of Ottawa a distant third in 34:52.
Nyirarukundo, who competed for Rwanda at both the 2016 Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games and still holds the national 5,000m and 10,000m records for her native country, was all smiles.
“I feel so amazing, I am so happy. I am very emotional because it’s three years since I have come here and I have been second and second (again) so I am really happy about that,” she said through a broad grin.
“After 3km I was pushing a little bit because I know (Hannah) is very, very strong. Usually, I don’t have a very good finish, so I pushed. I was really worried that I had made a bad decision and she might catch me. But there were two bunches of guys, and I was trying to catch them to get away from her.”
At 38 years of age, Hannah remains a formidable competitor. Following an 11th place finish in January’s Houston Marathon and a 29th place at the Boston Marathon, she turned up at the Canadian 10km championships in Ottawa and finished 5th. Shorter distances she maintains are more exciting.
“I kept her in sight,” Hannah, who lives in Port Elgin, Ontario said later. “She was not far ahead. It was good. It helps to push you in the race when you have a woman to chase. She ran awesome. I think it’s her first win here. And this was my best run here. I have been third a couple of times.
“It was quite windy. I kept in my mind that I live off a Great Lake [Huron] and I am used to wind, so I stayed positive,” Hannah laughed at her comment.
The men’s race also saw a victory for another Stachel-coached Ottawa resident. Thomas Nobbs, 25, battled to the end with Lee Wesselius putting five seconds between them over the final kilometre to cross the line in 29:35.
Nobbs, who finished 6th at the Canadian 10k championships in Ottawa (28:58) had sought to reduce that personal best here. But circumstances changed early in the race.
“My coach (Stachel) said, “Don’t lead.” Then there I was at the front. Might have been a bit of an idiot brain move,” he revealed, laughing.
“I had a terrible sleep last night. Then the shoelaces ripped on my brand new pair of shoes while I was tying them right before (the start). I was actually a little bit anxious at the start. It has been a year in the making to be in this fitness event on a bad day, I know I can come through.”
Originally from Vancouver, he spent two years at the University of Washington before earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Most of his training is done solo, but under the guidance of Brant Stachel, the former UBC coach.
Today, he shared most of the pacemaking duties with Wesselius, who was pleased to finish 2nd.
“I was pretty happy with it,” Wesselius, 31, and a full-time large animal veterinarian, admitted. “It was a good step forward from Ottawa a few weeks ago (7th place in the Canadian Championships). I went for the win and just came up short so I can’t be too disappointed.
“I was kind of on the front, which wasn’t the game plan. I was going to sit in the back. I wanted to make a little bit of a move into the headwind and hopefully break some people. I opened up a little gap with Thomas behind me, then, at the (final) turnaround, he put a little move in and I went with him for a bit. Then I wasn’t sure it was sustainable. I followed him to the line, I guess.”
Toronto’s Alex Cyr — the talented journalist — finished 3rd in 29:45, earning praise from the winner for his persistence.
“Alex is pretty strong up in the lead. That guy has probably had the greatest progression out of all of us this season,” Nobbs admitted.
Nobbs and fellow champion Nyirarukundo were both quick to thank the Canada Running Series organizers for inviting them to tackle some of the country’s best runners.
