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Last week Athletics Illustrated speculated what finish time Natasha Wodak can run in the upcoming Marathon at The Marathon Project happening Dec. 20 in Arizona.

The popular IAAF scoring tables suggest sub-2:28:00, however, they do not account for the new fly shoes by Nike. Wodak will be wearing the Next %. It was then suggested in the article that she could chase the national record.

“I am aiming for 2:26:00,” said the Canadian 10,000-metre record holder.

She added that she wasn’t sure exactly where her fitness lies because she has a few key workouts to fit in before her taper, which will provide more information. Saturday, she ran one of those key workouts, a four-times 5K run with two-minute jog recovery intervals.

She averaged 3:24/3:25 per kilometre. That pace would result in a 2:24:00 performance, two minutes faster than her target and 50 seconds faster than the national record, which was set this January in Houston by Malindi Elmore. Keep in mind, that was the average, she started out with a first 5K of 17:19, followed by descending splits of 17:05, 17:02, and 16:53.

Wodak owns national records in the 8K road (25:28) and 10,000m (31:41.59) and temporarily held the national half-marathon record. She set it last January in Houston at 69:41, to become the first Canadian to go sub-70. Two weeks later, Andrea Seccafien bettered it by running a 69:38 in Marugame, Japan.

Wodak is coached by 1984 Olympic 3000m bronze medallist, Lynn Kanuka.