Lanni Marchant Canadian 10Km Road Race Champonships

Lanni Marchant (born 11 April 1984) is a Canadian long distance runner from

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

. On October 20th, 2013, Marchant set the Canadian women's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

record at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, beating the 28-year-old national record by running it in exactly 2:28:00. This record held until March 10th, 2019 when Rachel Cliff established the new marathon national record in 2:26:56. Marchant participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics both in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

and

events.

Early life

The middle of seven children (five girls and two boys) from

, Canada, her first sport was

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

. In elementary school she ran as part of her curriculum and as a great way to cross train for figure skating. By the time she hit high school, she also saw it as a way to make new friends. In grade 10, Marchant joined the high school cross-country team, and quickly replaced her skating time with running time. Marchant decided to quit skating the following holiday season and joined The London Western Track and Field Club.

Running career and education

Marchant kept up her running throughout high school, racing at track meets, and regional championships, eventually earning a scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a frustrating freshman cross country season, she won her first conference championship in the Steeplechase, and went on to win several more titles in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and in cross country. In 2007, after representing the Mocs for 4 seasons, Marchant graduated from UTC with an economics pre-law degree. She moved on to law school at the University of Ottawa, and Michigan State University, graduating in May 2011 with two law degrees. It was during this time that she turned her focus towards road racing, and developed an affinity for the open road. With a hefty work load, and ever increasing mileage, she has claimed "the tenacity I draw on to run marathons was forged during this time".

International career

Marchant has represented Canada at the Chiba Ekiden relays (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012), at the 2013 World Championships in the marathon event, and at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, in the marathon event. Marchant studied law at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

where she also ran. Marchant placed fourth at the Canadian 10k championships in 2011. The same year, she clocked a 2:44 at the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Races, World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago ...

. In 2012, Marchant finished the Rotterdam Marathon with a time of 2:31:50. While Marchant's time met the IAAF qualifying standard of 2:37, it did not meet the Canadian Olympic "A" standard of 2:29:55, so she was not eligible to represent Canada at the 2012 London Olympics. A subsequent appeal was denied by Athletics Canada. In 2013, Marchant represented Canada in the women's marathon at the 14th IAAF World Championships in Moscow. She finished in 44th place with a time of 3:01:51, citing intense heat, and humidity as causative factors. Suffering from intense leg cramps, she repeatedly stabbed her leg with a safety pin in an attempt to correct her condition. It did not work. In 2014, she was the fastest female Canadian runner at the Boston Marathon, where she had a time of 2:30:34. Also in 2014, at the Tom King Half-Marathon, Marchant clocked a Canadian half-marathon record time of 1:10:47. Marchant placed fourth in the women's marathon event at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, in Glasgow, Scotland, with a time of 2:31:14. In July 2016 she was officially named to Canada's Olympic team.

Awards

Marchant was inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Hall of Fame on February 20, 2015.

References

External links

Lanni Marchant blog

Self-published biography
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, Lanni 1984 births Living people Athletes from London, Ontario Canadian female marathon runners Canadian female steeplechase runners Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Canadian female long-distance runners