Canadian Cross Country Championships – News – Olympians Face Mud Specialists In Clash Royale At Canadian XC Champs

The 2022 Canadian Cross-Country Championships (ACXC22) are taking place this Saturday, November 26 at Mooney’s Bay in Ottawa. 

For all details related to ACXC22 (from parking options and shuttle bus schedules to AC merch options and bib pick up dates) visit our ACXC22 Event Page. You can also consult the athlete start list here, and find the live webcast on athleticscanada.tv here. 

The women’s open 10k promises to be one of the most captivating races of this year’s Canadian Cross-Country Championships, as four Olympians, a defending Canadian 10,000m champion, and Canada’s top young marathoner will face off for glory on the hills of Mooney’s Bay. 

The absence of three-time defending champion Geneviève Lalonde from the start lists gives a dozen of contenders a shot at a first-ever national cross-country title. In the team race, expect two new favourites to give the 2021 champions Club Athlétisme Université Laval a serious run for their money. Meet the top individual and team contenders below. 

INDIVIDUAL RACE

Maria Bernard-Galea – University of Calgary Athletics Club

Last year’s runner-up has made every ACXC podium since 2018, and last year was the only athlete who covered Lalonde’s move early in the race. The Calgary athlete has shown great form all year, racing to a 33:00 10km in April, and then placing second at the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championship 5,000m in a PB of 15:51.63.

Alycia Butterworth – Pacific Track Club

Last year, the 30-year-old steeplechase specialist from British Columbia enjoyed a large breakthrough over the barriers: she made her first Olympic team and now stands as the third-fastest 3,000m steeplechaser in Canadian history. A year of setbacks kept her out of the racing scene for most of 2022, but she is on the comeback, and has recently laced the spikes for a few tune-up races. 

Natalia Hawthorne – Vancouver Thunderbirds

Like Butterworth, Hawthorne became a first-time Olympian in 2021. Also like Butterworth, she has not been a familiar presence at recent editions of this championship: her last appearance was in 2018, when she finished fifth overall. Since then, she has re-written her personal bests on the track, which currently sit at 4:04.20 for 1,500m and 15:05.91 for 5,000m.

Jessy Lacourse – Club d’Athlétisme Université Laval

Lacourse finished 13th at last year’s championship and was instrumental in CAUL’s team victory. Yet, her placing does not reflect her comfort on…