Malindi Elmore, an Olympian and mom from Kelowna, finished in 11th place among women at the Boston Marathon Monday.
With a time of 2:27:58, she set a Canadian course record for professional women, an achievement she says was poignant given it was the 50th anniversary of women being allowed to particip
And Elmore says she’s never experienced anything like it.
“The crowds were electric. It was 26 miles straight of people cheering their hearts out. It was so cool to be part of this legendary race,” she told CTV News.
“There’s 30,000 other participants. It is a grueling course. It is relentless with the ups and downs. It was one of those days that, for me, I really had to dig deep to have the performance that I did.”
Elmore says she had to sprint to the finish line in order to make it in under 2:28, and came in just four seconds ahead of the runner on her heels.
“I pretty much ran as fast as my little legs, at that point, would go. They were pretty sore and beat up because it’s a very hilly course…your quads are just shot,” she said.
“I was motivated to get to the clock under a certain time, but I would hate to have been passed in the last 100 meters of the race.”
Elmore has been to the Olympics twice, most recently placing ninth in the marathon in Tokyo in 2021. Her previous trip to the Games was in 2004 where she ran the 1500m and finished 32nd.
