Canada’s Lanni Marchant gunning for Olympic marathon standard in Toronto

TORONTO – Lanni Marchant is hoping to complete an almost unfathomable double at next summer’s Rio Olympics — compete in both the 10,000 metres and marathon.

The Canadian record-holder in the women’s marathon will be gunning for the Olympic standard in that distance Sunday in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

“I’ve got to hit the standard first and then I’ll talk it over more with my coach and the head coach at Athletics Canada, but we don’t really see why not,” Marchant said. “I qualified in the 10,000, that’s my A event, it’s the first event of the Olympics for me.

“And then why not? As long as I’m not taking a spot from another girl, let me line up and let’s see what I have left in my legs for the marathon. It’s the Olympics, there’s no guarantee I’ll be back so I want to have as many opportunities as I can to line up and race.”

The 31-year-old from London, Ont., will race the 10,000 metres on Day 1 of the track and field competition in Rio. The marathon is scheduled for the morning of Day 3.

“I think I can do it,” Marchant said. “The hard part will be when everybody is going to go celebrate right after the 10,000. That just means I get to celebrate twice as hard after the marathon.”

The Olympic standard is two hours 29.50 minutes. Marchant ran 2:28.00 at the Scotiabank Toronto marathon in 2013 to break Sylvia Ruegger’s 28-year-old Canadian record.

Krista Duchene of Brantford, Ont., has already hit the Olympic qualifying standard, running 2:29.37 in April.

Both Marchant and Duchene were left off Canada’s Olympic team for the 2012 Games in London. Both women appealed the decision, but their appeal was denied by an arbitrator from the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada .

“It’s still a bit of a punch in the gut,” Marchant said. “When you sit back and think about it, my progression has been great, and who knows how different of a life that would have made for me if I’d gone in 2012. Maybe I would have taken up the 10K a couple of years earlier. But you can drive yourself crazy playing that what-if game.

“But I think it’s awesome that (Duchene) has qualified and I’ve qualified, so we’ll both be there. It might be in different events, but we’ll both be there in Rio.”

Marchant focused on the 10,000 this past season, winning bronze at the Pan American Games in Toronto and finishing 18th at the world track and field championships in Beijing in August.

Marchant travelled to Thailand after Beijing for a brief vacation. She rode an elephant, laid on the beach and snorkelled.

Racing this Sunday in Toronto has made for a long season for Marchant, who is a criminal lawyer in Chattanooga, Tenn. She’s spent the past couple of weeks training at altitude in Arizona, which has provided a nice mental break. And training, she said, has been going “really really well.”

“I’m glad my season is going to be over, don’t get me wrong,” she said. “It feels really easy after chasing like three minutes and 3:05 pace per (kilometre) all summer (training for the 10,000), then now trying to get under 3:30. I had some really good workouts up here in Flagstaff, where I’ve been under pace, just because I’ve been trying to slow down after all the 10K stuff. But I don’t feel beat after, so that’s usually a good sign.”

On the men’s side, Eric Gillis of Guelph, Ont., will be gunning for the Olympic standard of 2:12.50. The 35-year-old was one of three Canadian men who ran the Olympic marathon in London — Reid Coolsaet and Dylan Wykes were the other two.

Coolsaet has already run the qualifying standard for Rio, clocking 2:11.24 last April in Rotterdam.