By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
OTTAWA (23-May) — It was a cloudy and windy evening here in the Canadian capital, but those conditions were just fine for Andrew Alexander and Florence Caron who won their first Athletics Canada 10-K titles at the Ottawa 10-K presented by Otto’s Ottawa. For Alexander, 27, tonight’s win was his second national title (he was the 10,000m track champion in 2024). He was timed in 28:19, two seconds ahead of Thomas Fafard. For Caron, 25, she won her first 10-K title in her road debut at the distance. Running most of the race alone, she was timed in 32:31. Both athletes earned CAD 6000 in prize money.
CARON ON HER OWN
Despite her lack of experience on the roads, Caron came into tonight’s race as the favorite. The Penn State University record holder for both 5000m and 10,000m recently ran a 15:33 road 5-K and said in her pre-race interview that she was “not scared to run alone.”
“If I feel good I’m just like going to go,” she told Race Results Weekly on Friday. “I love to run fast.”
And that is exactly what she did tonight. She started off at a medium-fast clip, and only one of her rivals, Cleo Boyd, felt strong enough to go with her. The pair ran 3:17 for the first kilometer, but then Caron got serious.
“Three-seventeen was our first ‘K’ and I felt like I could run that pace the whole way,” Boyd told Race Results Weekly. “But then Florence was 3:06 on the second ‘K.’ So I backed off at that point because I knew that was too hot.”
From there, Caron had the streets of Ottawa to herself. She said she tried to push herself, but she was careful not to blow up.
“I was trying to not slow down,” Caron told reporters. “Ten-K is like on the slower side and I was like, it’s 3:15 pace so that’s not too bad. I was also trying to see (behind me) because I was like, it would be sad to get (out) kicked the last hundred meters.”
But Caron, who lives and trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., with Hoka Northern Arizona Elite, had little to worry about. She got to soak in the cheers of the crowds who lined the finish straight adjacent to Ottawa City Hall. She had a chance to reflect on her rise as an athlete who came to Penn State three years ago as just a 4:18 1500-meter runner to a national 10-K champion tonight.
“That’s really special,” she said. “Especially, like, here where there’s so many (good) people racing.”
Although Caron had Lynn Williams’s national 10-K record of 31:44 in the back of her mind, she did not pursue it today. That would be a future goal, she said.
“I was just trying to survive,” Caron said. She continued: “I’m going to train and try to get it one day (but) not my first 10-K on the road.”
Behind Caron, Boyd also ran alone. A four-woman chase group had formed with Sevanne Ghazarian, Alexandra Lucki, Anne-Marie Comeau, and Erin Mawhinney. In the second half, that group got closer and closer to Boyd, and with about 500 meters to go Ghazarian was able to pull away and pass Boyd to take second in 33:15. Boyd held on for third (33:17), and Lucki (33:18) and Comeau (33:37) rounded out the top five.
“I could feel like we were gaining (on Boyd),” said Ghazarian, who competed for Yale University during her NCAA career. “About a mile out I felt strong still, and it felt like we were getting closer to her. I felt like if I timed it right it would be something to help me finish strong.”
ALEXANDER DID ALL THE WORK
The men’s race began similarly to the women’s. Alexander took the lead right from the gun, and Fafard, Ben Flanagan, and Ehab El-Sandali followed closely. Both El-Sandali and Flanagan soon fell back, leaving Alexander and Fafard to battle all the way to the finish. Alexander said he wanted to break the race open early.
“Going into this weekend I knew I was fit,” Alexander told reporters. “Earlier this season I played around too much and I found out the hard way that if you leave people in it they’ll get you. So, I wanted to make it honest from the start.”
Fafard drafted Alexander for nearly the entire race, but in the ninth kilometer he moved to the front. Alexander was surprised that his rival did not pull away, but rather slowed slightly and gave up the lead.
“Just over the bridge Thomas put in a surge,” Alexander explained. “I caught back up to him afterwards, and then felt good enough to get back in the race.”
Fafard later admitted that he was flat out at that point, and didn’t have the energy to attack Alexander again. Alexander launched his final sprint about 100 meters out from the finish and Fafard could not close the gap.
“I had a good kick, so I was happy with it,” said Alexander.
Fafard, who was timed in a personal best 28:21, was happy with his time but disappointed he didn’t win.
“Andrew was just really, really strong today,” said Fafard. “So he pushed the pace the whole way. I tried to gap him at the last hill with a mile to go, but I just didn’t have the legs. After that it was really, really hard.”
Flanagan, who was running his first race since last October because of a labrum tear, ran most of the race in no-man’s land. He finished a solid third in 28:33 and was clearly grateful to be back in the game.
“I think I might have gotten a little ahead of myself in expectations as we got closer to the race,” he told Race Results Weekly. “I probably convinced myself that I was further ahead on the timeline that I really am. So, I was rusty, but it was good. I was really happy I fought the whole way. I kept those guys in sight. The legs never fell apart.”
Thomas Nobbs (28:48) and El-Sandali (29:14) rounded out the top five.
– – – – – – – –
In the Ottawa 5-K which preceded tonight’s championship race, 100 year-old Roy Allen finished in one hour, 47 minutes, and 19 seconds. He was presented with his finisher’s medal by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. Allen raised over CAD 12,000 for several charities. He wore a T-shirt that said: “I’m Not Old, I’m Classic.”
PHOTO: Andrew Alexander out-sprints Thomas Fafard for the 2026 Athletics Canada 10-K title in Ottawa on May 23 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: The top-the finishers from the 2026 Athletics Canada 10-K Championships (left to right): Ben Flanagan (third), Andrew Alexander (first) and Thomas Fafard (second) (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Florence Caron winning the 2026 Athletics Canada 10-K Championships in Ottawa (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: 100 year-old Roy Allen poses with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe (right) after walking the Ottawa 10-K presented by Otto’s Ottawa (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
ENDS
Alexander_Andrew_Fafard__Ottawa_10K_Champs_Finish_Straight__CROP_2026_Jane_Monti_With_Credit.jpg
Alexander_Andrew_Fafard_Flanagan_Ottawa_10K_Champs_Flags__2026_Jane_Monti_With_Credit.jpg
Allen_Roy_With_Mayor_Sutcliffe_Ottawa_Jane_Monti.jpg
Caron_Ottawa_10K_Champs_Finish_2026_Jane_Monti_With_Credit.jpg
