On the eve of the Canadian 10K Championships in Ottawa, Cam Levins walks into the room holding his singlet and racing sneakers—prepared for his closing pre-race technical gear test. Saturday night time’s Ottawa 10K shall be solely his second race since ending thirty sixth on the Olympic marathon in Paris final August—a efficiency he now reveals got here whereas working on a damaged foot.
“I knew one thing wasn’t proper through the race,” Levins says. “I received an MRI proper after and came upon I had fractured my calcaneus [heel bone].”
The 36-year-old spent 4 months rehabbing the harm, staying off working fully. “I actually wanted to deal with this,” he says in regards to the harm. “That is the beginning of one other Olympic cycle [toward LA 2028], and I didn’t need to spend the following 4 years working in ache.”
Levins suspects the harm might have been lingering since his Canadian marathon report efficiency on the 2023 Tokyo Marathon. This time, he knew he needed to deal with it. Throughout his restoration, Levins and his spouse, Elizabeth, additionally welcomed their first baby, a child boy.
“Coaching isn’t on my schedule anymore—it’s on his,” Levins laughs. “I’ve realized I like parenting. There are days I simply need to stick with him as an alternative of coaching.”
Regardless of the shift from athlete to dad, Levins has nonetheless maintained his famously excessive coaching quantity, together with triple run days. “Now, if I miss one, I’ll do an extended double on the treadmill at night time,” he says.
After initially contemplating a spring marathon in Tokyo, Rotterdam, or Eugene to solidify his world rating for the 2025 World Championships, Levins and coach Jim Finlayson determined to attend. “Coaching wasn’t fairly there but,” Levins says. “We didn’t need to rush it.”
As a substitute, the main focus shifted to shorter distances to rebuild velocity and energy. And it’s working. “That is the quickest I’ve felt since my 10,000m PB [27:07] practically a decade in the past,” he says. “It’s additionally the healthiest my physique has felt in years—I’m shifting very well mechanically.”
Levins has been clear about what retains him going: a world medal. “I’d be comfortable if it got here at Worlds, the Olympics, or perhaps a marathon main. That’s what retains me going.”
One title that’s nonetheless lacking from his résumé? The Canadian 10K crown. He completed second to Moh Ahmed at this similar race in 2023, and didn’t race the occasion in 2024 to give attention to the Olympic construct. “I’ve received a number of nationwide titles, however not this one,” says Levins. “It’s a quick course, and a terrific alternative to run properly on house soil.”
With defending champion and Canadian 10K report holder Ben Flanagan withdrawing final week resulting from harm, Levins is the pre-race favorite. Nonetheless, he’ll have competitors.
Hamilton’s Max Turek is without doubt one of the prime challengers, coming off a powerful fifth-place end eventually month’s B.A.A. 5K in 13:52, and a 63:15 half marathon in Italy. Like Levins, Turek can be a brand new father and enters the Ottawa 10K seeking to show he will be on that podium.
“I’m having performances that present I belong,” Turek advised Canadian Operating. “Issues are clicking, and I plan to go together with that prime group and cling on.”
Coached by Paula Schnurr, the 25-year-old says his long-term objectives lie within the marathon—however for now, he has unfinished enterprise within the 5K and 10K.
The right way to watch
You may stream Saturday’s Ottawa 10K (Canadian 10K Championships) dwell on YouTube. Protection begins at 6:00 p.m. E.T., with the ladies’s race up first, and the boys’s race to comply with. Comply with Canadian Operating on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date protection.
