By Chirs Occhiuzzi
It’s not often a debut performance leads to a first-place finish in any sport. Even less so when it’s a national championship event and defending champions are also competing.
But that was the case in Ottawa on May 24 when Rosseau’s Gracelyn Larkin finished first in a 10,000 m race with a time of 32:43. It was the 24-year-old’s Canadian 10K Championships debut, and it couldn’t have gone any better.
According to many experts, the Ottawa event was stacked with elite athletes in the sport.
“I didn’t really know what to expect going into it, but I was excited to be racing against such a talented field of athletes,” says Larkin. “I ended up coming away with the win, which is huge, super exciting. And it’s just the start of the rest of my outdoor season, so it’s a little bit of a confidence boost going into the rest of the year.”
The Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School (BMLSS) alum has been in the United States honing her skills for the past several years. A professional runner since 2024, she is competing as part of the Under Armour Dark Sky Distance team.
She lives and trains year-round out of Flagstaff, Arizona and shares a bit about the work needed to be a professional runner.
“We have a really, really talented group of athletes that I get to train with every day and a great set of coaches,” explains Larkin of being on a pro team. “It’s not very glamorous. It’s a lot of nose down, head down, running every day, double running most days, twice a week, doing workouts, long run once a week. Yeah, it’s funny because it’s just not very glamorous. It’s just about getting it all in.”
After doing four years at the University of New Mexico (2019 to 2023), renowned for its track programs, Larkin then moved to Northern Arizona University and graduated last spring.
During her time competing in college, Larkin became a seven-time All-American, won the 5,000 m at the 2022 Canadian Track and Field Championships, and then represented Canada in the 5,000 m at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
It was racing against her brother in 3K road races as they were growing up that really instilled a love of running in Larkin.
“The race was once a year and (we would) train during recess for it,” she recalls.
“So we always did that once a year. That was through our elementary school and then in high school, my Grade 9 year, I did cross country and track and field through the school team. Then, then in Grade 10, after cross country I joined a club team out of Barrie. We would go between Barrie and Toronto for practices.”
Larkin was extremely happy that former coach Mark Harris, who helped her grow in the sport as a teenager, and her family were able to witness her victory in Ottawa.
It’s not often they can be there in person with their support, and it’s much appreciated.
“My dad and my stepmom and my brother came down for the weekend,” says Larkin. “My high school coach came down to watch the race as well. He was out on the course, and my family was at the start and the finish line. It was awesome having them all there.”
Up next is the Canadian 10,000 m event in Guelph on June 18, and her family is planning to be there as well. Larkin says they help keep her mind balanced and “chill.”
“It’s great when they’re able to come to (events) and help me get through the weekend,” she says.
Though Larkin is taking her career step-by-step and race-by-race, her goals include becoming a consistent national team member and eventually fighting for an Olympic medal.
“The ultimate goal for any athlete in track and field is to make an Olympic team, make world championship teams,” she says. “So yeah, I’d love to be at the stage where I’m consistently making national teams and also representing Under Armour as best as I can.”
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Grace in biblical ways means strength, Acts 20:32 passion translation. Keep going for it!!