Ottawa, February 3, 2020 – Organizers of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend announced today they will be significantly increasing the overall prize purse for Canadian athletes in the Ottawa 10K event to $35,000 – the largest prize for any of Canada’s championship events this year.
The announcement comes as Dylan Wykes – the 2019 Canadian 10K champion and a 2012 Olympian – joins the organization as its new Elite Athlete Coordinator. Manny Rodrigues, who had been in this volunteer role for the past 20 years, is helping to manage the transition.
A busy year at the Ottawa 10K
As it has done since 2016, the 2020 Ottawa 10k will again host the Canadian 10K Championships with $6,000 going to the top male and female Canadians in the 10K.
The Ottawa 10K will also maintain its unique gender challenge whereby the women are given a head start, and whoever crosses the finish line first (man or woman) wins an extra $2,000.
The event will also host the Canuck 10K Team Competition, where a Canadian elite runner will have the chance to pick 3 compatriots to form a co-ed team of four. The fastest team wins $6,000 to be split evenly amongst the team, as well as an additional $1,000 that will go towards the Scotiabank Charity Challenge participating charity of their choice.
Ottawa 10K focus shifts away from international field
Organizers also announced today they have elected not to renew their World Athletics (formerly IAAF) gold certification for the Ottawa 10K event, choosing to focus their resources on participant experience, the Canadian 10K Championships and the development of Canadian athletes. The organizers of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend have, however, renewed the gold certification for the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon.
The 2020 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will take place May 23-24, 2020.
Key facts and stats
The 2019 Ottawa 10K welcomed close to 8,200 runners.
The Ottawa 10K is the only event in Canada with a gender challenge.
The Ottawa 10K is the only event in Canada to hold a team competition.
The 2019 Canadian 10K Champions were Natasha Wodak (32:31) and Dylan Wykes (29:56).
Dylan Wykes will be running the 2020 Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20.
[…] Ottawa, February 3, 2020 – Organizers of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend announced today they will be significantly increasing the overall prize purse for Canadian athletes in the Ottawa 10K event to $ 35,000 – the largest prize for any of Canada’s championship events this year. The announcement comes as Dylan Wykes – the 2019 Canadian […] Time-to-Run Canada […]