Racing at 'new level,' Canada's Rory Linkletter aims for career-best marathon in Boston
While pondering his 2025 marathon schedule, mindful of what would prepare him best for the Los Angeles Olympics in three years, Rory Linkletter identified two spring races and not the World Athletics Championships later this year in Tokyo.
He'll run Boston on Monday at 9:37 a.m. ET in the professional men's division, looking to redeem himself after an "atrocious" debut there in 2021 led to a 33rd-place finish after the Canadian was in the lead pack a little over halfway through the 42.2-kilometre race.
On May 25, Linkletter will headline the Ottawa Marathon, believing it affords him a "great opportunity" to win his first of 12 races in the distance.
"If I knock both of these out of the park, have awesome experiences and can run fast times, worlds might make sense," Linkletter, who boasts a two-hour eight-minute one-second personal best, said this week on a Zoom call with CBC Sports. "If I leave those races wanting to run something fast, we know Tokyo isn't going to be fast. It's going to be way too hot.
"I want to try to run 2:06 or 2:05 in the next year or two and if I run Tokyo, that's taking away one opportunity. Where can I run fast this fall? It might be Chicago [Oct. 12], The Marathon Project [Dec. 19-21], Valencia [Dec. 7]. I can't say for certain until after [Boston and Ottawa] what will make the most sense for [my Olympic planning]."
What isn't in question is Linkletter's fitness level entering the Boston Marathon
The Calgary-born runner, who increased his volume in training and had a six-week stretch averaging over 200 km per week, is fresh off a 24-second PB on the track in the 10,000 metres at The Ten event in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where he clocked 27 minutes 48.23 seconds for third place on March 29.
"To have that big of a [PB] it would be close to scoring two hat tricks in a hockey game. It's rare," said Jon Green, who raced against Linkletter during their American college days and has been his coach since last fall.
"It's proof in the pudding I'm ready and at a new level," Linkletter added. "Now, can I put it together on the day, performance on-demand, be the athlete I want to be?"
Became U.S. citizen in 2020That wasn't the case on Oct. 11, 2021 in Boston, where Linkletter clocked 2:23:34 in his third marathon and first of the Abbott World Majors.
The 28-year-old recalled his preparation ranging from shaky to good, but he entered the race with confidence because there were some positives.
"I was in the lead pack a little over halfway through the race, and then everything went wrong," said Linkletter, who became a U.S. citizen in 2020 and lives in Arizona with his wife and two children. "I cramped, my stomach was upset, my body was shutting down. First big stage of my marathon career and I was falling flat on my face."
WATCH | Linkletter recalls 'brutal' 2021 Boston Marathon debut:
In hopes of changing his fortunes this time around, the former Canadian record holder in the half marathon began his Boston build running two races at the 21.1 km distance over six days — in , Japan, where he ran a 60-minute 57-second PB on Feb. 2, and Mesa, Ariz.
"To start a build in PB half marathon shape was a good indicator that if [I] build fitness week to week like I planned, there's a chance you're in breakthrough form by the end of the build. I had a seamless build from that point," said Linkletter, who was 47th (2:13:09) in his Olympic debut last summer in Paris.
Linkletter has also sought advice from Scott Fauble, his former HOKA NAZ (Northern Arizona) Elite teammate who has placed top eight three times in Boston, and ex-coach Ryan Hall, who ran 2:04:58 in Boston in 2011.
'I have strength and speed'"I've watched it unfold on TV a dozen times and I've been able to race it once and talked with the experts," said Linkletter. "It gives me just enough information to feel confident I have a game plan.
"To have the highest level of volume I've done in training and being in the best 10K shape of my career, I have strength and speed. Boston, because of the dynamics of the hills being a lot of up and down, you need to be able to access strength and speed you wouldn't normally. On a flat course, your pace variation is small."
WATCH | Linkletter noncommittal about World Athletics Championships:
Runners in Boston are challenged by the Newton Hills, the most notorious stretch of the course. There are four of them and three before the well-known Heartbreak Hill and its 91-foot climb.
"The common sentiment I've been told is that if you can survive Heartbreak Hill with some running left in your legs, there's a ton of momentum to be gained on the last 10K. I'm not scared of the hills in Boston. Having run New York and Paris, they throw punches throughout [the course] whereas in Boston you just have to survive one crucially hard part of the race.
"I'm going to be aggressive, take the confidence I have from my training and racing this year against one of the best fields we'll see assembled this year.
"A successful marathon is racing for the whole race and not getting into survival mode," continued Linkletter. "If I genuinely feel I'm racing to the [finish] line, I think top 10 is in the cards and I think a personal best, even on that course, is in the cards."
Thomas Toth will join Linkletter in the men's pro division while Rachel Hannah, who ran Boston in 2017, returns to lead a Canadian team of three in the women's pro division that races at 9:47 a.m. Fellow Toronto native Kylee Raftis and longtime St. John's runner Kate Bazeley, who competed in Chicago in 2021 and Boston the following year, are the others.
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