On a cold Saturday afternoon in London, Ont., Canadian distance star Moh Ahmed added a missing line to his running resume: senior national cross-country champion. The 2020 Olympic silver medallist dominated the open men\u2019s 10K to secure the first senior Canadian XC title of his career.<\/p>\n
Saturday marked Ahmed\u2019s first appearance at the championships since 2012, when a 21-year-old Ahmed finished second to now-marathon record holder Cam Levins<\/a>. \u201cIt felt good to be back competing at home,\u201d Ahmed said after the race. \u201cThis is a short trip for me, and it\u2019s always great to compete on Canadian soil.\u201d<\/p>\n Although he entered as the heavy favourite, Ahmed sat patiently in the pack until the final of four laps. When he made his move, the race was over quickly, surging away in the final kilometre. Ahmed ended up winning by 16 seconds and secured his spot on Team Canada for the 2026 World XC Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., on Jan. 10.<\/p>\n Twenty-year-old Xavier Perras-Phaneuf finished second in 29:46, with 24-year-old Santiago Gaitan<\/a> close behind in third at 29:48. In Tallahassee, Ahmed will not only be a contender, but also a mentor;\u00a0he\u2019ll be the oldest member of the Canadian men\u2019s team by eight years.<\/p>\n Ceili McCabe throws down a dominant performance<\/p>\n After missing the summer season with injury, Vancouver\u2019s Ceili McCabe<\/a> returned in dominant fashion to win the women\u2019s 10K in 32:57.<\/p>\n McCabe took control of the race from the gun and never looked back, cruising to her second national XC crown in three years. She separated early and ultimately won by 56 seconds over Hamilton\u2019s Chloe Thomas, with Penn State University standout Florence Caron<\/a> of La Malbaie, Que., finishing third in 33:55.<\/p>\n In a post-race interview with Canadian Running, McCabe said her goal was simply to \u201crun strong.\u201d The 24-year-old, who just wrapped up her NCAA career at West Virginia University, acknowledged the 10K distance still feels new to her, but her win today was more about getting in a hard effort (at the distance) ahead of World XC.<\/p>\n Despite graduating from the NCAA system, McCabe remains coached by her collegiate mentor Sean Cleary in Morgantown, W.Va. She will now headline a young, rising Canadian women\u2019s squad in Florida as they look to improve on their eighth-place finish at the 2024 World XC Championships in Serbia.<\/p>\n