CANADIAN NATIONAL RECORD HOLDER. Yes, that's right we are talking about our very own rabbit PRO Natasha LaBeaud Anzures. In case you missed our earlier announcement, Natasha set the Canadian national 15km road record (and actually the 12k road record too) this past weekend at the USATF 15k Championship hosted by the Gate River Run with the time of 54:47 (unofficial results) for the 15km. We are so incredibly proud of Natasha and this amazing accomplishment. Natasha is not only a top level athlete, but also a true ambassador of the sport, and a simply wonderful person. Natasha, we are so very proud of you and honored to have you representing rabbit out there while you are setting records, chasing your dreams, and inspiring all of us.
Natasha wrote a blog about what these records mean to her, and we are honored to share that with you below:
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This past Saturday at the USATF 15k Championships, I had the honor of setting two records for Canada in the road 12km and 15km. Honestly, if you asked me how I felt about this achievement after reflecting on it a few days post-race, I would say that I feel nervous about it. Nervous may seem like an odd reaction, but I have been dreaming about setting a national record for as long as I have been running (which started at the age of 6). If you do the math on that, I have spent over two decades chasing after very specific and very difficult goals.
2016 was an extremely rough year for me in the sport with me chasing my biggest goal of all—the Olympics. Health issues with anemia plagued my early season and trickled into the “last chance meets” and combined with an unfortunate broken toe days before the Olympic Track Trials in Canada. My toe was so swollen that I couldn’t even put on spikes, and had to force my foot into flats. Even though I pushed through the Olympic Trials, my heart was ultimately crushed in knowing that my ultimate goal of reaching the Olympic Games in 2016 would not be reached.
So when I learned that the 12km and 15km national records now belong to me, I feel nervous. Nervous because I have not had my name next to a national record, ever. Nervous because I know that I have more work to do to ultimately reach my biggest goals. Nervous because I feel like I still have so much to prove. But also, the more I think about how I feel, the more the feeling of excitement also boils up, as I am excited about the potential to come.
I also feel extremely grateful for all of the support that I receive from tremendous sponsors like rabbit, with team members who are in complete support of the ultimate goals that I aim to achieve. I am also so thankful to all of the people who help push me to new heights, from my coaches, to family, to friends and community members who cheer and extend encouragement on the best and the worst days. Thank you all for helping me place one foot in front of the other and for helping me to achieve my dreams in the sport that I love more each day.
So here is to all of the feelings that accompany accomplishments, and for the promise to enjoy the ride along the way one step at a time.