By Paul Gains
Canadian International Dayna Pidhoresky will return to the scene of arguably her greatest triumph October 19 at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
It was at this World Athletics Elite Label Race in 2019 that the long-time Vancouver resident cemented her place on Canada’s Tokyo Olympic team winning the Canadian Championship and, with it, an automatic berth.
Now 38, that effort was also rewarded by a personal best of 2:29:03, a time which still ranks her the 9th fastest Canadian woman ever. The 2025 edition of the race will once again be a Canadian championship and mark her fourth time competing in the event.
“I know it’s pretty fast based on having run my two fastest time there,” she says of her eagerness to return, “and just being a Canadian championship is a huge draw. There’s a little more incentive than lining up in Chicago or something like that.
“That, I think, as well as being in Canada, it’s a little bit easier to get to than travelling far. All those things keep me coming back. It’s hard to race somewhere else in the fall, I think.”
Pidhoresky represented Canada at the 2017 World Championships in London prior to her Olympic experience. The latter turned into something more like a nightmare than a dream.
On her transpacific flight she had been seated near a passenger who tested positive for Covid. Instead of experiencing the joys of being an Olympian she was ordered to undergo a fourteen-day quarantine – hardly the ideal preparation for the biggest race of her career. On race day she finished in last place.
Since then, she has returned to her winning ways, winning the Vancouver Marathon in both 2023 and 2025. The Canadian marathon title would be a welcome addition to her resume.
“My [national] championships wins are so spaced out from each other,” she explains. “I think 2011 was my first Canadian championship at 10k, then the marathon in 2019. So, I think if I could take another one in 2025, I feel like that’s such a span.”
Remaining healthy has been a challenge throughout her career and together with husband/coach Josh Seifarth she has adjusted her training to maintain consistency.
“I definitely cross train a lot more. That’s something I have done the last couple of years trying to find the right balance of cross training with running,” Pidhoresky reveals.
“So, in the past maybe I would have run north of 170km or had many weeks at 160km. Now, although I might be fine doing that, I think it’s a little safer to keep it in the 130 to 140km range in a marathon buildup and then supplement that with cycling.”
Six years on from recording her personal best she is confident that she can produce even better times.
“Yah, I think so for sure!” she declares. “I think that’s the frustrating part and maybe why I keep at it. I think if I wasn’t working out well and also not racing to my ability it would be easy to throw in the towel.
“I know I can still have my best results, I know for sure. It’s just whether it comes together on race day. That’s racing (laughs). But that’s what keeps me coming back from injuries because I know my best days are ahead of me.”
It’s not lost on her that Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak, an occasional training partner, is still racing well at the age of 43 and Malindi Elmore represented Canada at the Paris Olympics last year age 44. Athletes are enjoying extended careers.
A keen photographer, Pidhoresky and her sister took an extended vacation following her second Vancouver Marathon victory this May. They flew to Sweden and then spent time in Norway before flying up to Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago well above the arctic circle. They spent three days there encountering reindeer and walruses. Clearly the adventure was a welcome break from training and racing. But now she is in full marathon buildup.
While Pidhoresky was born in Tecumseh, Ontario – near the border city of Windsor – she says she won’t be putting pressure on friends and family to come see her perform.
“It’s a four-hour drive so I don’t want to say, ‘you have got to come and watch’,” she says laughing. But as she well knows from experience the Toronto Waterfront crowds are especially supportive of Canada’s elite.
