A cracker of a Canada Day race in Walden

The Firecracker 5km Road Race in Walden has traditionally attracted a diverse cross-section of athletes.

The 2015 installment, hosted on July 1, was no different.

There were the regulars such as former Cambrian College athlete of the year Eric Leishman who edged out 2015 Rocks Marathon champion Pascal Renard by five seconds, using "home course advantage" in carving out his victory.

"At the turn at the corner (off Main), he took the road and I cut the corner," said Leishman.

"It threw him off a little bit and I kind of put the gap on him. You run the tangents of the course - that's road racing".

Both runners, along with Brandon Belan, finished comfortably under the 17-minute mark, and the experience factor proved helpful for Leishman, tackling his first run after rehabbing an injury for a few weeks.

"You kind of have to keep yourself in check for the first kilometer, and kind of feel it out," said Leishman.

"I know this course, the first three kilometers are not fast."

Women's race winner Katie Wismer did not necessarily target maximum pre-race preparation before completing her 5km run in 19:06.

"The past three years, I've organized this event with different people from my team (L.U. cross-country Voyageurs), so I just came back this year for fun," said Wismer.

"It felt like I spent all Canada Day having fun, and not preparing for the race, but it was also fun going in with that kind of mindset."

Wismer is one of three Laurentian teammates who was recently accepted into the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and is returning for her fifth and final year of university athletic eligibility this fall.

"I would like to say that I would go in for the sake of just running, but there's always some goals," Wismer stated. "I would really just like to get some personal bests, and continue to improve. I want to give it everything I have and enjoy it."

This fall will be the first time since the late 1980s that Laurentian will field a men's cross-country team.

"I think with the guys team, it will be even more fun this year," said Wismer. "It's a bigger team aspect. You cheer on the guys, they cheer you on. In a bigger group, you can bounce off each other a little more, there's a little more support."

If both Leishman and Wismer are very familiar names for anyone who has followed the local running scene, the same cannot be said for 11-year-old St. Louis (Missouri) native Izzy DeStefano.

DeStefano is an accomplished swimmer and soccer player, and was the winner of the 1km kids road race.
She travelled to Northern Ontario to visit some family.

"My dad (Devin) was doing the 5km and I just wanted to run today," said the youngster.

Born in Chicago and having moved to Richmond (Virginia) before settling in St. Louis, DeStefano is not quite used to "metric running", though it did not seem to hamper her results in the least.

"When I run a mile usually, I go pretty easy on the first two laps, and then all out on the last two," she said.

"But for the one km, I kind of went easy for the first little bit, and then hard at the end."

The event, a fundraiser of the Laurentian cross-country ladies team, attracted 125 runners and a pair of walkers, the latter duo accompanied by their patiently upbeat cyclist host Josh Tillson.

Following are results for some of the top finishers:

Men's Division

• 1st - Eric Leishman - 16:30
• 2nd - Pascal Renard - 16:35
• 3rd - Brandon Belan - 16:58
• 4th - Petri Bailey - 17:49
• 5th - Greg Edgar - 17:58
• 6th - Gordie Chown - 18:43
• 7th - Stavros Gallant - 18:59
• 8th - Colton Lafrance - 19:02
• 9th - Scott St Jean - 19:16
• 10th - Casey Crowe - 19:19