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Natasha Wodak and Justin Kent won their first Canadian marathon title on Sunday in Toronto.

Wodak, the 42-year-old Canadian women’s record holder, won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a time of two hours 27 minutes 54 seconds. It was the Surrey, British Columbia native’s first appearance in the event since 2013 and his fifth national title overall.

Kent, a 32-year-old also from Surrey, crossed the finish line in a personal best time of 2:12:17.

Ethiopia’s Mulugeta Uma won the men’s overall championship in 2:07.16, his second career title after winning the Paris Marathon earlier this year.

Meanwhile, her Ethiopian counterpart, Waganesh Mekasha, earned redemption by winning the women’s title in a record time of 2:20:44 after losing by a second in the sprint last year.

Wodak said Friday his main goal in this race is to add the Canadian championship title to his already decorated record and to have fun.

She finished first easily, beating second-place finisher Leslie Sexton by more than five minutes.

And it seemed that the latter could also be considered a success as Wodak ran the last 100 meters with a smile on his face and his arms raised, encouraging the crowd to cheer him on.

Kent, who finished 30th at the 2023 World Championships, ran alone for most of the 42.4 kilometer course through city streets. Around the halfway point it looked like Kent might be overtaken as the chasing pack closed the gap to around 10 seconds.

But the University of British Columbia graduate responded by finding a second wind, pulling away once again and leaving no room for doubt in the final stretch.

Three-time Paralympian Josh Cassidy won his third consecutive Canadian title and overall title in the wheelchair race, crossing the finish line in 1:38.09.

Organizers said nearly 30,000 runners from 70 countries took part in the weekend’s events, including a five-kilometer race on Saturday and a marathon, wheelchair marathon and half-marathon on Sunday.

The weather conditions were ideal for racing as the temperature continued to rise by around 7 to 14 degrees Celsius throughout the race.