About Malindi

Runner, Triathlete and Coach

I was raised as a multi-sport athlete who participated in soccer, field hockey, skiing, waterskiing, running, hiking – and almost anything else I could do!  But running was my true love, and by 12 years old I decided it would be the sport that would take me to the Olympics.  After a successful high school career, I attended Stanford University where I was the 800 and 1500m record holders before new young speedsters came along.  Upon graduating, I decided to put all my efforts into qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. My dreams came true on July 1st, 2004 when I won the Canadian Track and Field Championships in 4:04 and was selected to the Olympic Team.

It was a dream come true

After a rewarding career, I retired from professional running in 2012, but I still loved to train and race. After the birth of my first son, Charlie, I picked up the sport of triathlon – I just wanted to get fit and strong again as part of my postpartum recovery.  It didn’t take long before I converted to long distance triathlon. Over the course of two years, I competed in 20 long course triathlon races with numerous podium finishes, including 3rd in my debut Ironman in Arizona with a time of 8:57.

Return to Running

After my second baby boy was born, I was ready to try a new challenge – marathon racing. Six months later, I laced up my racing flats in Jan 2019 and raced my first marathon. A 2:32 marathon left me hungry for more and brought an old flame back into my life: the pursuit of the 2020 Olympic Games. One year later, I was thrilled to finish 3rd overall in 2:24.50 which was a Canadian record by more than 2 minutes. The realities of COVID changed the year dramatically, and the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed, but thankfully I was selected to represent Canada at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.  I met my goals of a Top 10 finish by finishing 9th at the Olympic Games – a thrill and honour to mix it up with the top runners in the world!

The Quest for a Third Olympics

After finishing 9th at Toyko, I was hooked on the marathon and immediately signed up for the Boston Marathon in 2022.  What runner doesn’t dream of Boston?  Boston was everything it was supposed to be and more – it kicked my butt, humbled me and left me wanting to come back for more.  I finished 11th (2:27:58) and my legs were sore for weeks after. I will return, one day to Boston…it’s a race that needs more than one go!
 
Later that fall, I ran Toronto Waterfront Marathon where I finished 4th in 2:25.11 and ran the fastest time on Canadian soil by a Canadian. I highly recommend this epic Canadian race – fast and great crowds.
 
The Paris Olympic qualifying window opened in January 2023 and I decided to get after the Olympic standard (2:26.50) early with a winter race in Seville.  This has been my only “disaster” of a marathon so far, and I stepped off course at 27 km knowing it was not my day. I learned a lot and put those lessons into motion for my next Olympic qualifying attempt, in Ottawa in May, 2023.  I had a great race in Ottawa and finished 2nd overall but due to the terrain (hilly) and heat, was outside the qualifying window by one minute.  It was then we pivoted from running World Championships in August to racing Berlin in September 2023 as the Olympic standard was the priority.
 
In Berlin, I ran a big personal best of 2:23:30 and qualified for the Olympics. It was a thrilling race and once again, left me motivated and energized for the next big goals: Paris 2024.
 
It is an honour to be selected to represent Canada at my 3rd Olympic Games and I can’t wait to race the hardest and most epic Olympic course in history. I have so many people to thank for helping me make it this far and feel very grateful for all the opportunities I have been provided.

More dreams yet to come true

Part of my own athletic journey includes helping other people achieve their own goals. Over the years I have been thrilled to help runners achieve their own goals and currently work as a coach at UBC-Okanagan with both our varsity and junior program, and as a private online coach to motivated runners. Please see more about coaching if you are interested in a chat.

I continue to chase my own running goals which are a moving target – who doesn’t love to run fast?  But my primary motivator is to see how fast I can run by committing to doing my best and loving the process.