Reid Coolsaet

Biography

Reid Coolsaet is the second fastest marathoner in Canadian history. In September 2015 he ran 2:10:28 to finish sixth in Berlin and come within 19 seconds of Jerome Drayton’s 40-year-old national record. Coolsaet was the top finisher in that race from outside of Kenya or Ethiopia. He had previously gone under the Olympic qualification standard for Rio 2016 with his 2:11:24 to finish seventh at the Rotterdam Marathon in April 2015. Both of those impressive performances came after he had to miss part of the 2014 season when his abdominal muscle tore away from his pelvic bone, taking a piece with it. Coolsaet competed in his first ever marathon in 2009 when he won the national title. The next year, he dropped more than five minutes off his personal best time before running 2:10:55 at the 2011 Toronto Waterfront Marathon to secure his London 2012 qualification. In his Olympic debut he placed 27^th of the 85 men who finished the marathon. He improved by four placements at Rio 2016, finishing 23rd, six minutes behind the winner. In 2011, 2013 and 2015, Coolsaet was the second-ranked marathoner in North America.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Robert and Susan Coolsaet… Younger brother Adam and younger sister Kaleigh… Wife Marie… Getting into the Sport: Started competing in cross-country and track in grade 6… Enjoyed running trails and found he had a talent for running early on at a McMaster sports camp when he was 7… Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of Guelph with an honours degree in Marketing Management… Supports Connecting Countries, which helps build latrines in Kenya where he’s spent 4-10 weeks training each of the last six years and has witnessed the differences made in schools… Enjoys reading… Odds and Ends: Nickname: Mzungu… Collects coffee and beer mugs from his travels… Favourite motto: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…